PDA

View Full Version : Review: Super 8



WillBrink
08-23-15, 14:51
Rented it this weekend.

Think The Goonies meets Stand By Me meets E.T. and a 50s B monster movie. It's a period piece that takes place in the 70s complete with music, cars, and various fun references. The movie requires a fair amount of the willingness to suspend your disbelief, but it's very well done and has a surprising amount of emotional depth and harks back to good old fashioned fun times without being too obvious about it. I generally don't like movies with kids in it, but this one works as far as the genre goes and it's a very niche genre: the kids movies not really intended for kids.

If movies like the Goonies et al bring back fond memories for you, you'll enjoy this one. It's a better movie actually but you get the idea.

This was a collaboration between (written/directed) J.J. Abrams and Steven Spielberg (producer). The films biggest problem is it's a kids film not for kids. It's main actors are kids but the movie has a fair amount of violence (surprisingly so in some scenes), profanity, etc, so wouldn't have been for kids. Such movies often confuse people, so neither kids nor adults see it. I didn't see it at the time as i assumed it was a kids movie, and I don't tend to like movies with a group of teens/pre teens as the primary actors, but the whole 70s vibe and such won me over after a while.

I'd give this one an A-/B+ (if you enjoy these types of movies...)



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqt9L4fIExA

Moose-Knuckle
08-24-15, 01:03
The wife and I liked this one back when we saw it, I remember J.J. Abrams saying that this was his tribute to Spielberg which explains the 70's/80's feel of the movie. Your E.T. meets The Goonies analogy is spot on.

SteyrAUG
08-24-15, 01:10
Saw it awhile ago, excellent movie.

FromMyColdDeadHand
08-24-15, 02:44
Good thing you are a movie reviewer and not a weatherman, a little slow in the reporting... ;)

WillBrink
08-24-15, 06:42
Good thing you are a movie reviewer and not a weatherman, a little slow in the reporting... ;)

Indeed. I do tend to rent stuff that may gave dropped off the radar a while ago.

nova3930
08-24-15, 09:48
Wife and I enjoyed that one when we Netflixed it. It was pretty good what I call "popcorn fare." Nothing real deep but entertaining...

FromMyColdDeadHand
08-24-15, 10:08
Wife and I enjoyed that one when we Netflixed it. It was pretty good what I call "popcorn fare." Nothing real deep but entertaining...

That was my problem with it. It seemed to try to imply some deepness, but I don't think it delivered.

Crow Hunter
08-24-15, 10:37
Wife and I enjoyed that one when we Netflixed it. It was pretty good what I call "popcorn fare." Nothing real deep but entertaining...

Same here.

brickboy240
08-24-15, 12:03
I took my daughter to see that back when it hit the theaters.

Yes...very entertaining. Good flick!