Sometimes when you see a movie you just have to go with your heart. Sometimes movies just sort of hit you in a sweet spot that makes you smile, makes you wonder why there aren't more movies like this, and makes you just ignore all the clichés and stuff you've seen a hundred times before. Super 8 was one of those movies, one of a short list of movies I've seen that makes one part of my brain yell "shut up!" to the part of my brain that's thinking, "you know, we've seen scenes like this a hundred times before."
After watching it I left the theater with a little smile on my face. Yes, as one of my friends said, it was sort of ET meets the Goonies or, as my girlfriend said, reminded her of Stand by me and I can see all three of those comparisons. When you get a large group of boys, with one girl, together for an adventure it's going to draw comparisons to all movies that use that formula, Goonies being the most famous. The only thing with Goonies was, you knew those kids were never in any real danger. With Super 8 you worry that one of them is going to be killed and on multiple occasions they almost were.
Okay, so a quick summary of the plot. A group of boys are making a zombie movie (which you get to as the credits roll so don't leave too soon.) when they witness a horrible train crash. After the crash strange things start to happen near the town and only the kids know something's not right. Also, they may have captured what's causing the oddness on their camera. What follows is a group of scared kids trying to piece together a mystery based on what little information they have. But really, the movie is more about the bonding of the boys and girl through danger, mystery, and even a little romance.
That's what really got to me in the movie, the kids acted like real kids. Sure, there was some Hollywooding of their actions but for the most part they felt like kids, not adults in kids bodies which a lot of movies sometimes make children. They were scared, determined, loyal, afraid to get caught in some lie, and scared to death of adults. It all felt real and that made the impact of the ending that much more touching cause you felt these kids could be your friends, or the friend of your child.
Was it a perfect movie? Well, no. The mystery was kind of lame cause anyone who's seen these kinds of movies could figure out what the monster was. The clichés did run thick some of the time, from the military jerk who was covering things up, the scene where a lighter wouldn't start until the most dramatic time possible. They had a drunk Dad who was redeemed at the end and the sheriff didn't have too much depth. Most of the character depth went to the kids which was more than enough to carry the movie. Oh, and there was a really sugary sweet part near the end that, even though it was as cliché, nearly brought me to tears. Damn you soft heart!
So, in conclusion, see the movie! See it! See it! See it! You'll think it's gr8 also!!
