Nonureva Really Surprised!

Actuakers One of my all time favorites.

Dotsthavesp I wanted to but couldn't!

Usamah Harvey The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Maz-hell Abrams and Spielberg fused (kinda) their styles to give us the film that might bring us back to the 80's, also known as definitely not super expensive CGI effects time!... By using super expensive CGI effects.Lets start with the horrible this time, because the good outweights it: The story is definitely not for kids unlike E.T. (Where the film borrows a lot by the way: including the alien wants to go home), and it has crude violence that has nothing to do with anything. The effects are extremely distracting most of the time because they collide with the 80's themed scenario (specially the lens flares. Seriously, stop it. It looks horrible and even hurts), including the collision of a train that basicly transforms the movie into a Michael Bay erection helper for about 5 minutes, that adds nothing, could have been completely left out or shortened in the worst case. Later we got another explotion fest that lasts for 10 minutes, was even more unnecesary and went into pointlessness quickly. It was just artificial drama for the sake of it. Nothing was compelled, or added. Pointless.The plot was amazing. Spielberg took the horrible ET 2 script (this exists. Basicly ET tortures children and later becomes litteral god) and got it reviewed. The biology teacher plot point was handfisted but it works marvels. The ending was heartwarming, but absolutely dumb how everyone (including soldiers that, lets remember, want the alien captured) just look at the alien leaving as if it was ET... again.The scenography is so good, so incredibly good. I have actually not a complaint: It looks perfect. The photography was marvelous too. The dialog was pretty credible. It had terrible moments, but they are so sparce they do not affect the movie. The audio was amazing. The music was great.Lots of love were into this film... too bad the bad was annoying enough to affect the overall experience. Watch this. And watch the credit scene. It is gold.

jacobjohntaylor1 This is an awful movie. It has an awful story line. It also has an awful ending. It is not scary at all. Why do people like this movie. I was really disappointed by it. It is very overrated. Do not see this movie. It is an awful movie. If you want to see something scary see Alien. Do not see this.

a_chinn Before "Stranger Things" was ever a thing, J.J. Abrams did his own love letter to early Steven Spielberg, a nostalgic and spot-on homage to films such as "E.T.," "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," or "Poltergeist." Sure Tobe Hooper directed the last one, but Spielberg produced and left his mark all over it and the horror elements of that film are embraced in "Super 8". Spielberg also produced "Super 8" and it contains many early Spieberg-ian hallmarks; childhood innocence, broken families, government conspiracies, the sense of wonder and faith, parent-child relationships, etc. Set in the summer of 1979, a group of middle school boys and one girl are filming their super 8 zombie movie when they unexpectedly film a train crash transporting a secret cargo. To reveal more would spoil the plot, but the plot isn't what make "Super 8" memorable. Just like the best Spielberg films, it's the characters and their relationships that have endeared those film to us and made them classics. "Poltergeist" is a perfect example of this. The plot is a fairly straightforward haunted house story that is basically a riff on "The Twilight Zone" episode "Little Girl Lost," but the believability of the characters and the realistic portrait of a typical suburban family connect the audience so much more to the plot (and the scares) than would a similar haunted house story with lesser defined of characters. Even strong haunted house films like "The Entity" or "House by the Cemetery" are nowhere as immediately identifiable to audiences as the family depicted in "Poltergeist," which has the impact of making the scares all the more scary. "Super 8" manages to capture that same type of middle America feel, but does so steeped in nostalgia, in very much the same way the Duffer Brothers have done with "Stranger Things." Now despite the well drawn characters and the warm nostalgia the film generates, the story about the mysterious cargo on the train and the kids investigation is nowhere as interesting or compelling as Spielberg's best films. "Super 8" is probably on the same level as "Explorers" when it comes to story, which isn't bad, but the plot is just not up to ET or Close Encounters levels of greatness. Back to the film's strengths, it boasts a strong cast of unknown child actors, with the exception of Elle Fanning who I think at the time was more famous because of her sister, Dakota. The always reliable Kyle Chandler is also a standout as a deputy sheriff looking into the train crash against his superior's wishes and who's also the father of the main boy of the group, both who are grieving the recent loss of the boy's mother. Also of note is a fine score by composer Michael Giacchino, which manages to be nicely evocative of the John Williams/Jerry Goldsmith type of scores that frequently accompanied Spielberg films of this era. Overall, J.J. Abrams does a terrific job of capturing the innocence and wonder of early Steven Spielberg, which is a real treat for anyone who grew up watching these film.

Scott LeBrun "Super 8" is a surprisingly engaging, heartfelt ode to vintage Steven Spielberg (think "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind") by writer / director J.J. Abrams. It focuses on a tight-knit group of young friends in the summer of 1979. Right now, led by their director, Charles (Riley Griffiths), they're busy making their own shot-on-Super-8 zombie epic. VERY early one morning, they're at the local train station filming scenes when they manage to record a catastrophic train crash. Not only there is much destruction, but a stealthy *something* escapes from the ruined train and vanishes into the night. Soon, the military shows up to try to contain the entity and keep a lid on the matter.It's true that the final half hour can't measure up to the opening 80 minutes, for then the movie does descend into maudlin predictability. Yes, some people could complain that it turns into an outright "cheese fest". But this movie has real heart, and takes place in a rural location (in and around the town of Lillian, Ohio) that could have easily been a setting for a Spielberg film. The production has a respectable amount of razzle-dazzle and an abundance of digital effects, not to mention a fairly well conceived alien creature. It has a body count of sorts, so it won't be completely harmless for the youngest of viewers. It also takes a pretty dim view of the military, as has been the case for scores of genre pictures for approximately half a century. A first rate filmmaking team includes cinematographer Larry Fong and production designer Martin Whist; the music by Michael Giacchino perfectly sets the mood.The cast couldn't be more likeable, even if some of the characters are formula types. In fact, it's the camaraderie among the kids that really makes this work as well as it does. Joel Courtney as Joe is our main character, a boy mourning the violent death of his mother, and at odds with his policeman father (Kyle Chandler). Ryan Lees' Cary is one of those expected "quirky" type of roles, a kid who likes to blow stuff up real good. Elle Fanning is appealing as the leading lady of the movie-within-the-movie, upon whom Joe crushes. Familiar faces in supporting parts and bits include Ron Eldard (as Fannings' troubled pop), Glynn Turman (as a science teacher who sets the story in motion), Noah Emmerich (as a hard-charging Air Force colonel), Bruce Greenwood, Dale Dickey, Richard T. Jones, and Dan Castellaneta.Overall, it may be imperfect - with the expected sob-into-your-hankie character resolutions and out-of-this-world finale - but it did hit a nerve with this viewer, who expects that some Spielberg devotees will go right for it.Eight out of 10.