Movie Review: My Take on Super 8

It was about time the Ranger and I went on a date.

There are ghetto bootyloads of movies I want to go see in theaters, but every other one I've promised to go see with friends. After further review I decided that since every Friday night Dave willingly subjects himself  is forced to watch a romantic comedy we'd go see something different than usual in theaters.

Because The Green Lantern looked only rent worthy if anything,  I picked Super 8.

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From the previews that I'd seen, it looked like it was going to be one of those thrillers that has kids in it, with the father as the protagonist, some male bonding, a lame teenage relationship, and a few moments where you jump out of your seat because THAT MONSTAH'S GONNA GETCHA.

Overall, I expected something average, but nothing special.

Here's the plot preview from imdb :
"In the summer of 1979, a group of friends in a small Ohio town witness a catastrophic train crash while making a super 8 movie and soon suspect that it was not an accident. Shortly after, unusual disappearances and inexplicable events begin to take place in town, and the local Deputy tries to uncover the truth - something more terrifying than any of them could have imagined."

Sounds like your typical sci-fi mystery that's forgettable right?

Wrong!

I was pleasantly surprised and entertained. I really liked it.

First off despite what the previews would like you to believe, the main character is not WHATSHISFACE/Kyle Chandler from Early Edition.

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(Does anyone else remember this show? He got the newspaper ahead of time and there was an orange cat and he tried to change the headlines, and he had a friend who loved to gamble and some blind guy that was his moral compass? Anyone? In my opinion, the only good roll this guy ever did other than this movie. The show was so feel good I'm sure it's running on Hallmark or something right after Touched By An Angel.)


But I was happily surprised when  found that the main character wasn't Mr. EyeBrow furrow, but this little gem.

His name is Joel Courtney, and he is just adorable. When I have a 13 year old boy with brown eyes and floppy brown hair, I want it to be him.

So, the movie follows "Joe" and his friends in the late 1970's as they try to make a movie for the Super 8 film contest. They convince a little blondie (Dakota Fanning's younger sister Elle.) to play the wife in the movie. As they're filming on a train platform, a mysterious white truck causes a HUGE train accident. How they survived I don't know. Oh yeah. It's a movie.

So anyway, they find weird white blocks and Joe actually sees something throw a door off the train. They run home and swear to never speak of the accident again. And the plot is then off!

Without giving the movie away, strange stuff starts happening around town. Everyone's dog runs away, car engines, T.V.'s and people start to go missing. The kids continue to make their film but find themselves questioning what happened that night and what it means.

Now my review sounds pretty much like what IMBD shared with you. What makes it different? Well Mr. Angsty does have a main role as Joe's father who is trying to raise him after his mother died, but doing a poor job of it because he is so involved in being a deputy. But he is NOT the main character. Yeah we follow him a little because he's investigating and taking care of the situation, but 75% of the movie follows the kids.

What I really liked is that the movie made sure to focus on the kids and their personalities. It actually develops then into loveable characters. They got the different types of middle school boys down to a T. I could name 5 kid off of the top of my head that reminded me of each boy.

It's refreshingly retro and reminds of us of a time that we can all relate to: when none of the grown-ups understood us, but all of our friends did.

Best way to describe it, picture in your head, all of these movies:

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And then smush them all together into one movie.

And I mean, when The Goonies is involved, how can you not love it?