ANALYSIS:

Middle School student Joe Lamb has lost his mother and his father, Sheriff's Deputy Jack Lamb, starts to become a little overwhelmed by it.  Flash forward four months later where Joe is making a Super 8 zombie film with his bossy best friend, Charles.   They get Alice (Elle Fanning), a girl that Joe develops a crush on, to be in the film.   One night, they go near the railroad tracks by a train depot to film a scene when a truck collides head-on with  a passing train.   Somethings gets out and electrical equipment starts disappearing (along with the animals fleeing the town of Lillian, Ohio).   Jack Lamb starts to suspect that the crashed Air Force train is part of a bigger cover-up while Joe continues making the film with his friends.  Soon it all collides as Joe's group fo friends must find the thing that is causing all of the havoc.

SUPER 8 is a homage to all of those films that kids made when they were growing up and the Steven Spielberg films from the period of the late 1970s and early 1980s.   At the center of the film are two things: the bonds of friendship and family, and a look at a different time period before internet and digital video cameras.   The mysterious creature is like the MacGuffin of the movie.   The characters and their lives are the most important things of SUPER 8 as you witness their dreams and the problems in their lives.   Jack doesn't want Joe to hang with his friends making a monster film while he is dealing with the loss with his wife (and Joe's mom).   Then Alice is trying to run away from the guilt her father feels for what happened to Joe's mom.   SUPER 8 is a time capsule of sorts as J.J. Abrams paints 1979 in a wave of nostalgia from what what he did as a kid (he made Super 8 films) to the things happening in that time (disco, Three Mile Island).

I thought SUPER 8 was a solid film with fleshed out characters and story.   The alien isn't important.    It is a nice homage to some of the films I saw when I was growing up during the 1980s.   Go see this summer film.  It is good as the last film Abrams made, STAR TREK.   It is hopefully a good sign that the summer is starting to put out good summer films like this one and X-MEN: FIRST CLASS.   Also stay tuned during the end credits for the Super 8 zombie film which is charming and funny.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Audio commentary with Writer/ Director J.J. Abrams, Director of Photography Larry Fong, and Producer Bryan Burk.   The track goes into the production of the film and also J.J. texts Spielberg questions during the audio commentary.

14 deleted scenes in HD that were cut for pacing and include extra character moments (some already covered by other scenes in the finished movie).

DECONSTRUCTING THE TRAIN CRASH- behind-the-scenes of filming the train crash sequence

Eight Behind-The-Scenes featurettes:

THE DREAM BEHIND SUPER 8-   J.J. Abrams, DP Larry Fong, and producer Bryan Burk recount making Super 8 movies and how they met each other in addition to how they were called to repair Steven Spielberg's old 8mm films.   Also the featurette tells how Super 8 came together including a little hero worship for Spielberg from the filmmakers of Super 8.

THE SEARCH FOR NEW FACES- casting the kids of SUPER 8 with audition footage and interviews with the five kids who were cast, director J.J. Abrams, and the people doing the casting.  The kids reflect on filming SUPER 8 and the 1970s look (clothes, production design) with behind-the-scenes footage with the kid actors.

MEET JOEL COURTNEY- following actor Joel Courtney for one day during the filming of Super 8.  It is intercut with an interview with Joel and behind-the-scenes footage.

REDISCOVERING STEEL TOWN- on location in an actual steel town called Weirton from al little history to a behind-the-scenes look at filming there.   Interviews with cast, crew, and Weirton locals.

THE VISITOR LIVES-

SCORING SUPER 8- behind the making of the music of SUPER 8

DO YOU BELIEVE IN MAGIC?- on the set with the magic tricks of Director of Photography Larry Fong including a set visit from Tom Cruise

8MM REVOLUTION- a history and appreciation of Super 8 film

The only extra on the DVD is a link to get the Digital Copy when you insert the DVD in a DVD-ROM and connect with the internet.

FINAL ANALYSIS:  SUPER  8 is a solid film- a homage to the old Steven Spielberg films in addition to J.J. Abrams remembering the age when he was growing up.   The featurettes dig into the making  of the film including a appreciation for Super 8 film making.

this review is (c)11-27-2011 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission.  send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com