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Let's be honest with ourselves... anyone who has been around for any length of time– especially during the entertainment glory days of the 1980s, when "young adventurers" and "coming-of-age" themed movies were just as plentiful as the "sword & sorcery" and the ubiquitous "holiday slasher" film genres –will immediately identify this movie for what it is, despite the somewhat misleading preview trailer. It becomes even more blatantly obvious based on the simple fact that "Der Spielberg's" name is attached to it in some fashion! (Can you not say "dead giveaway" fast enough?)

Once you crank down the amps, lighten the mood, and insert a much younger cast of main characters, it is exactly a remake (or for those who may desire to be more of a stickler over semantics, a "reinterpretation") of everybody's favorite "family" film (double entendre intended). Heck, they even try to capture the mood of the original movie that is the inspiration for this film by setting this story just a couple of years shy of that famous release date!

Still, based on the fact that we all (or at least most of us) already know what this is right from the opening scene, it would still seem somewhat unfair to delve into too much detail about the movie. Again, the reason for that has more to do with the slight misdirection by the preview trailers than anything else, and were it not for that fact a somewhat "freer" hand could be employed without too much worry.

Needless to say however, as the trailers clearly indicate, there is indeed a "monster" in this movie... but again, those of us who are already way ahead of the story, we know exactly "who/what" this "monster" truly is and what his/her/its whole agenda and plot purpose is: the only difference is we get to see it and/or those directly linked with its existence responsible for some kick-ass mass destruction around a small town.

Of course, the "evil military" with its secretive and insidious agenda (this time in the form of goons from the "Air Force," which has been underrepresented in movies as the convenient Gum'mint boogeyman) are present to deflect, obfuscate and mislead the civilian populace as they search night & day for their (naturally "non-existent") "lost shipment" and predictably detain anyone who may have caught even the briefest wind of what's really been going on around the neighborhood.

My only real complaining moment of the film involved the very first "disaster" scene – waaaayyyy too "over-the-top" to be considered even remotely plausible. Then there are the times it tries too hard to be more "mature" than its predecessor, mainly through the usage of several drug/doper references and a few inappropriate hard profanity words unwittingly dropped in for good measure. Beyond those slight hinderances however, "Super 8" is still a very well acted and very well told story worthy of 'popcorn entertainment' status, though it'll never attain to the same "classic" status as the Reagan-era movie which inspired it.

Come for the "nostalgia"... Stay for the "upgrade"....

link directly to this review at https://www.hollywoodbitchslap.com/review.php?movie=20762&reviewer=427
originally posted: 06/14/11 16:25:23
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