Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
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No, please do not use my photo book or pictures.
Summer blockbuster season is in full swing... and this weekend a big movie opens up from producer Steven Spielburg.
It all started out innocent enough back in the summer of 1979, a bunch of middle school kids sneaking down to their small town train station to film a scene for a friend's entry in an amateur movie contest. As luck would have it a train appears in the distance and the young director capitalizes on the unexpected opportunity calling "action" as the freight cars barrel through.
When a truck deliberately turns onto the tracks and triggers a cataclysmic crash, our young heroes scramble for safety as flaming debris flies everywhere, all while the toppled camera continues to record everything.
As the dust begins to settle, two of the boys witness something very strange: Something is pounding away inside one of the freight cars. Eventually the door rips off and something emerges and disappears into the woods.
As the kids take inventory, they are shocked to see that the driver of the truck, who is barely alive, is a science teacher at their school and he warns them that they are in danger and not to say anything about what they've seen. Soon, the crash site and the town are swarming with tight-lipped military personnel leaving everyone struggling to figure out what is going on, including Deputy Sheriff, Jackson Lamb (played by Kyle Chandler).
Unaware that his son, Joe (portrayed by Joel Courtney) actually witnessed the crash, the deputy scrambles to sort out all of the strange occurrences, including people disappearing, dogs fleeing the area and the military becoming more and more intrusive.
Meanwhile, the kids are trying to act normal. They continue with the film project and make good use of some of the weird activities going on around them. Of course, they've taken the Super 8 film in to be developed and when it comes back, they're stunned at what they see.
Director and writer J. J. Abrams has delivered a nail-biting movie with great characters and a compelling story infused with just the right amount of humor to break up the tension. Subplots are running everywhere and almost approach distraction, but Abrams ultimately weaves everything together adding to the texture and the enjoyment.
But for this film to really work, everything turns on the performances of the young actors who really come through in Super 8. It's a fun, summertime popcorn movie and I'm giving Super 8 3 ½ stars. It's rated PG-13.
Oh, and be sure to stay through the credits.
