Mystery thriller a classic Spielberg
FILM REVIEW: SUPER 8. When director J J Abrams was in Australia two years ago for the world premiere of his mind-bendingly brilliant Star Trek, he blushed at comparisons between himself and movie maestro Steven Spielberg.
“It’s obviously an insanely complimentary thing to hear, but you can’t hear that though, because all you want to do is hide,” Abrams told The AJN in 2009.
Remarkably, Star Trek was just his second feature as director (the first being Mission Impossible III in 2006), but the Lost creator’s Spielberg-esque ability to reconcile thrilling adventure, fleshed-out characters and expertly disguised morality tales had film lovers salivating.
Like Spielberg, Abrams’ offerings boasted the sort of accessibility and intelligence that studios eat their young for, transcending market segments and demographics into the realm of pure entertainment. There can be no higher praise.
So, when arguably the most extravagant marketing campaign for a film in recent memory announced to the world that the filmmakers extraordinaire were teaming up, the expectation was enormous.
The result is Super 8, a family friendly sci-fi adventure written and directed by Abrams and produced by Spielberg, but while the veteran Oscar-winning director’s handprints are all over this, it’s no ET: The Extraterrestrial.
Story continues below video
Set in 1979 in the fictional town of Lilian, Ohio, the film’s hero is the meek Joe (Joel Courtney) who along with the object of his affections Alice (Elle Fanning) and their pre-teen friends are making a zombie movie.
While filming, they inadvertently capture a spectacular train crash and mysterious disappearances and bizarre goings-on follow. When the military rolls in for the “clean up”, Joe, Alice and the others investigate.
Despite Abrams’ protestations in various interviews, Super 8 pays homage to late 1970s and 1980s gems such as Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Goonies (which he wrote) as well as Stand By Me.
Possibly the two biggest “inspirations” appear to have been ET and Jaws, both helmed by Spielberg, with both inspiring countless copies. But they’ve never been tried in the same film and there’s a reason for that. Super 8 is ostensibly a monster movie and as such, the relationship with the beast is paramount. Unfortunately, it’s also where Abrams gets confused.
Either you ask the audience to sympathise with the monster (ET) or cheer for its demise (Jaws), but you can’t have it both ways.
Despite this, the human element of Super 8 is beautifully handled and its greatest credit. The relationships, in particular Joe and Alice’s puppy love, are engaging without being saccharin, making it easy to be seduced by the characters.
This a welcome change from the latest evolution of American summer blockbuster, which lazily ignores the fundamental filmmaking tenet that movies should be relatable and empathic, not simply visual bonanzas.
Though engrossing for the most part, Super 8 falls into a select category of particularly disappointing films, which entices with flashes of greatness, then ultimately falls short. Perhaps the weight of expectation was too much to bear.
Super 8 is currently screening.
Reviewed by Adam Kamien
Rating: ****
comments