Super 8

J. J. Abrams is an enigma. Sometimes he’ll make something good, but most of the time it’s a disappointment. There’s no doubt that he’s talented or that he’s hard working and good at his job, or good at navigating through show business. But the final product of all that hard work and moxie leaves much to be desired. Look at “Lost” for example, it started out as an amazing and ground breaking TV show but by the end it was just terrible. “Cloverfield” is easily the worst movie to be made in the last ten years if not longer. The “Star Trek” movie was so bad it managed to take one of the most iconic series in pop culture history and make it into just another action film. But he did resuscitate the flailing “Mission: Imposible” series into something actually worth watching. And he managed to make another beautiful film that proves that he can do great things under the right circumstances.

“Super 8” is compared a lot to early Steven Spielberg films, and while there are certain similarities the comparison is generally unfair. Abrams is his own film maker, and this film is more than just a Spielberg rip-off. It’s about a group of kids filming a movie in the late 1970’s on their home movie camera. One night while filming, they witness a train crash and the adventure begins. The film is about letting go of the past, and about forgiveness. But it’s told in an incredibly exciting and entertaining way. Everything is seen from the kids’ perspective and it’s refreshing to see kids portrayed as they actually are. Too often in movies and shows they are written like they are adults and just acted by kids. But this movie has an honesty that is novel these days. The actor who plays the main kid is unbelievable, and has a long career ahead of him. The film also does a great job of taking the audience back in time.

With this one film J.J. Abrams redeems all the horrible things he’s worked on in the past and hopefully the trend continues. This is one of the few movies this summer that was not an utter disappointment. It actually will exceed all your expectations. If only the rest of the summer movies were as well crafted as this one…