Bad things happen. But you can still live.
If there’s a designated movie buff in the house, it’s Brian. I knew very little about SUPER 8 before seeing it at the advanced screening last night, other than the fact that we would be seeing it in theaters because it was on Brian’s list. Part of me feels that’s almost the way to go with a movie, because you have a better chance of being surprised. Or maybe, that’s just me. See, I always take those bits and pieces from ads and I remember them and anticipate them and use them to project the story arc and guess where things are going.
Remember the last time you got so caught up in a movie you didn’t even notice the time passing? Remember getting that feeling, that “Hell, yeah!” feeling, and wishing you could go right out and see another great movie that would blow you away? It’s been a long time since a summer blockbuster did that to me, and my only real complaint about SUPER 8 is that I’ve already seen it, and so, for me, the best movie of quite likely this entire year, has already been experienced.
Now, for those who don’t like a lot of spoilers, the trailer I just posted is safe. Just stop reading here. For those who’d like a little more about my thoughts on the movie, click here
This is not your contemporary kids’ movie. Remember when kids roamed the neighborhood with relative freedom, snuck out at night, or into each other’s bedrooms? Remember when they used to cuss when their parents weren’t around? The kids in SUPER 8 fit the time (1979) and are refreshingly real. Some parents may not want to take their kids; we can’t wait. If you loved ET and Goonies and Monster Squad, you’ll love SUPER 8. Kids on an adventure, needing to save the day. Except, they don’t exactly set out to save the day.
And that’s just one of the subtle ways the creators tweaked things, to keep the story concept fresh and rewarding. They played with the usual, predictable story ideas, and then danced around them.
The movie begins in an unusual place for a summer blockbuster featuring kids. Joe Lamb is grief-stricken by the loss of his mother. His dad – a deputy with the police department – doesn’t understand him, or try to. This is one of those times we can celebrate the fact that the movie-makers did not revise history, and attempt to insert a modern dad into the dad role of the late 70s. Jack Lamb is, in reality, an ass where his son is concerned. But he’s good police, and that will be a critical component of the story.
Joe and his friends are filming a movie to enter into a contest, and with the addition of the fictional detective’s wife, we bring in our leading lady, Alice. If Alice seems familiar, it may be because she’s the younger sister of Dakota Fanning, and she’s already been in a lot of movies. Elle Fanning earns her own place on the stage handily. Joe and Alice, as it happens, will have a connection, but a lot of obstacles that connect to Joe’s overbearing dad, Alice’s father (who’s a drunk), and the death of Joe’s mother, but their connection feels real and is a major underlying thread to the ultimate resolution of the story.
The kids have snuck out to film a scene, and while doing so witness a horrific train wreck. That incident will set in motion a chain of events that almost destroys the town they live in. The military moves in, dogs start disappearing, electrical appliances disappear, and then people.
Including the sheriff.
Deputy Jack is too busy with the town’s problems to notice almost anything his son is doing, but their paths will eventually cross as Jack tries to find out what’s going on and what the military is up to, and Joe tries to save Alice.
If that sounds superficially predictable, all I can say is that it isn’t. The creators have inserted enough twists along the way to keep the story fresh. They also take their time with the reveals, and it makes the movie that much scarier for the fact that you don’t see what’s causing all the chaos for quite some time. The mind feeds the fear, as your imagination tries to fill in the gaps and figure out what it is.
And in the end, Joe’s grief over the loss of his mother will be critical to saving the town.
There were a lot of choice lines. If Brian writes up something, he’ll probably mention the inside jokes and nods to Stephen King and others. It’s the kind of detail he picks up on better than anyone I know.
The movie the kids are making forms a great backdrop to the story, and they’re genuine kids. There are a lot of great, funny lines, and you need to stay seated at the end when the credits start to roll.
Saying much more would risk delving into spoiler territory, and it isn’t necessary. There’s a solid story here – several, in fact – and while the emotional aspect of the resolution might have felt a little abrupt, I still felt it worked. There’s no doubt in my mind this movie will be huge this weekend, and all summer long.
If I wanted to get nitpicky, there were a couple continuity things that I wondered about. One was a reference to the Rubik’s Cube. Now, originally, I’d thought the movie was early 80s, so I didn’t think much of it until I realized it was 1979. I suddenly felt very old, but when I checked, Rubik’s Cube was licensed for distribution in 1980. So it may have been a small error, but at least I don’t feel as old.
The only thing that did stand out in the movie as an oversight was when the evacuation was happening. All the dogs had run away, and that’s a major indicator of something happening that wasn’t good. Animals have that 6th sense. Wouldn’t it be all animals, then? As the evacuation is happening, the vehicles drive by horses calmly grazing in the fields. The horses weren’t scared of the alien, or the fire, apparently.
However, I don’t think either point detracts from the movie in any way that should affect its ranking.
A+
Funny you mention that animals at the evactuation. I have been reading about Syria & Libiya in the papers … and I keep coming across how the animals react to the military activities. You are dead-on!