Super 8 gives us the story of a group of kids (the only one of which you'll know is Elle Fanning) who are making a monster movie in 1979. One's dad (Kyle Chandler) is the deputy of their small town, and his wife died a few months back, so the kid hangs with one of his friends' houses more instead. Then there's a big train crash as the kids are filming their movie at the station, and something escapes. Weird stuff starts happening around town. That's about it.I know I say this a lot, and have been criticized for it such, but I honestly have almost nothing to say about this movie. I liked it fair enough coming out of it, but the more I've thought about it (with almost 4-5 days now to do so), the more "blah" I feel. I still feel it's a well made and overall pretty good flick. It's just not sticking with me for some reason. So because of this, I am going to list 8 things about the movie and give my thoughts on these 8 things in exactly 8 words. OK? Here goes:
1) Steven Spielberg: It's very clear this movie was Spielberg inspired.
2) Elle Fanning: I usually love her; she fell flat here.
3) Other Acting: It was pretty good. The characters were believable.
4) Unexplained Things: Dogs running away? Magnetic attraction? Kidnapped people? Etc.
5) Truck Driver: How the *bleep* did he survive getting hit?
6) Visuals: The cinematography and CGI were pretty dang good.
7) Pacing: Could have been tighter; sometimes a bit slow.
8) Final Thoughts: It was good but didn't leave me amazed.
I Am McLovin!
You are on of the few that is even half way critical of this. I thought is was appalling and was quite disgusted by it!! I just can't believe the number of people are praising it so highly as it just isn't a good movie at all.
ReplyDeleteI went with Rachel to celebrate her birthday. I wouldn't have seen it otherwise. Yes, you can see Spielberg's influence. Rachel & I laughed. A lot. We thought the kids were fun to watch. The adults---not so much. Pleasant enough movie. Nothing groundbreaking or memorable.
ReplyDeleteAppalling? Disgusting? Oh, the irony, given that Nick has watched nothing but truly vile flicks this past month. But sure, Super 8 is definitely offensive. *scratches head*
ReplyDeleteNote to Nick: If you have nothing to say, either don't write a review, or, if you feel compelled to write *something* (I had a similar philosophy once upon a time, where I felt I needed to review every movie I saw theatrically), what's wrong with getting creative (haiku, something like Rachel's Social Network review, something like my Stick Figure drawings, etc.) or just writing a couple sentences or a single paragraph (that doesn't include the words "I have almost nothing to say about this movie"). Do you have a word minimum as well? I'm just thinking something like (paraphrasing your words):
"Effective-yet-unspectacular sci-fi spectacle from wannabe-Spielberg J.J. Abrams, who perhaps apes his master a bit too much for my liking. Great child acting and a zeal for filmmaking permeate what might have otherwise been a rote actioner with a muddled, boring creature."
Sorry in advance if you didn't want the unsolicited advice. But I'm big brother, yo!
Dylan: I thought I *was* doing something creative with my 8-things/8-words format. Guess not...
ReplyDeleteYou're right - I suppose you were.
ReplyDeleteI guess I got stuck on that evil sentence again. :) Perhaps I would have taken better notice of it had the intro paragraph not been there. Sorry.
Also... I agree that it is pretty funny the "appalling" and "disgusting" comment was there about this movie considering all the other flicks I've reviewed this month...
ReplyDelete