"Super 8" Review

Steven Spielberg is a legend. He is among the most famous and successful film directors of all time, and nearly all of his films have become household names, watched and renowned by millions. His skill for action sequences is unparalleled, and equally so is his uncanny ability to wring every last bit of emotion from quiet drama scenes - especially from, miraculously, child actors.

Now, J. J. Abrams - well on his way to reaching Spielberg's pedigree, having previously worked on TV show like Felicity, Alias and Lost, and films like Cloverfield, Star Trek, and the Mission Impossible movies - is trying to out-Spielberg Spielberg with Super 8. And, lucky him, he's got the man himself by his side.

The mother of a young boy named Joe has just died in a tragic accident, leaving Joe distraught and his father emotionally distant. While he's still trying to cope with the loss, his friend Charles has recruited him to be the make-up artist for an amateur short film he's working on, called The Case, and filmed - of course - on Super 8mm film stock.

While Charles, Joe, and the rest of the cast and crew (made up of some of their other friends) are filming a scene of The Case at a train station, the train is suddenly derailed by a truck driving straight into it, causing a massive wreck. The kids barely escape with their lives, and discover that the truck was driven by their Biology teacher, Dr. Woodward, who warns them that the events they have fallen into are very dangerous, and that "he" will kill them if they don't leave. Almost immediately, the military has overrun the town, and mysterious happenings - dogs disappearing, sporadic power outages, several missing person cases - are occurring with increasing frequency, with Joe determined to find the cause.

As I've said before, Super 8 is both an homage to Steven Spielberg films and an actual Steven Spielberg film, and as is common with the filmmaker's work, the stars are child actors - and great actors, at that. Joel Courtney and Riley Griffiths play Joe and Charles, respectively, and they handle both themselves and their relationship remarkably well. One gets the sense that they are truly close friends that have known each other for a long time. Other supporting cast members are great as well, especially Ryan Lee as Cary, the comic relief who's completely obsessed with fire and explosives, and Elle Fanning as Alice, Joe's love interest, a troubled young girl who is the daughter of an alcoholic who is indirectly responsible for Joe's mother's death. Elle Fanning has received high praise in previous appearances, and in Super 8, she is arguably the best actor in the film. Fanning bears a rather disturbingly close resemblance to Drew Barrymore, who partnered with Spielberg in E.T., and I can't help but expect the former to have a career as long and successful career as the latter.

The other thing to expect in your average Spielberg film is lots of exciting action and top-notch special effects, and once again, Abrams and Spielberg have delivered. The alien creature (yes, there's an alien; the trailers have likely given you enough clues) looks magnificently real, and the train wreck near the beginning is terrifying and intense. None of the computer effects used stick out at all; they all fit seamlessly in with the real footage.

J.J. Abrams' frequent collaborator, Michael Giacchino (who coincidentally also wrote the music for the first few Medal of Honor video games, which were designed by Spielberg) composes the score here, and like Abrams, he is clearly pulling an impression of a Steven Spielberg movie's typical score - that is, John Williams. Giacchino doesn't really come close to matching Williams' genius, but then again, few can, and the music is beautiful and fits in perfectly in its own right.

It's not a real summer without a few action movies, and it's not a real action summer without a Spielberg in the mix. With Super 8, J.J. Abrams has created the perfect tribute to one of the greatest filmmakers ever, and at the same time, a fitting addition to Spielberg's canon. In all senses of the word, it's

Awesome.