Spoiler Free Super 8 (2011): What Is That Thing?

Jump in your time machine and go back to 1979 when there were no iPads or even cell phones! This was also the time when movies were filmed by using Super 8 cartridges (a roll of 8mm wide film,) instead of the all digital route. Hmmm, sounds like a lot more work. I think I want to stay in 2011, but I’ll be more than happy to watch movies set back in the “old days.”

Super 8 is set in 1979, and tells the story of Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney), a 13 year old boy, trying to adjust to only having a father, Jackson (Kyle Chandler), to care for him after his mother’s death. He’s aided by his wacky group of friends who decide to make a film. They happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and are nearly killed when an Air Force train crashes. Afterwards, dogs and people start disappearing. What was on that train?

Now that I’m an adult, I usually don’t give two craps about movies staring all kids, because usually they have kid plots that are trivial to adults. Super 8, however, contains adult size problems. And instead of seeing how the usual adult goes about dealing with it, kids are at the forefront saving the day, and they do it in a believable way. They don’t suddenly become super smart and suddenly know how to operate heavy machinery just because it’s convenient to the plot. They fumble around. They make mistakes. And they talk over each other constantly, but that’s part of the charm.

The mysterious thing that escapes from the train is kept a mystery long enough to really make you invested in the film. Teasers are given at just the right moments and then the big reveal! It’s a…yeah, I’m not going to spoil it. It’s really a lot better if you don’t know what it is. I did like the look of it, though… whatever it was.

Super 8, while not really an action film, was still charming and enjoyable, and as far as movies to go to this summer, you could do far worse.

Action Rating: 2 Kids Obsessed with Fireworks, out of 5.

This is the Action Flick Chick, and you’ve just been kicked in the ass!