Super 8
by David
When hearing the title of "Super 8" one cannot help but think of an inexpensive motel. My sister mentioned this to me and it is hard to dispute. It is bizarre when the name of a movie matches that of a motel chain. Every time this happens it always blows my mind. My mind has been blown once so far. I mean, I guess it could have been called "Red Roof Inn" or "Holiday Inn" or "Best Western" and may have sounded a bit more absurd…but not by much. Actually, I believe "Best Western" stars Clint Eastwood…the moviemakers were quite high on themselves for that one.
That being said, I do appreciate their dilemma. The movie is about a group of kids (freshmen in high school perhaps) working on making a zombie movie to enter into a contest. Hey! I entered a movie contest once with my good friend Michael Slater. It was the sequel to "Seven", entitled "Ten". It was a lot of fun with the only bummer being that on the day they were going to show it, there was a hellacious snowstorm and we never got to see it in the theater. Ah well. (To see the brilliance of that movie, click here). Anyway, back to the movie, the year is around 1979, so it is not the digital world. No, instead they are using the snazzy update to regular 8MM film, which was called Super 8 (a fact that I would have been unaware if my Dad had not mentioned this after the movie). So, the question is, why not avoid the motel and media confusions and simply call the movie a more recognizable "8MM"? Ahhhh…because that movie was already made. Thus, they were stuck with the more enigmatic "Super 8". A gutsy move either way as half of the people seeing the movie probably did not know what the title meant initially (and possibly some people stayed after the credits frantically looking for some connection to the motel chain).
Anyway, the child acting (which is always risky) is exceptional and the dialogue is great. I found myself smiling or chuckling at the interactions between and personalities of the little rodents. This was definitely one of the more well-written movies involving children, even if it was not really a movie for children. Hmm…why wasn't it a movie for children…why wasn’t it a movie for children. I feel like I'm forgetting something. Oh yeah! There is also a monster that escapes from the clutches of the government that wreaks havoc and destruction on the city. The effects of the monster are done quite well and the panic escalation of the city and the government are believable and awesome. Still, the movie stays grounded in how the young people fight through this chaotic environment. I imagine some will find the ending cheesy. I liked it and thought it connected well to the main character's history and persona.
Some say it is like E.T., clearly because of the Spielberg-government-creature-kids connection, but I could not disagree more. E.T. was a fun-loving buddy movie with some action and adventure. There was never any terror in that movie and the movie was completely dominated by the alien creature. While the creature in this movie is certainly important, it is the idea of there being a monster that is so important to the film, and less about the monster itself. They attack the audience with jump-out-of-your-seat scares, there is some chaotic blood and violence, and there is definitely a theme of overcoming personal demons while also overcoming the real life one. So while there may be a similarity here and there, these movies could not be more different.
