1. mrmonster

   10

   The best movie Steven Spielberg has made since "Jurassic Park". Super 8 was an amazing adventure with a revolutionary plot, great action, and some really good characters, even if they are children. Super 8 was a great adventure, like "ET" mixed with "Alien".… Expand

   • Helpful? 1 of 1 users said Yes.
2. Halfwelshman

   8

   Proof that the very best monster movies aren't really about the monster, but about people. The film's more about relationships, growing up, and dealing with bereavement than about a creature's rampage through small-town America. The young cast are great, all delivering engaging, but natural performances. J J Abrams really couldn't have made it any clearer that he loves Spielberg, everything from the setting, to the cinematography and mise-en-scene could have come from late 70s/early 80s Spielberg films. Maybe you could criticise Abrams for being too Spielbergian and having few ideas of his own, but he does undoubtedly put his own mark on the film, once again demonstrating his skill as a character-focused storyteller. After the emotional first act and sensationally realised train crash, the plot does drag a little, and evil army officials seem a little too cliched to make particularly compelling antagonists (though using them does nod to E.T.) The creature itself is also not particularly memorable, but as already stated, Super 8 isn't about the monster, but about people. A very entertaining ride overall, just make sure you sit through the credits!… Expand

   • Helpful? 1 of 1 users said Yes.
3. relm

   7

   Closer to "Goonies" than to "E.T.". I enjoyed this movie but in watching it, even though there is a sense of wonder and nostalgia that is generally missing in movies these days, you realize quickly how rare a talent Steven Spielberg is. Here is what Spielberg did right and some of what is lacking in "Super 8". First, the villain is not flushed out. In E.T., the villain really isn't a villain except in the eyes of the protagonists. "Keys" as he is known in E.T. believed what he was doing was for the greater good. He longed for an experience like Elliot. Unfortunately, he failed to see what the children saw all along, that E.T. was a living being with his own needs and desires. In "Super 8", the villainous Nelec was completely two dimensional and malevolent. The story would have been stronger had the motives been clear for his behavior and especially if his judgment was complex â… Expand

   • Helpful? 2 of 2 users said Yes.
4. NedRyerson1

   4

   Super 8 is one of those movies that seem very promising at the beginning and are a total disappointment at the end. The start of the plot is very attractive and has a mysterious aura that surrounds it; and this feeling of understanding nothing gives the movie an expressionist atmosphere. So is a challenge to solve the problem and connect all the clues. Among the details are reveled, you start perceiving a huge conflict that involves the humankind, worthy of the greatest masters of cinema. This wide situation never stops caring about little human issues; in Super 8 the children are anxious to create a short film, no mattering what they have to do and when the accident occur they take it as a production value, totally delightful.
   All of the above suggest an epic ending, but there was no way that J.J. Abrams could have done it worst. This finale is like the queen of cheap sentimentalism, with a weak screenplay, poor performances and an awful direction; this is an ultimate piece of crap.… Expand

   • Helpful? 2 of 3 users said Yes.

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