Playing homage

Last week, J.J. Abrams secretive new film, Super 8, finally was released. As the trailers for the film were released many speculated on the brief images they saw. How did the train crash? What was being kept in the train? Why are the military now involved in the clean up of this accident? All of these questions get answers as the film unfolds, however, the journey is much more exciting than the actual answers.

As many of you have read and/or surmised this film is, at the core, about childhood friendships. The story revolves around a group of 12 year olds who have a penchant for making their own films and decide to create a zombie movie that they can submit to a film festival. It is while they're shooting said film that they witness the signature train crash.

Let me take a brief moment from summarizing the film to commend J.J. and his crew on the train crash scene. The visuals and sound effects are truly fantastic and really make you feel like you too are in the center of all this mayhem. And an extra special compliment to them for being able to accomplish that without feeling the need to gussy it up with the increasingly unnecessary 3-D gimmick. The film is shot in 2D and looks just fine.

Anyways, in telling this story of these kids, Abrams borrows heavily on the themes and emotions that Steven Spielberg used so effectively in some of his earlier films like E.T. Spielberg, not surprisingly, was an executive producer on the film and his presence is clearly felt. Since he doesn't seem as interested in making these films himself these days, it's nice to see he's passing the torch onto a new generation of filmmakers. The bond between the kids (most of which are unknowns, with the exception of Elle Fanning, Dakota's little sister) is well developed and definitely one of the film's strengths. I liked both the passion and innocence they display as they work together on their movie and then later on as they investigate the weird events surrounding the train crash.

But as we move more into uncovering what really happened and what is lurking out in their town (a fictional suburb of Dayton, which was a nice bonus for me), the film, just like its train begins to derail a bit. It's not the reveal is disappointing, it's that it takes away from what was turning out to be a decent coming-of-age story. As the film becomes more action-oriented, it also loses sight of what it's supposed to be. At the point when the film is meant to reach its emotional climax, it falls flat and almost feels like an afterthought.

The more I reflect on the direction the film takes as it reaches its conclusion, the more it feels like Abrams was possibly making a different film altogether. In a sense, this movie feels as if this was Abrams' version of the film he would have made when he was 12. In that sense, he's attempting to further show his respect for the art of filmmaking and the way an artist can get wrapped up in his own story. If true, I can respect his decisions more. But it's also likely that I may be reading into things more than I should.

Regardless, those who love filmmaking will truly enjoy this film. For those who are more interested in mindless entertainment, this certainly has enough to keep you engaged, but it also may not head in the direction you expect. Almost everyone though will likely have a wave of nostalgia ride over them as you see elements of amazing films of the past incorporated here in an attempt to create a new classic. I'm not convinced it completely achieved that, but Super 8 is still pretty great nonetheless. Grade: B+