Super 8

Super 8 (J.J. Abrams, 2011)

Of the many blockbusters released year after year, many have a great debt towards Steven Spielberg's summer classics of Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T., Jurassic Park, etc. Spielberg, being the producer of the latest J.J. Abrams fil, it is no surprise to claim that it revives the whole spirit the good old Spielbergian touch to the summer blockbuster. Actually, since a couple of years, Spielberg kinda lost his approach into filmmaking and his formulaic craft of movies that reminds of the cinematic fun of those delights.

Many recurring Spielberg themes are depicted in Abrams' interesting film that surprise by the influence of the old master but also the mastery of the delivering Abrams strong from his Star Trek and the superb Lost series. Abrams is a very talented storyteller and what needs a gifted storyteller? A great story. Super 8 has a very strong script and the pace of action is pitch perfect. Without being completely overbearing, the rhythm of the story and the interactions between the characters is well handled. The depth of the characters could have been uplifted in some ways but also we talk about fourteen or fifteen years old teenagers...

However, many elements gets the child cinephile in me dreaming. The young team of amateur filmmakers shooting a zombie flick with posters of Dawn of the Dead and Halloween, the young teenage romance, the Jurassic Parkest shots of the possible thing. Well, it makes my cinephile heart happily giggle and the blend of genres without being overwhelming while capturing the fascination that new discoveries and the sheer innocence that only can get me into the film.

Finally, the strong effort of Super 8 makes this film a nice contender in my personal top films of 2011. It's been a while since I actually enjoyed a good old blockbuster and this one was a pure pleasure from start to finish. A very efficient film that I recommend to everyone who has been amazed by the classic era of Steven Spielberg.