“Production value! Production value!” shrieks a budding filmmaker, directing his fellow 12–year–olds in a zombie–noir flick; one can almost hear writer-director J.J. Abrams yelling the same thing as he orchestrates explosions behind the young actors.
In 1979 Ohio, Joe Lamb and his friends are busy filming an amateur movie when an extensive train crash occurs in plain view of their super 8 mm film camera. Soon after the seemingly deliberate wreck, mysterious events and a military occupation throw the small town of Lillian into chaos. With Joe’s deputy father in charge, the young protagonist is left to face the danger aided only by his friends and an obligatory love interest.
Despite the promising premise and a solid young cast, nothing feels new in Super 8. In all fairness, the film doesn’t seem to aim for originality — it appears to be more of an homage to late–era Spielberg, who produced the picture. Yet to say that the film draws influence from Spielberg is a misleading understatement.
What Abrams seems to have done here is to take the most definable characteristics of Spielberg’s oeuvre (sappy stories, mysterious monsters, large budgets) and throw them together in something that can only be described as a failed nostalgic thriller. Cliched attempts to evoke nostalgia in Joe’s coming–of–age tale only draw attention to how removed from the era the picture is.
As a compelling thriller, Super 8 is again largely unsuccessful. Unlike his hero Spielberg, Abrams is unable to deliver on the suspense that builds throughout the film. The “reveal” is a letdown, and not nearly enough to buoy an entire film. Furthermore, Abrams is unable implement the youthful sentimentality that works so well in Spielberg’s better efforts. Super 8 is unable to cohere anything meaningful from either its adolescent or alien premises.
Though extended explosion sequences would seem to ward off accusations of boringness, the genre clichés, small–town stock characters, and lame “surprise” all contribute to a bland pastiche devoid of originality or thrill.
2/5 stars
Super 8 Directed by: J.J. Abrams Starring: Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning PG–13, 112 min.
