Super 8, on DVD

Thu, 12/01/2011 - 9:37am by manz

It’s the summer of 1979 and six young friends witness a train crash while making a super 8 film. The crash is epic as it is, and then the story turns into a mysterious adventure when the boys discover what was on the train and that it has escaped into the night. A series of unexplainable events start wreaking havoc on their small town and Joe, the local deputy’s son, and his pals are keeping their secret and dealing with the consequences.

If you take the science fiction element of E.T., the adventure of The Goonies, young boys fighting evil on their own, as in The Monster Squad, and the thriller element of Cloak and Dagger, all mixed with today’s technology, you might get Super 8. It’s your classic little boy adventure story on a modern scale.

The fact that it’s written and directed J.J. Abrams and produced by Steven Spielberg makes it all the more credible, but it’s still not a perfect film. It has its plot flaws here and there, but it’s cinematically beautiful, and still a fun watch if you’re into those kinds of films. I loved learning that Abrams, the cinematographer, and another producer were friends when they were young and shared a love of movie making and super 8 films. It was fun watching the special features on the DVD and learn of the dream behind the film and their own film ambitions in the late 70s.