Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Childhood Friendships: Quick Review of "Super 8"

I saw "Super 8" last night. It revolves around a group of small-town pre-teens who while filming an amateur zombie movie stumble across an extraterrestrial being on the run from ruthless military types.


I'll tell you below what I thought of the movie overall, but first I want to note that I really enjoyed that at the center of the story was the close friendship of the 5 pre-teen protagonists. I seem to have a soft spot for these types of movies--"Stand By Me," "Sandlot" and "Goonies" come to mind. Sure "Super 8" could have been easily been scripted without this pure adolescent camaraderie dynamic, but then it would have just been a typical horror flick with its stock adolescent characters.


Overall "Super 8" fell short and I think it had a lot more potential. I left the theater feeling like I had just watched a modern remake of ET (with some "Goonies"-type kids thrown in). Yes, the camaraderie dynamic was compelling, the kids' acting was great and I did jump out of my seat a couple of times even though I'm not generally a jumper. But unlike "Sandlot" and "Goonies," which I can watch over and over, I doubt I'd elect to see "Super 8" again, the intense camaraderie notwithstanding.


The truth is I even felt a bit ripped off, particularly for having seen it in IMAX. But it's ok, as at the very least I did get to spend the evening with two of my own long-time friends as we continue our real life camaraderie.


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2 comments:

mother in israel said...

You would like the book "Rocket Boys," then, a memoir of pre-teens inspired by space exploration.

abba's rantings said...

thanks for the recommendation!