Super 8 [REVIEW]

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Super 8

With Wit, Reviewed By Kimmo Mustonenen

From the title, Super 8 ad spectacular: we’ll travel through (and in) time.

Indeed, when the Amblin logo fills the screen, supported by a bombastic score and air, we’re back in the early 80s, when Steven Spielberg directed, and edited stories for teens bursting of monsters and wonders (the stories, not the teens so much).

The reference to the glorious era of Gremlins or Back to the Future is fully assumed by JJ Abrams, who grew up before these movies long before he became the instigator of the series Alias and Lost (what the hell – just me, or you, too?), then offer breathe new life sagas Mission: Impossible and Star Trek.

Officially sponsored by the director of E.T., he declares his love here cinematic without ever falling into the trap of slavish imitation or wink supported (with a nudge maybe).

For Super 8 has its own personality and obviously draws much of his inspiration from childhood memories of the filmmaker (which are his).

We are in 1979, at the end of the school year, in a quiet village in Ohio (my city was gone!  See that?).

A small group of teenagers, who runs a cheese eating zombie film in Super 8 under the influence of George Romero, is witnessing a train wreck extremely spectacular.  Following this accident, the townspeople begin disappearing and strange phenomena are increasing.  While the army began to occupy the place and the police seem powerless, our young heroes seem the only ones who can undercover the truth.

While most seem kind of compulsory figures at the rendezvous, JJ Abrams deftly slaloms between all the clichés strewn in his path, refusing archetype (take that, Joseph Campbell!) and a caricature (flights very overrated The Goonies) in favor of a strong dramatic structure protagonists and extremely touching (not like that).

The hair-raising action sequences (the crash of the train is a piece of anthology that will probably date and harm your ear holes) do not ever thus on the characters, vehicles with humor (what?), tenderness and emotion. 

Super 8 affirms the move as a real balancing act, halfway between the sincere nostalgia (those who have experienced the joys and frustrations of short films in 8 mm will have their memories refreshed), the constant quest for originality (the scenario does constantly take us by the nose to a climax of beauty – yes!) and assumed tribute to the cinema of Steven Spielberg, whose omnipresent shadow seems to hover over the entire film.

Alternately, Close Encounters Third Kind, E.T., The Jaws, Jurassic Park and even The War of the Worlds (Scientology!)there are visual and thematic correspondences, while the sumptuous soundtrack written by Michael Giacchino pays tribute to the symphonies of John Williams.

However, Abrams keeps the style of its own, both in writing his dialogues in his visual bias (the famous “lens flare” of Star Trek are always of the party – where the guest stay too long and make sick on the toilet).

So this is a work in a state of grace, which almost miraculous alchemy stems both from its authors at its magnificent cast of young actors vying for accuracy and spontaneity.

Apparently there are two Fannings.  The world is a better place yet.

Kimmo Mustonenen – Behind The Proscenium