Is Super 8 Really All That Super?

Writer/director J.J. Abrams (Star Trek, Cloverfield) teams with producer Steven Spielberg for this nostalgic period sci-fi thriller set in the late '70s. The movie centers on a group of young friends who are caught in the middle of a cataclysmic train derailment while filming a zombie flick on their super 8 camera. Shortly after, the military arrives to clean up the mess, and a mysterious creature, released by the train crash, begins to trash the town and abduct the locals.


While I found the movie entertaining, I couldn't help but feel that it was not terribly unique. The banter and affection of the children harken back to Stephen King's Stand By Me. The character conflicts gave me a sense of deja vu. Almost every element of the film felt very calculated, with all the standard character tropes in place: "the distant father", "the fat kid", "the overbearing military guy", "the fire bug", etc. etc.  With appropriate character growth / redemption for everybody by film's end. 


Though the film had a very sweet and organic heart at the outset, it was definitely groomed to be a summer blockbuster, much to its detriment. I almost felt like I had watched two different films: the movie Abrams wanted to make, and the product that he had to turn in to his bosses.  I  had hoped Abrams would show a little bravery here and there and buck the status quo a bit while I was watching, but in the end, what he created was exactly what one would expect of a Hollywood Summer Blockbuster... Fun, but nothing new.