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Super 8
J.J. Abrams, 2011
It was over a year ago that we received that first mysterious trailer for Super 8. A car crashing into a train causing a giant explosion, but there was something on that train. So from there on, the hype had begun. It wasn’t until the beginning of this year that we received a full trailer really showing what it was supposed to be like, homage to early Spielberg films – which it was. As I was watching it there was just a huge tide of nostalgia that just hit me constantly throughout.
Abrams really catches the feel of the seventies and of early Spielberg films, which is what I thought he was trying to go for. Everything looked so authentic of the seventies, except the song that played at the beginning - I swear that sounds like a recent song. Nonetheless, it still captures it perfectly for me. Of course, as you should expect Abrams does throw some of his usual stuff in there, like the blue lenses flare for example.
As I was leaving the theater, I was hearing complaints about the story from friends of mine. One of them even said that “it reminded them too much of a Stephen King book”. I on the other hand saw it as more of a modern version of E.T. with elements from different films thrown in all around. Also, The ending for me just screamed Spielberg, and I thought it was a wonderful way to end it.
As far as my first viewing goes, I caught numerous Spielberg references throughout. The entire ploy with the monster plays out just like Jaws, which I loved. At first I was upset because I had been waiting so long to see the monster, but making you wait towards the end to finally see the monster really ends up paying off. Another quick reference I noticed was when the electrician was on the forklift in the trees. The way that shot was done reminded me so much of Jurassic Park and I loved that they included it.
I was a bit deceived on what I thought it was going to end up being like. I was hoping for more of something like E.T, where the boy and alien have a special bond; whereas, it ended up being more like Cloverfield. It’s definitely not a bad thing per say, but it just wasn’t what I was expecting.
I thought the little boy did a superb job, ranking in the same ranks as Henry Thomas for me. Once again though, I was not expecting it to be more of a love story between him and the girl. Though all of theses deviations from what I thought it was going to be originally be like, actually made it better, I think. It kept it from being just a re-hash of older films and let it be something original, even if it does still have elements of previous films.
I also want to point out that the mini-film that played during the credits just added so much more to the experience for me. I’m so glad they decided to include it.
Seeing this last night just really brought me back to my childhood. It actually might not deserve as high of rating as I’m giving it, but there’s just such a strong nostalgia to it for me that I have to. I see myself being able to watch this over and over without getting sick, as it is with most Spielberg films for me. Abrams really nailed the Spielberg feel that I think he was going for.
J.J. Abrams, 2011
It was over a year ago that we received that first mysterious trailer for Super 8. A car crashing into a train causing a giant explosion, but there was something on that train. So from there on, the hype had begun. It wasn’t until the beginning of this year that we received a full trailer really showing what it was supposed to be like, homage to early Spielberg films – which it was. As I was watching it there was just a huge tide of nostalgia that just hit me constantly throughout.
Abrams really catches the feel of the seventies and of early Spielberg films, which is what I thought he was trying to go for. Everything looked so authentic of the seventies, except the song that played at the beginning - I swear that sounds like a recent song. Nonetheless, it still captures it perfectly for me. Of course, as you should expect Abrams does throw some of his usual stuff in there, like the blue lenses flare for example.
As I was leaving the theater, I was hearing complaints about the story from friends of mine. One of them even said that “it reminded them too much of a Stephen King book”. I on the other hand saw it as more of a modern version of E.T. with elements from different films thrown in all around. Also, The ending for me just screamed Spielberg, and I thought it was a wonderful way to end it.
As far as my first viewing goes, I caught numerous Spielberg references throughout. The entire ploy with the monster plays out just like Jaws, which I loved. At first I was upset because I had been waiting so long to see the monster, but making you wait towards the end to finally see the monster really ends up paying off. Another quick reference I noticed was when the electrician was on the forklift in the trees. The way that shot was done reminded me so much of Jurassic Park and I loved that they included it.
I was a bit deceived on what I thought it was going to end up being like. I was hoping for more of something like E.T, where the boy and alien have a special bond; whereas, it ended up being more like Cloverfield. It’s definitely not a bad thing per say, but it just wasn’t what I was expecting.
I thought the little boy did a superb job, ranking in the same ranks as Henry Thomas for me. Once again though, I was not expecting it to be more of a love story between him and the girl. Though all of theses deviations from what I thought it was going to be originally be like, actually made it better, I think. It kept it from being just a re-hash of older films and let it be something original, even if it does still have elements of previous films.
I also want to point out that the mini-film that played during the credits just added so much more to the experience for me. I’m so glad they decided to include it.
Seeing this last night just really brought me back to my childhood. It actually might not deserve as high of rating as I’m giving it, but there’s just such a strong nostalgia to it for me that I have to. I see myself being able to watch this over and over without getting sick, as it is with most Spielberg films for me. Abrams really nailed the Spielberg feel that I think he was going for.