When Super 8 landed in theaters in 2011, it served as the ultimate tribute by J.J. Abrams to a filmmaker who clearly had an enormous influence over him—Steven Spielberg. Super 8 is very much a Spielbergian-type film, what with its youthful protagonists, ever-present aliens, and conspiracies flying as fast as one of those UFOs. The flick has gotten the most supremely awesome of 4K upgrades and continues to provide a breath of fresh air, a decade after its initial release.
Hollywood is still desperate need of originality and epic blockbusters — and Super 8 delivers on both fronts.
The story of a group of middle-school kids making a film using the titular format during their late 70s summer vacation is the kind of adolescent innocence we can all relate to, and it’s featured extraordinarily well in this film.
The kids have decided to make a film about zombies using a Super 8 camera for a film festival coming up. They sneak out one night to film scenes at a train station when they witness a devastating train crash. The film leaves you guessing right from the beginning with a myriad of questions that fuel the plot.
Why are all the town’s dogs running away? What is exactly trying to get off of that train and why are there military agents on an apparent secret operation trying to dispose of the evidence?
What’s is going on?
The questions are endless, and you just want to keep watching to find out what the heck is going to happen next.
Abrams does a terrific job of integrating the kids and adults into the film. The kids are treated with equal sophistication as the adults in the film and they are just as important, if not, more important to the plot. He and Spielberg have always had a knack for getting the best performances out of their youthful cast.
The performances from these young actors are astounding and even though the plot is intense and action-packed, the kids are hilarious! All were relative newcomers to the scene, they each deliver their lines with brilliant ease and every conversation is so completely natural, you feel like you’re eavesdropping on their summer adventures. Of course, we now know one of them really well and that is Elle Fanning.
Among the standouts in Super 8 is Joel Courtney, who brings both sweetness and heroic determination to the screen. Similar to Spielberg’s other masterpiece E.T., the kids are the stars and Courtney leads the pack with a maturity that is not common among first-timers.
Fanning also holds her own as the only girl in a group of rowdy young boys. She has already displayed tremendous talent growing up on the big screen and this film is essentially an archival piece illustrating what a talent the young actress possesses, even ten years prior.
Abrams would go on to take the helm on the Star Wars final trilogy in the Skywalker realm. But in 2011, he was all about being Super.
The cinematographic technique in Super 8 of a movie within a movie could be confusing and just too much, but that is not the case with this film. The layers give the film another element that makes it even better than if it were one story. The kids’ attempts to get this movie done creates much-needed comic relief and provides another brilliant element to this great film.
Even with the layered storylines, the film has a simplicity that is charming and appropriate for the summer vacation vibe. It doesn’t force any opinion or ideas on the audiences, it simply provides a great story.
The special effects are like no-other. The train crash scene brings the audience on an unbelievable journey from the first cart exploding to the final disaster scene that just engulfs the kids in its magnificence and epic landscape.
Super 8 is not just an action movie — it is a beautifully scripted drama with real character development and heart. It just also happens to have amazing special effects and a mystery you won’t want to miss.
On the 4K Ultra HD Disc, viewers get the feature film in 4K, as well as a terrific commentary track by Abrams, Bryan Burk, and Larry Fong.
There also is a slew of bonus features that you will want to dive into immediately after concluding Super 8 in a format that has never sounded or looked better.
Among the bonus feature highlights:
- The Dream Behind Super 8 (HD)
- The Search for New Faces (HD)
- Meet Joel Courtney (HD)
- Rediscovering Steel Town (HD)
- The Visitor Lives (HD)
- Scoring Super 8 (HD)
- Do You Believe in Magic? (HD)
- The 8mm Revolution (HD)
- Easter Eggs (HD)
- Deconstructing the Train Crash (HD)
- Deleted Scenes (HD)
Film Grade: A
Bonus Features: A