Super 8

Super 8, whose first teaser was released a year before the premiere, is an ambitious project that recycles all of the clichés of the genre and the period. J.J. Abrams is brilliant in the technical aspects, but the scope of his imagination and sense of consistency are not enough to create an equally brilliant script. This is evidenced by the film’s biggest shortcoming – the sloppy, stupid ending. Super 8 is not boring, and it has a nice 1980s atmosphere and skillful child actors, but it lacks suspense and surprises. It’s a wannabe horror (and let’s be frank – unnecessary) version of E.T., which an older viewer will watch without much excitement, while the contemporary teen audience, raised on Lord of the Rings, The Matrix and Twilight, won’t find anything of interest in it. Abrams should have paid homage to a great artist who inspired him to become a film enthusiast in the form of a letter instead of keeping us in anticipation of a remarkable film event for a whole year, in vain. (09/08/2011)

It is evident that nostalgia does a lot because Abrams made his film as a clear tribute to Spielberg's 80s family sci-fi films E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Not only does he keep up with them, but at least when it comes to effects, cinema has advanced a bit, making it a more enticing spectacle for today's audience. Such a train derailment and subsequent catastrophe full of explosions and flying wagons must bring excitement to every fan of flashy blockbusters. Nevertheless, Abrams received considerably weaker reception and significant doubts. After all, in terms of subject matter and directorial style, today's cinema has moved somewhere else, more toward comic book and video game adaptations. As for Abrams' direction, I can't fault anything, he has a good eye for casting child actors and Elle Fanning is so adorable to the point that praising her to express my sympathies toward this young actress would risk accusations of pedophilia. Abrams knows how to work well with child actors and has a sense for careful tension-building. But what can I say, I have also outgrown this production, and when I recently revisited Spielberg's filmography, films like Jaws, Duel, etc., despite being old, they still worked on me just as they did before, but Close Encounters and E.T. really disappointed me. It's just not the same anymore. Overall impression: 55%. (06/23/2014)

This film is so simple that it’s not even nice. Yes, Abrams knows how to ignite the protagonists, himself, and even the viewer. Yes, it is a sincere film that won't offend anyone. But everything is a cliché worn a hundred times over that often leaves you astonished, unfortunately not in a completely positive sense. It is perhaps a slightly unconventional film about aliens (from the perspective of the predominantly child main characters), but that doesn't make it valuable. But it can’t be denied that Abrams knows how to direct actors, the chemistry between the main characters is excellent. There's no need to dissect the visuals, that is already clear, but having the feeling that for 112 minutes I am essentially watching a children's film, that probably wasn't the intention (family entertainment). A quite hesitant film. The trailer was probably about 200 percent better. (01/07/2012)

Abrams is a trendsetter, not a plagiarist, and this split between the creator's founding and the essence of his project can be seen in Super 8. But that's not the only schism: consider that Super 8 is supposed to be a children's movie, but it's actually much more for the "dad" generation. The current "youth with headphones on" (to paraphrase one of the film's characters) has little chance of applauding the precision of the compliments J.J. pays to the great master, and I, as a generational target suckled by Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T., was wrong about the ending, which was clearly directed at greedy audiences suckled by rather modern blockbusters. Abrams should have just made a choice - either totally consistent retro or updated modernity. I can't say I didn't enjoy Super 8 on the contrary. The first half in particular is luxurious, and when I remembered in one ultra-Spielberg scene that I was sitting in the same movie theatre where I had once breathlessly watched E.T. in the days of normalization, if felt pleasant goosebumps go over my body. Unfortunately, the goosebumps did not last through the finale, where the mysterious originator of all the phenomenon unmasks himself and looks too forgettable. And the kids are right when they say to themselves so often: "Shut up, already!" They should indeed have shut up. The version with dubbing is a clear ***, aware of the atrocious one-liners spoken by the little Czech bastards, I conditionally give to the fairly questionable project of J.J. Abrams one extra star. (08/25/2011)

What the heck, disposable action deities may hark back to the glory days, but do we no longer like to take a nostalgic look back at adventure sci-fi movies that were family friendly in the sense that there was something for everyone? I don't really understand. In my opinion, Super 8 is really cool. Technically, it is incredibly perfect, and plot-wise, it is a cinematic treat in the spirit of the films of Steven Spielberg, Joe Dante and Robert Zemeckis. J.J. Abrams pays the same homage to Spielberg that Michael Giacchino pays to John Williams (again) with his amazing soundtrack, the child actors perform flawlessly, the atmosphere is properly magical, suspenseful and often quite sweetly (intentionally, of course) funny, and I don't even need to mention the ILM special effects. No, I really have nothing to complain about regarding this film. (11/24/2012)