(MOVIE REVIEW) Super 8 is easily a 10

When is a monster movie not a monster movie? When it’s also a comedy. I love when a movie transcends its own genre. When a movie is billed as a monster movie and you sit in your seat, expecting nothing but destruction, and end up with a movie that works on so many more levels than you ever thought that it would.  J.J Abrams (producer and director) is extremely gifted when it come to delivering these types of genre crossing projects. His television shows have consisted of Alias, Lost and Fringe and feature films include movies like Star Trek, Cloverfield, the Mission Impossible franchise and now Super 8.

Super 8 gets its title from camera film of the same name. This is the particular film that a group of friends in a small town in 1979 use to shoot their homemade monster movies. When they go to the local train depot to shoot a scene they decide to shoot with an oncoming train in the background. When this train derails, they have to make a run for it. While scrambling from the fallout of the crash their camera is overturned and records the whole ordeal, and what it records is something they cannot believe. Something was in that train…and it got out. When the military comes to town and starts to investigate, all while keeping the townsfolk in the dark, the kids decide to take it upon themselves to get to the bottom of the strange events that have been recently plaguing their small town. What they find is something that they never expected, and what takes place is something that they will never forget. 

Have you ever wished that you could combine two of your favorite movies into one and see what the result would be? I have, and this movie is it. It’s like someone combined Cloverfield with The Goonies. It is full of comedy, major tear jerking moments, great acting and lots of monstrous mayhem. 

Worth the admission? Absolutely! I rarely buy movies these days, but this one will be on my shelf the minute it is released. It succeeds on so many levels and is fun for everyone. I laughed a lot during this movie but actually laughed out loud at least 3 times. That is a rare thing for me in a theater. 

If you have some favorite movies from your childhood that you would compare Super 8 to, let me know what they are.