Super 8 (2011)

Super 8 is a film about five children who witness a train crash, which leads to some interesting consequences.

I didn't know what to expect of the film but found it really let me down for a few reasons. The first, the bad language in the film that was totally unnecessary. While crude language works in some films, adds to the effect, in this the language wasn't needed at all. The fact that it was children using the language also made it more inappropriate to me.

The second factor that I felt made the film worse was the mistakes in the film. At one point, a car explodes and when the group of kids inspect the wreckage they find the driver, still alive. So not only was the car not destroyed, (even though we clearly saw it explode), but the driver got off with no more than a slight head injury.

I also noticed that the film changed genres from time to time. It was romance in some parts, action in others, as well as thriller, comedy, and sci-fi. Frankly, I think the film would have worked as any one of these genres, but not a jumble of all of them.

I had mixed opinions about the direction of Super 8. I've seen some of JJ Abrams' other work, and was aware of his trademark flare in some shots, but I was really distracted by it while watching this film. Maybe it was because I was more gripped by his other films, or maybe the flare was just over the top in Super 8, but I found it distracting and difficult to concentrate on the film. However, without the flare, JJ Abrams' compositions and camera movements were very effective.

What really drove Super 8 was the acting. Considering most of the main cast were very young, generally inexperienced actors I was very impressed by their talent, particularly the main guy and girl. I think it also helped that they weren't well known people, as that made it easier to get into the film and focus less on the cast.

Overall, I wouldn't recommend the film and wouldn't watch it again.