Grade: B

The summer blockbuster season continues on this week with Super 8. The latest movie from J.J. Abrams & Steven Speilberg. Now there’s one thing I like in directors, and both of these guys posses it consistency of greatness. These two names alone set my expectations bar pretty high.

For those of you who don’t know anything about the film, here’s the premise. It’s based in a small town where a group of middle school kids are working on creating a small zombie film during the summer. They are witness to a train crash, that unleashes a monster of sorts on the town. The government is trying to keep it all under wraps. While the kids are curious about the strange occurrences in the town and what they witnessed.

So like I said before I had really high expectations and hopes for this movie.  Unfortunately I don’t feel like it quite lived up to them. I know plenty well that expectations lead to disappointment. And there are elements of the film that were fantastic so don’t get me wrong. I didn’t hate it by any means, I just wasn’t as blown away as I was prepared to be.

For instance the casting of the kids and their performances were spot on perfection, they are the best part about the movie.  The train crash looked amazing, the trailer only gives you a glimpse of it. But by far my favorite thing in the entire film was the inclusion of the kids Super 8 movie during the credits, just simply fantastic.

What I didn’t love was how the film felt like Speilberg decided to mash a handful of his films together to make it.  It had elements of The Goonies, E.T., and even Close Encounters. I know he has to have some sort of fresh idea’s hidden away somewhere, there’s no good excuse. I was also incredibly disappointed with the monster when they finally showed it. The man who built a full sized T-Rex for Jurassic Park couldn’t be bothered with making a practical version of the “monster,” instead it was all CGI? Really? And as for Abrams, lay off the lens flares. It works in a movie that takes place in space like Star Trek.. but in Super 8, not so much.

But like I said, it I didn’t hate it, I just didn’t love it. It was alright and I’d probably watch it again with no complaints. It was entertaining and funny, I just really wanted to love this movie. I wanted it to be the next great thing from these two amazing film makers. I just feel like it slightly missed its mark. The folks that will enjoy this film the most are those who grew up watching Spielberg’s movies. A fair warning to parents before you go, some youngsters might get scared during some scenes.