JJ Abrams is one of the hottest names in tv/movies today. Steven Spielberg is the all-time master of the popcorn flick.. whether you're talking Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, ET, Jurassic Park or Indiana Jones, Spielberg knows how to craft a classic crowd pleasing flick and good time at the movies. The famously secretive Abrams is fresh (somewhat) off of 2009's fantastic "Star Trek" reboot, and when I found out about this one.. I became more and more excited as details continued to slowly leak out. So needless to say, when I heard JJ Abrams + Spielberg + 80's retro + aliens/monsters + kids.. I immediately thought "AWE-SOME, where do I sign up?". Abrams is a sci-fi master, and Spielberg is directly responsible for creating or influencing small-scale movie aliens as we know them today.. match made in heaven? Possibly. When I found out Kyle Chandler, aka Coach Taylor, aka "the guy I wish was my dad even though I love my dad" for folks nationwide was going to be starring... my state of excitement began to resemble low-level arousal. This flick, along with Captain America, is my #1 most anticipated of my summer.. so when an opportunity came to catch it a couple of days early, I jumped at it.. even if that required sitting in the midst of all sorts of rabble, including a guy who was wearing tube socks on his arms. (If there's one thing crazy people love more than being crazy, it's free shit..) So with clear eyes and a full heart, here goes nothing..In small town Ohio (the flick is set somewhere outside of Dayton) in 1979 (it's never explicitly stated, but they mention 3 Mile Island on the news), a young boy, Joe Lamb, has just lost his mother in an awful industrial accident. He lives alone with his father, Coach, er, the town Deputy. His group of friends are a plucky bunch, and spend their time helping their friend Charles with his Super 8 zombie movie. (something tells me this is how Spielberg and Abrams spent their summers) Joe does the sound and makeup, and is also pretty talented at making models. He's a pretty quiet kid.. generally dominated by his louder and more aggressive friends. After recruiting the prettiest girl in school (they are either in 7th or 8th grade - we see their last day at middle school), the group takes a fateful trip to an old train station outside of town (for "production value). While filming a scene, the gang witnesses a horrible train derailment, an event that would prove to be fateful for them all, and the town. I'll spare the spoilers.. but needless to say, the train has some connection with the US military, and the mysterious events befalling the town in its wake may be more nefarious than first appears. Amongst the investigation, cover-up and such, our gang of plucky kids attempts to finish their zombie movie.
First, this is an outstanding flick. The sense of childlike wonderment, a certain precocious innocence peculiar to that age and time period and adventure is pitch-perfect. The acting is outstanding.. the lead, Joel Courtney.. can seem a little overpowered by his friends at times, but I'm not sure if that's the script or the actor. Elle Fanning (Dakota's little sister) is simply outstanding as the pretty gal from across the tracks who surprisingly agrees to help out with the movie. A sense of mystery pervades the film's first 2/3rds, while the final act becomes your classic "kid mission". This flick captures perfectly the nostalgic spirit of the time period.. when everything was less cynical and not quite so dark. The kids share a completely believable bond, and come off as an authentic group of 13-14 year old kids. This flick is sort of ET meets Stand By Me meets a monster movie... but definitely more "ET" than say, "War of the Worlds". The action is an afterthought here.. it takes a backseat to the characters... which is how it should be, in my humble opinion. Chandler is great as the overwhelmed Deputy struggling with being a widower and single parent to his son that he doesn't really have much in common with. At times sweet, funny, moving, harrowing and exciting... this flick combines much of what is great about flicks. Don't go to have your worldview fundamentally challenged or altered.. go for some great directing, great acting, and a fun story with great characters. The film is at its best when the monster is in the background.. and I, as a child of the 80's, loved it. As a small caveat... the theater I saw this one in had the volume turned up to 1100000.. the action sequences were uncomfortably loud. So I am making my review under the assumption that this was a theater error and not something fundamental about the film. If the flick is in fact this loud for some mysterious reason, adjust my score a full point down.
Do yourself a favor and see this one, the best movie of the summer season so far. 8.5/10
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