Super 8 tries to be a lot like ET (1982). Somewhere along the way however, it loses its emotional appeal and becomes more of a science fiction thriller.
Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney) is a young boy who is fascinated with building objects. His father has become estranged ever since his mother died and the only thing Joe seems to have for support are his seven other friends (hence the title—Super 8).
I enjoyed the special bond between Joe and his friends, and how they each have their own area of expertise. You see Charles (Riley Griffiths) is hoping to make a movie, and one kid knows a lot about explosives (Cary), one kid is a good engineer (Joe) and another is an awesome actress (Alice), etc. Anyway, their lives are drastically changed when while they’re shooting, they become firsthand witnesses to a train accident. The scene is rather spectacular, exhibiting a domino-effect sequence, as parts of the train explode one by one. The kids discover odd things at the event of the accident and through other eccentric occurrences and their own investigations come to the conclusion that there is an alien terrorizing their town.
What I liked the most about Super 8 were the special effects and the sweetness and innocence of the main characters that unfortunately gets diluted by the action.
So is Super 8 any E.T? I don’t think so.
