‘Super 8?’ Super Not

I can guarantee you that Paramount Pictures hoped that Super 8 would be a huge summer release for them. It was written and directed by J.J. Abrams, who is responsible for the hit TV series Lost, and the very excellent movie Star Trek. It was also produced by the god of summer movies himself, Steven Spielberg, so I can only imagine what the executives responsible for this film expected to get for their summer blockbuster money…

Sigh.

Super 8 is a schizophrenic movie that tries to be two things at once. On the one hand, it’s an emotional treatise on how some single dads fail at parenting, and how film directors are born when they’re in junior high, and how lonely souls seek lonely souls. The best, most authentic moments in the film occur when the kids are relating to each other, trying to understand their lives in the midst of the adult mayhem swirling around them. On the other hand, SPOILER ALERT it’s about an alien who lands on earth and is tortured by an evil American military bent on cracking the code of its innate brilliance.

Here’s what I would tell you, if you were my friend and you called me up and asked, “Should I see Super 8?“

“Save your money. Be nice to someone who doesn’t fit in (it’s not as hard as it looks!) and rent Iron Giant. You’ll save $10 and feel much better about yourself in the morning.”