Snitch
Ric Roman Waugh, 2013
Score: C
Super 8
"You know what this feels like to me? This feels like a Russian invasion."
One of the several throughlines in J.J. Abrams’ eagerly-awaited Super 8 involves a plucky group of kids in late-70s small-town Ohio attempting to make a zombie movie. Thanks to a surprising facility with fake blood and monster make-up, they’ve got the kill scenes down; what they need is a story. The budding auteur among them, wide-eyed and heavy-set Charles (Riley Griffiths), has an instinct about how to make it work: give the main character a wife, and insert a scene of the two of them saying goodbye. “I just don’t understand how giving him a wife makes it a story,” says his friend Joe (Joel Courtney). Charles’ answer is stunningly eloquent: “You feel something,” he says. “You don’t want them to die because they love each other.”
Just so. Sadly, that insight is also more or less a diagnosis of what’s wrong with Super 8, which falls far short of the rousing E.T.-style emotional pull that’s transparently Abrams’ goal. What he ends up with instead is an awkward, overstuffed adventure that wears its influences on its sleeve but doesn’t deliver on their promises. It’s kinda funny, and kinda cool, and kinda fun, but in the end you feel — basically — nothing.
Precisely why is a bit hard to pin down, but I suspect the film’s (admirable) ambition is among the culprits. Super 8 is so busy that it drowns itself. Abrams’ screenplay tries to distill everything important about childhood — friendship, loss, passion, imagination, first love — and compress it, PowerBar-style, into what is, just by-the-by, also a monster movie about a military cargo train derailment releasing something sinister into our heroes’ unsuspecting small Ohio town. It’s not every film that can carry so much baggage, and Super 8 isn’t up to the challenge. It buckles under the weight; turns misshapen, unwieldy.
I’m not talking about thematic ambition here so much as storylines. Joe, our 12 year-old protagonist, is mourning the loss of his mother — the opening scenes elegantly convey her death — in an unspecified worksite accident — and its aftermath. He has a tough relationship with his loving but gruff father (Kyle Chandler), the town deputy sheriff who can’t conceive of how he’s going to raise the kid on his own, and proposes, to begin with, that Joe go away to baseball camp for the summer instead of helping Charles finish his movie. The star of Charles’ movie, by the way, is Alice (Elle Fanning), the pretty girl Joe fancies, though Joe’s dad has forbidden their friendship because her dad is a bum who may have had something to do with the aforementioned worksite accident. The kids — Joe, Charles, Alice, and a few others — witness the train crash while filming Charles’ husband-wife goodbye scene. Soon the Air Force is in town, led by the menacing Colonel Nemec (Noah Emmerich), butting heads with the police, including Joe’s dad. Then something starts stealing all of the town’s electrical supplies, causing brown-outs. The school’s biology teacher is arrested and interrogated. Information starts to drip out, causing the town to question whether the Air Force is covering up a Russian invasion. The kids know better — the train crash released something otherworldly into the town. But what?
The movie lurches and flails to account for all this mess. The shifts in tone are jarring and abrupt; it’s jokey and sarcastic one moment, gee-whiz-awed the next, then suddenly a horror film, then a tearjerker. Everything feels a bit malnourished. The relationships among the kids are meant to evoke a wispy Stand by Me sort of nostalgia — “I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?” — but the characters never get a chance to breathe; the movie’s always tending to one plotline or another. The sci-fi angle doesn’t build any steam until the last forty minutes, and goes nowhere even then; it really does turn out to be Cloverfield meets E.T., and it feels cynical. There are some lovely moments (a climactic confrontation has exactly the sort of emotional energy and commitment the rest of the movie lacks), and some very funny ones, and J.J. Abrams knows how to build momentum within a scene, but the whole experience feels flat, curiously uninteresting despite all of the running around.
Super 8 is being rampantly compared to vintage Spielberg — I’ve done it myself here at least twice. The comparison is both apt, since Abrams clearly has Spielberg on the mind, and revealing. The clearest direct homage here is in the final scene, which is supposed to be stirring and soaring but, at least for me, just didn’t register. Whatever else may be said about Steven Spielberg, the guy knew how to make us “feel something.” J.J. Abrams still has a ways to go.
-- Eugene Novikov
| Released: | 2011 |
|---|---|
| Genres: | Adventure, Fantasy, Action, Sci-Fi, Family, Horror, Thriller |
| Starring: | Joel Courtney, Riley Griffiths, Ryan Lee, Zach Mills, Gabriel Basso, Kyle Chandler, Elle Fanning., Ron Eldard |
| Directed by: | J.J. Abrams |
| Screenwriters: | J.J. Abrams |
| Rated: | PG-13 |
A+ review on a C- movie. I couldn’t agree more!
This is a great review! You hit the nail on the head. I couldn’t quite figure out what was wrong with this movie besides the obvious holes in the plot – but you got it. Everyone has failed to mention, though, the disrespect paid to the cast and crew by tacking the kids’ distracting home movie on the end while the credits were rolling. As an indie filmmaker, I know that sometimes the credits are almost as important to the cast and crew as the film itself. Seeing your name on the big screen is very validating. But then again, I don’t pay my cast or crew top $$$ union wages as I’m sure they got here. Just my two cents.
I read good reviews for this movie before I saw it last night. I walked away very disappointed. There was simply NOTHING original. Super 8 was a compilation of Stand By Me/Goonies/ Alien/ET. I was half expecting to see a rainbow when the ship took off!
I think it misses its mark with all the jumping around. It doesn’t give you time to really care about the characters.
I will, however, give very high marks to Elle Fanning. A joy to watch and she will go far.
You should watch Phoebe in Wonderland with Ms. Fanning. One of the best child performances I’ve ever seen.
I’ll look it up. Thank you!
Nothing original! Look past the storyline you myopic guttersnipe. That was some of the most well-written, realistic and original portrayls of childhood interaction/dialogue I’ve ever seen! Far better than Stand By Me. Which, by the way, you uninformed commoner is based on a short story by Stephen King! Oh the originality!!!
Ah, you petty fools. Super 8 was easily one of the best movies of the 21st century. Yes, unlike many of you, I have the balls to say a contemporary movie is truly great despite it being untested by time. Spielberg hardly influenced Abrams. If you disagree, watch an episode of Lost. You’ll find that sometimes a science fiction tale isn’t always about the story but the characters. An aspect many of Spielberg’s movies lack. All in all, Abrams’ masterpiece seemlessly imbues the ideals of both romantacism and realism, leaving the audience (if they are still in touch with their childhood) with emotional transcendence, much like Lost.
J.J.’s “problem” if I may be so bold, is many of his characters and ideas transcend or vanish without any viable explanation. I watched EVERY episode of LOST and I still don’t know what happened to several of those characters. The trouble is he’s so creative and so prolific he forgets to tie up loose ends and leaves a lot of issues unanswered. I’m a petty fool who needs ANSWERS – especially if I invest six years of my life to a story line. (Actually, I watched the whole first five seasons in two months because I was addicted from the pilot episode.)
Did you watch this movie with a bag over your head? There were Spielberg influences all ALL OVER THE PLACE! There’s nothing wrong with paying homage to a master as long as you find your own voice and give it your brand. J.J’s brand is weaving so many subplots that they can’t all possibly be resolved. He’s a filmmaker with A.D.D. but that’s what makes him so brilliant.
He takes you places that no other filmmaker would think to go. He just doesn’t tell you how to “phone home”.
Don’t get me wrong, Paul. I am a diehard JJ fan. “Alias” got me through many a 3rd shift late-night and brought an excitement I hadn’t seen on television in years. The first three seasons of “Lost” was some of the best TV anyone had ever seen. (I hung in through seasons 4-5 and I made it through season 6 only to be disappointed by the finale – blasphemy, I know) and MI3 was a superb action film. And as a Star Trek nerd I have to say that the JJ movie was the best of the entire series, hands down.
I think “Super 8″ needed a rewrite to fix some holes. Great character development and amazing CGI does not a great film make. Spielberg has had some stinkers but his stories almost always touch your heart and make sense. This one did neither, although there were some great moments between the boy and his dad and he and young Fanning.
Finally, I’m left with two important questions: Did the monster have bad breath and what happened to those dog-gone dogs?
Mr. Weiss- Abrams intentionally leaves out trivial plot developments such as the disappearance of the dogs for they are not an integral part of the story line and would instead serve as a mere distraction. As far as Spielberg’s influence, its a bunch of bs. Abrams just wanted his name in the credits to give the film some publicity. Unfortunately his ploy turned out to be a blunder. It parallels Spielbergs terrible decision to make Kubrick the producer of his movie, A.I. Artificial Intelligence. Critics could not avoid comparing the two science fiction mavens and often deemed what some (including myself) thought was Spieblberg’s most brilliant movie as a slavish alternative to one of Kubrick’s precedent films. If Spielberg’s name had not been in the credits of Super 8, the movie would have been virtually the same but the critique a whole lot nicer. P.S. This movie and Lost profoundly moved me on and emotional level. Also, to everyone: Michael Giacchino influenced Super 8 far more than Spielberg and many others. You’ll indubitably look him up after reading this, but if you had no knowledge of him before hand, you are probably not qualified to critique the film.
Abrams remembers the simple rule that a majority of his contemporaries have forgotten: action and mayhem have meaning only when an audience cares about the people trapped within the maelstrom. And I cared for all of these characters, even that drunk dad that gets arrested in the beginning. Nice Review! Check out mine when you get a chance!
Well said.
Even though I’m pretty sure you just copied that off some review on rotten tomatoes.
I think the movie lost all emotional punch for me when the Air Force rolls into town and seemingly decides to take over and burn the entire town down. I mean, really? And all of these weird things (including a massive train crash) could suddenly be happening in the middle of a town in Ohio and somehow the national news media wouldn’t be all over the place — in 1979?
I was willing to suspend my disbelief when a truck somehow caused a train with at least 50 cars to derail and go to pieces in all sorts of spectacular ways while the driver actually survives (more likely, the car gets pushed for about a mile and the man inside is converted to hamburger). But the military thing was just too much and killed my emotional connection to the story. Which is a shame, because there are so many good emotional moments, especially between Joe and his dad and Joe and Alice.
There were explosives in the train you unattentive septuagenarian. And yes, the military has the power to cover an event up.
Haven’t seen ET/Goonies/Stand By Me/Lost, so no baggage. Enjoyed it. And I expect plot holes, so no angst there. The kids were excellent, I felt I knew them.
There is one plot hole and its not bad.
Spoiler alert!!!! Let me start off by saying that I appreciated the performances of the young actors of Super 8, they each brought the level of character they were asked to. Especially between Courtney and Fanning. With that said, plot holes, anachronisms, and explained stories left me a bit frustrated. Why was the military moving the creature? Why did the teacher have important files and film on the creature in the open and how had he managed to escape with them in the first place? How did the army not find these files once they took over the town, but the kids had no problem locating them? How did a pick-up truck derail an entire freight train? Why was that kid sooo obsessed with fireworks? These questions plagued me so much while watching that I didn’t care about the characters nor their plight. Plus, if I were said alien, after being unjustly tortured for twenty years, if some kid tells me “S#%t happens, get over it…” I’d eat him just outta spite, then hop in my ship, blast the town the smithereens while playing “Enemy” by Godsmack, an added anachronism along with the actual mentioning of ‘Rubik’s cube’. Overall, I can say that I was entertained, but not fulfilled.
To Antuoine Adams: All your questions are easily answered or are unimportant: Q Why was the military moving the creature? A The answer could be any number of things such as the military was moving him closer to the heart of area 51 to keep their operation more covert, but really, whatever the answer is, it doesn’t matter, its trivial. Its like asking why Joe’s dad become a cop. We can assume some logical explanations, but none of them matter. Q Why did the teacher have important files and film on the creature in the open and how had he managed to escape with them in the first place? A He stole them and fled to a small town, hiding under the ingenuous occupation of a highschool biology teacher, completely plausible. Q How did the army not find these files once they took over the town, but the kids had no problem locating them? The army didn’t know about the teacher’s hidden trailer room and couldn’t get any info out of him. Some of the kids who had him as a teacher knew about it. Q How did a pick-up truck derail an entire freight train? There were explosives in the train (Some of which may have been the alien’s cubes). Q Why was that kid sooo obsessed with fireworks? A Great question, it really shows that you know how to analyze a movie. Let me answer it with another, why did he have braces? Idiot.
tries to be more than an action film yet doesn’t make you care about the alien or the characters
Speak for your self you insensible blockhead.
~If you are going to offer no elaboration, that is.
Mr. Weiss- Abrams intentionally leaves out trivial plot developments such as the disappearance of the dogs for they are not an integral part of the story line and would instead serve as a mere distraction. As far as Spielberg’s influence, its a bunch of bs. Abrams just wanted his name in the credits to give the film some publicity. Unfortunately his ploy turned out to be a blunder. It parallels Spielbergs terrible decision to make Kubrick the producer of his movie, A.I. Artificial Intelligence. Critics could not avoid comparing the two science fiction mavens and often deemed what some (including myself) thought was Spieblberg’s most brilliant movie as a slavish alternative to one of Kubrick’s precedent films. If Spielberg’s name had not been in the credits of Super 8, the movie would have been virtually the same but the critique a whole lot nicer. P.S. This movie and Lost profoundly moved me on and emotional level. Also, to everyone: Michael Giacchino influenced Super 8 far more than Spielberg and many others. You’ll indubitably look him up after reading this, but if you had no knowledge of him before hand, you are probably not qualified to critique the film.
The kids were pretty funny, but the ending was really lame. So anticlimactic. It just kind of ends.
“It just kind of ends.” Brilliant! Ingenious! Why, I do think we’ve found the next Ebert ladies and gentlemen! How about next time you decide to critique an exquisitely crafted and byzantine film you say something my fart couldn’t tell me. Ant, hmph, an apt description of your intellect.
I will NEVER again trust critics from Rottentomatoes.I took my wife to see this EPICLY HUGE TURKEY based on the 80% PLUS POSITIVE reviews from the RT website and I just lost totally respect for these critics. They pan the HECK out of Hangover Two but praise this mess? NONSENSE. Yes the kids are endearing. And many have said that, and I agree, that they really SAVED the movie from catastrophy. But this is in an overblown, OVERLY LOUD, plot confused MESS.
So much of it makes NO SENSE AT ALL. CHORUS OF BOOS.
To Antuoine Adams: All your questions are easily answered or are unimportant: Q Why was the military moving the creature? A The answer could be any number of things such as the military was moving him closer to the heart of area 51 to keep their operation more covert, but really, whatever the answer is, it doesn’t matter, its trivial. Its like asking why Joe’s dad become a cop. We can assume some logical explanations, but none of them matter. Q Why did the teacher have important files and film on the creature in the open and how had he managed to escape with them in the first place? A He stole them and fled to a small town, hiding under the ingenuous occupation of a highschool biology teacher, completely plausible. Q How did the army not find these files once they took over the town, but the kids had no problem locating them? The army didn’t know about the teacher’s hidden trailer room and couldn’t get any info out of him. Some of the kids who had him as a teacher knew about it. Q How did a pick-up truck derail an entire freight train? There were explosives in the train (Some of which may have been the alien’s cubes). Q Why was that kid sooo obsessed with fireworks? A Great question, it really shows that you know how to analyze a movie. Let me answer it with another, why did he have braces? Idiot.
TOO ALL: THERE IS BUT ONE (EASILY FORGIVABLE) PLOT HOLE IN THIS MOVIE. STOP SAYING IT WAS FLAWED WITHOUT PROVIDING ANY PROOF.
Can someone please block Paul Julian from this site? This guy’s an insensitive dick.
To Paul,
First off, let me begin by saying that I DID enjoy the movie for what it was. It just wasn’t perfect. Secondly… Hey, I like you, Paul. Your asinine retorts tickle me… So, in rebuttal to your rebuttal, what engineering genius would place explosives in the FRONT of the train? Maybe you would, never know… Also, according to the map he had, the doctor fled basically around the freaking corner from the Base. Great logic in that one, Paul. Another thing, I agree with you that the military had the power to cover up the crash, but they didn’t have the manpower to search or investigate all of the doctor’s possible hiding places? A stretch there, Paul. Give them full credit for their intelligence or let them be idiots, you can’t have it both ways. Hmmm, exploding cubes from space? Stellar writing if I do say so myself. Had one once, space cube, i mean, Home Depot sale. Not good to have at a BBQ (long story). Plus, the fireworks kid was just plain annoying. Anyway, seeing how you appear to be emotionally invested in Mr. Abrams latest film, I’ll leave you with a quote from Joe of Super 8 “I know bad things happen, but you can still live…” Get over people disagreeing with you, Paul. P.S. I’m not an idiot… I can act a tad embryonic at times, but that’s always by choice. Peace.
The explosives were not in the front of the train, they exploded when the train went off the rails. The military had the manpower to search all the doctor’s possible hiding places, but didn’t, because they didn’t know them all, and had no leads to investigate further. As for the cubes, I will say again, the movie is not about the monster but the humans its life so profoundly impacts. And the biologists route, I admit I am not sure. I have only seen the film once and would need to see it again and take note of the minute detail to provide an accurate comment.
Also, I would like you to elaborate on the alleged anachronisms you observed in the film.
Really,
Agree with Glen Weiss, how is such an offensive dullard as Paul Julian allowed on site simply to abuse each and every poster? That is my only comment after reading the comments
Calling someone an offensive dullard is rather ironic.
To all those rallying together in hopes of getting me banned. Your intoleration of dissenting opinion is weak (with the exception of Mr. Adams who offered a strong counter-opinion) and is reminiscent of subservient, other-directed thought which commonly gives way to totalitarianism.
“You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.”
Hey folks, I don’t want to ban anybody and don’t particularly want to get into the business of deleting comments (which doesn’t seem to ever make anyone happy), but can we please take it down a notch with the namecalling? Thanks.
I am glad you do not promote censorship. You should be glad your well-constructed review was so evocative!
As for my “offensive” comments. I apologize. But not heartily so. I found them rather humorous and showing obvious comic intent, especially the one addressed to ‘Ant’.
“If you can take a fucking dick you can take a joke.”