Monday, 19 September 2011 Super 8 (Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, Kyle Chandler) Posted by joeldfisher at 08:48

In 1977 Steven Spielberg presented his first foray into the world of science-fiction with Close Encounters of The Third Kind. An instant hit with audiences and a new spin on the extra-terrestrial genre, the likes of which they'd never seen before. Close Encounters became such a hit that even top U.S. government officials have even applauded it on its 'accuracy', or so we have been led to believe.

1982 sees the release of E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, his second and arguably his most successful venture into science-fiction to date, albeit from a different angle than Close Encounters ever took. The story of a lost alien who befriends a little boy became an instant classic and still plays well to audiences old and young (even I have been known to cry at it - still).

2011 brings the highly anticipated J. J. Abrahms directed Super 8. A story of a group in their early teens who are making a movie at an old railway station, only to be caught up in the middle of a government conspiracy.

Little had been revealed about Super 8 prior to its release, and I mean very little. The teaser trailer was, to my knowledge the only trailer ever released and after seeing the film it was definitely the right choice. There's so much I could say about Super 8 that could easily give the game away and really spoil what is a wonderful film experience. I mentioned Steven Spielberg's early career because this is exactly the kind of thing that director J. J. Abrahms was looking to as inspiration for his movie, and luckily it pays off.

The movie has so much attention to detail that it may have been film between Close Encounters and E.T. and you'd be forgiven for thinking that this was the lost movie that Steven Spielberg always wanted to make between the two. Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney, in his first film role) is the son of the town's deputy sheriff, Jackson (Kyle Chandler; Friday Night Lights, King Kong). They have both recently suffered a bereavement, Joe's mother was killed in a tragic accident at the mill where she works and the father and the son take to dealing with it in very different ways.

The cast for the movie is exceptional, they appear to be all very carefully cast because besides their clothes and hairstyles it seems that these children could easily have appeared in a Spielberg film from the early 80's and would have fitted right in. A true testament to their acting or maybe a look at how childhood has changed in the past 30 years, which was then perhaps a simpler time.

Charles (Riley Griffiths, also in his first film role), Cary (Ryan Lee, an actor from various short movies and tv appearances, Martin (Gabriel Basso, The Big C and other numerous television appearances) and Preston (another veteran of television appearances, despite his age) make a connection between each other like they really had grown up together and the times when they're talking, singing and making fun of each other really come across very naturally.

A special mention however should go to Alice (Elle Fanning; The Nutcracker 3D and again various television roles). Being the younger sister of one of Hollywood's most acclaimed young actresses, Dakota Fanning, must be rather daunting, especially when cast in a breakthrough role such as this. With the world's cinemagoers knowing her lineage then it must have been a lot to live up to, however Elle Fanning proves to be just as talented as her sister and one to watch in the years to come. Also it should be said that considering this to be Joel Courtney's first film role, he does an exceptional job, evoking Henry Thomas as Eliott in E.T and he should do well as being cast in an upcoming production of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, yet another iconic American child's role.

The direction Super 8 takes shouldn't be spoilt by anyone, because to watch such a movie spoiler-free is an experience of nostalgia, wonder and excitement that will win fans far and wide, old and new. For years to come.