Rent Super 8 (2011)

Noisy, good fun but occasionally overly sentimental - Super 8 review by CP Customer

First off, beware of some other reviews on here which contain some minor spoilers.

Not ground-breakingly original, Super 8 is a mutant hybrid of ET, Cloverfield, The Goonies, and District 9. I'm struggling to come up with a reason that this could be a bad thing. Given Spielberg's involvement, there is a tendency to get drawn into cringing American sentimentality, particularly in the slightly rushed denouement, but generally it's excellently paced, brilliantly noisy, has some entertaining set-pieces, a decent splash of humour and is excellent fun on the whole.

It's a kids' film essentially, but presented in a grown up manner without being patronising or condescending, much like the aforementioned ET and The Goonies. It's probably not as good as these two, but it's not trying to compete. Kids will love it, adults should get plenty out of it, as long as the weight of the world hasn't crushed their spirit so much that they've forgotten what it was like to be 12 years old and in a whole world of trouble.

Dissappointing re-hash of 50' Creature Features! - Super 8 review by CS

I was quite looking forward to seeing this film, but sadly like so many Spielberg films of the recent past, it failed to live up to the hype and expectations. In effect this is a 50's Sci-Fi Creature Feature, simply re-hashed for today! You see little of the creature and what you do see is unclear, muddy and confused, even when you finally get to see it. The CGI is poor and fails to make anything of the creature itself. The script is average, as is the acting, direction, effects etc. basically this film is a hash of so many other films that have gone before. It felt like a mix of Alien, ET, Cloverfield, War of the Worlds, in fact too many other films, so much so that nothing really stood out for me as being original, new or interesting. Many elements were irrelevant to the film, such as the love interest between the very young boy and an older girl, which I felt was irrelevant to the storyline. None of the characters had any strength or depth to them and the film struggled to build on those characters whilst at the same time creating a flow with the action. A good Sunday afternoon film to watch with the family, but in all a real disappointment!!

Super fun - and pretty scary, too - Super 8 review by KB

I wanted to see this film at the cinema, but there wasn't a small cinema anywhere near where I lived when it was released (I don't enjoy the huge multiplexes). This film is pretty frightening in places, even for grown ups. It's also many things: it's an action-horror movie, and a sci-fi mystery, with themes of friendship and enmity, misunderstandings, letting go and freedom, and of course love. There's comedy, too, which helps offset the scarier moments. Rather a noisy film, but then we expect that from Hollywood. The CGI is good, the real action stunts brilliant, and the pace rarely slows. The ensemble child cast is excellent overall, with one or two stand out performances. The movie within a movie is also great, and very charming. Music and fashion (house decor as well as clothing)is fantastic. Set in an era not many years in the past, it has all the great things that a contemporary setting would spoil: significantly, there are no mobile phones, which means the characters can enjoy collecting models and magazines, hanging out with their mates, cycling or running about seemingly for miles, and just enjoying being kids. And what draws them together is their creation of a film on the titular camera, itself now a piece of history. I grew up in the 60s and early 70s, so was a step back from these kids and what the got up to, but the differences aren't that big. There are many obvious Spielberg influences (he's co-producer, after all) and the ending is satisfying even if a little cliched. But hey, it's a film for kids after all; any adults watching are just along for the ride, the groovy music, and the chance to recall their own childhoods. A great evening's entertainment; get yourself some popcorn and enjoy.