“Super 8” Movie Trailer Review

“Super 8”

Movie Trailer Review

By our guest blogger, Joe Oliveto

Whether or not he is a truly great director remains up for debate, but damn, J.J. Abrams sure knows how to build excitement for a film. The original teaser trailer for “Super 8” wasn’t even all that innovative, but it showed us just enough to get us interested.

Luckily, by the looks of the full trailer, we had good reason to be.

Abrams has said that “Super 8” is to be something of a tribute to the early films of its producer, Steven Spielberg, and that influence comes across in the trailer. Absent parent? Check. Everyday suburban environment? Check. Secretive government officials? Check. Aliens? Yeah, probably.

We’re still now shown enough to get a sense of what the actual plot will involve, but the teaser mentioned Area 51, so it’s fair to assume that extra-terrestrials will make an appearance in this film. Unlike the films in its cinematic lineage—“E.T.” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”—this does not look like it will be a film about friendly visitors from the stars. Still, even that point is up for debate.

While fans are pretty thrilled with what we’re seeing, the trailer is not without its faults. The voice-over seems too sincere, and the child actors don’t come across as particularly genuine, but we haven’t seen enough to judge.

For those of us raised on classic Spielberg, we’ve been waiting for someone else to take up the tradition, and J.J. Abrams seems to be a worthy successor. Nothing he’s done so far is nearly as revolutionary or entertaining as “Jaws” or “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” but his directorial style does capture that sense of fun that made Spielberg an icon. In an age where you can download a movie in seconds, we need a filmmaker who will remind us that part of the joy of cinema is heading out to the theater on a summer night to enjoy a bucket of popcorn and a couple hours of escapist entertainment.

We certainly hope “Super 8” delivers on that promise.

View the trailer below. Thoughts?