Super 8 (Abrams, 2011)

The simplest way to summarize Super 8 (Abrams, 2011) would be to categorize it as a complete and total tribute to Steven Spielberg. And while Abrams does craft a film that is remarkably similar in many respects to the work of Spielberg, there are very few directors who deserve such respect and Spielberg is one of them. In fact for a talented man such as Abrams to pay respectful tribute in such a way to Spielberg shows just how high Spielberg has risen on the list of our great cinematic directors. And Abrams seemingly provides an endless array of tidbits from the Spielberg arsenal.
The most obvious Spielberg trait seen in the film is also the most common to Spielberg's work, that of a strained father/son relationship. In fact the relationship between the two main children and their respective parents are both strained. Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney) has a dead relationship with his father Jack (Kyle Chandler) since the death of his mother. Alice Dainard (Elle Fanning) not only has a troubled relationship with her father Louis (Ron Eldard) but then the interconnected relationship between them all is compounded by the elder Dainard's role in the death of Joe's mother. It is a little bit of family problem overload and a little too easy of a stretch within an otherwise stellar narrative. But the commonalities to the work of Spielberg doesn't end there.
The narrative portrays a benevolent alien interacting with humankind. Only when provoked does the alien use it's vastly superior force and power. This is reminiscent of Spielberg works like E.T. (1981). The military is portrayed as a bumbling and destructive force as it is in the various Indiana Jones films. And as in the War of the Worlds (2005), Abrams deftly resolves the conflict between the alien and humans without a large scale battle which looks ridiculous in comparison to the rest of the film. Think of Independence Day (Emmerich, 1996) and how the aliens destroy human forces at will but by the time the film ends we are miraculously turning the tide to victory. To any intelligent viewer this is a slap in the face and I applaud Abrams for not choosing this route. Another deft touch by Abrams and one similar to the approach taken by Spielberg in Jaws (1974) is to not show his alien for the majority of the film and allowing that tension about what is attacking the town to grow. This is a rather simple technique which if applied to many more films today would make them work much more effectively. Finally, as in a film such as Jurassic Park (1993) Abrams uses amazing technical work in the areas of production design, sound design, editing and cinematography to provide filmmaking at it's finest quality.
By far the finest part of the filmmaking process with which Abrams involves himself is the writing of a superb narrative. The narrative is well thought out and executed, all while being extremely gripping and suspenseful. The character development happens fully and each character arc is complete. The audience goes on a journey with this film and ultimately a good film is great storytelling. Adding to such a great narrative is some top notch casting. Joel Courtney and all of the children cast are all exceptional, giving great performances that don't seem forced and over done. The casting of Eldard and Chandler as the two fathers works as both bring empathy to their roles. It is the casting and acting of Fanning that stands above the rest. Much like her talented sister, their is an amazing depth and resolve to her performance.
Within the film there is also an element of self reflexivity to film and I attribute this to Abrams and Spielberg both being extreme cinephiles. The most obvious case is the movie within a movie aspect. The kids are prolific filmmakers at a young age, a reflection of Spielberg himself. The pure love of film is evident in the depth of the children's production. They go completely in depth to make their film and this reflects how much both Spielberg and Abrams put into their works. The various homages throughout the film to other directors also stands out as a classic way for filmmakers to reflect back that which they love in film. The narrative of the film using a MacGuffin shows Abrams knows his Hitchcock. The use of the classical horror film technique of "busses" throughout the film hearkens back to Cat People (Tourneur, 1942). Finally, the kids are making a zombie film and there is a direct reference to the master of zombie films, George Romero.
There is one final aspect of the film which is just a masterful piece of work by Abrams. This is the catastrophic crash of the locomotive. Abrams crafts a masterful blend of CGI, production design, editing and sound, cinematography and composition to give us a sequence so wonderful and memorable. This sequence is filmmaking at it's finest.
Super 8 is a good film, fun for the family and one that I look forward to watching again.