Super 8

Expectations:
When I first saw the small trailer for Super 8 last summer, I was absolutely intrigued. I waited for a full trailer, and, when I saw it, I was not disappointed. The thing that most excited me about this movie was the fact that J.J. Abrams kept the details a secret. I don't know about you, but I hate the fact that most trailers tell the entire story in a minute. Nothing frustrates me more. I just want to be surprised! Because of my desire for surprise, I was more excited about Super 8 than any other movie this year and thought it would be the best movie of 2011.

Plot:
Due to the secretive nature of the movie, I won't be able to go too deep into how things go about happening in Super 8. So go watch it! As you can tell from the trailer, something escapes from a wrecked train. The movie does have a sci fi feel at times, but J.J. Abrams does a great job of making the storyline more important than the sci fi themes. The story is very very real and makes it easy to connect to the characters. The best scene from the movie, in my opinion, is one where two of the boys are fighting about how they both like the same girl. It was just perfect and really showed how these friends meant more to each other than anything. At that age it is very true for most boys. In case you girls don't understand, guys don't fight with their friends like yall often do.

Characters:
The use of the kids in the movie really helped me connect to the story and the characters. I can easily relate to a group of boys in their early teens. The experiences they had, aside from the mysterious stuff, was real. The best part was that Abrams didn't try to over do it with the kids. I even read that he allowed the kids to write many of their own lines, allowing them to act their own age. It is difficult to say who was the best character. All six of the kids were brilliant. One was obsessed with explosives, one was a cry baby, one was bossy, one was a girl, and the main character, Joe Lamb, was just a normal kid who had been through some tough family experiences. Joel Courtney did a phenomenal job playing Lamb. He went to Hollywood to try out for commercial spots, but he ended up with the lead role in Super 8. Not bad, huh?

Conclusion:
Super 8 kicked other mysterious creature movies in the butt for one simple reason: IT HAD A REAL STORYLINE! I don't now if this is the perfect movie for everyone, but I loved it. J.J. Abrams remains one of my heroes (may LOST live on forever!). Last year the movie I was most excited about was Inception, which we all know as the best movie of 2010. Unfortunately, I don't believe my prediction is correct this year. Super 8 was good but not Inception-good. I give Super 8 4.09 out of 5 stars.