Dr. DVD

Upon reflection, I can't help but wonder if some of these characters were supposed to be allegorical for real life filmmakers and people around them? The characters of Charlie and Joe could both have been variations on Spielberg, Alice might have been Kate Capshaw, and I couldn't help but think of Michael Bay with the character that couldn't stop blowing up stuff.

RichC2

I have to say, thus far i've been more impressed with Matt Reeves' directing than JJ's.

CloverClover

I found this to be a terrible movie. It had good atmosphere at some points. I know they are ripping off that whole universe but didn't have nearly the sense of heart and soul or life.. that is what made those movies special. not that kids ran around and had their world, or special fx... super 8 was just copying them in the most artificial way. the whole thing was just phony. the kids were one note. the one guy was scared all the time, the other guy blew shit up, the fat guy was fat, etc.... no real effort in writing actual characters. did it have good action/scares though? nope. none of the scare scenes/ action scenes worked. it was all just jumping moments and CGI. another part of the charm of those 80s classics is no CGI, it all felt in the real world.

whoopdido

Except that, unless I'm mistaken, there really wasn't much CGI. Of course the creature was CGI but other than that what else was? The train crash scene was probably a mix of CGI and non CGI but either way it was fantastic so I don't know how Nybody could complain about that scene. Other than the creature I couldn't pick out much other obvious CGI.

I jumped numerous times throughout the movie and I typically don't react to jump scenes so I think the jump scenes were very well done. In my opinion there's nothing wrong with jump scenes. They've been a part of cinema for a very long time. Some directors are better at them than others and Spielberg is one of the best. When done correctly, jump scenes can definitely enhance a movie.

But even taking the jump scenes out of the equation, I was on the edge of my seat numerous times and certain parts of the movie were downright scary and creepy.

Anubis2005X

My gosh you all are a cynical bunch. This movie didn't any heart, are you serious?

whoopdido

Huh?

Supermallet

He's missing the word "have" between "didn't" and "any."

And if by heart you mean "simplistic characterizations with easily solved conflicts" then sure it had heart.

Inhumans99

Shocked that the kid's homemade movie that ran during the end-credits was only brought up a couple of times...I know we see some of these scenes being filmed during the main body of the film, but seeing them spliced together to become one of the greatest end-credit sequences of all time is just wonderful. I smiled throughout the end credits, genius idea by Abrams.

It was a pleasant surprise that it was not just another gag reel, or forcing us to sit through what feels like 10m of credits to get to what is sometimes a not-all-that-memorable final scene. Of course, technically, you could say the short film was part and parcel of the film itself, because the credits still continued to roll after the short film ended.

I gave the film 3 1/2 stars, as I had many of the same issues as folks in this thread (reveal of the monster was meh...except for that fantastic bus scene, and maybe the first(?) time in the movie when we are aware of "something" from the train crash reeking havoc in the town (the great gas station scene)). But unlike a math quiz, where 3 1/2 right answers only get you a passing grade (C), if I give a movie 3 1/2 stars I like to think of the movie as a B+ film (4 - 5 stars an A- to A+ film).

To those who complained about trench-coat kid's lack of lines in the film...fair enough, but he got his moment in the sun when the credits began to roll, as he is the glue that holds the director kids' super-8 film together.

SterlingBen

I find myself agreeing with KillerCannibal a lot. Except his stance on stomping puppies, that I can't get behind.

But yes these are my thoughts as well, down to the rating.

Goldberg74

I liked it so much that when I was asked if I wanted to go see it again by some friends, I said sure.

We all loved it. I guess we just ain't that critical or that sophisticated.

Larry C.

Just got back and enjoyed it very much. I have a question.... I was born is 74 and remember middle school was called Junior High and not middle school. I saw the sign for the school and then a cop made a reference to the middle school. Does anyone remember middle school back in the late 70's early 80's?

Mountain Biker

Yea, I caught that as well. I don't remember school being referred to as middle school until at least the 90's.

The Antipodean

Curious what mixed reviews this is getting, after the love for Star Trek I would've figured it was a guaranteed hit.....

Spottedfeather

Huh. I was in fifth grade in 1990. Sixth grade was middle school. 7th and 8th grade was junior high. And 9th grade to 12th grade was high school. I hated Star Trek. This was only alright.

J. Farley

Other than the fact that it was a completely ridiculous scene? It wasn't believable at all. Even more absurd was

Ky-Fi

Saw it yesterday and loved it. Sure, at times it felt like a medley of Spielberg's greatest hits, but that wasn't really a drawback for me, because that aspect was done very competently, IMO. Great cast and performances all around---especially the two lead kids.

Dr. DVD

You hated Star Trek, you hate (mostly classic) gangster movies, next thing you know you'll say you hate Quentin Tarantino. You must be really hard to please.

shadowhawk2020

Has anyone seen it in a d-box? My wife wants to check those out.

ScissorPuppy

I think it depends on were you were at. I grew up in Florida and one city had Jr. High as 6-9 and High School as 10-12. The next city over had a Middle School from 6-8, Jr. High from 9-10 and High School from 11-12.
This was how I remember it being from the 80's up until around 95 when the population grew and the smaller city added a middle school and changed the structure to the middle/jr/high format.

Sid Ceaser

Saw it yesterday afternoon and I really loved it.

I loved the overall feeling (like that of an early 80's Spielberg flick), loved that the scifi part takes a supporting role to story and character, making it a nice antidote to movies like "Transformers".

What I really loved (and something that I didn't actually realize) is that I've seen enough films, especially Spielberg flicks (perhaps over and over) that I was recognizing stylistic and camera choices that, yes, resembled a Spielberg movie. I loved that the film stock looked like some kind of contrast heavy Kodak Velvia. I loved the kids horrible 80's hair. I loved his incredible large Spielberg eyes that took everything in (something I haven't seen since the kid from Almost Famous). I loved camera shots and sweeps (I'm thinking especially of the missing-dog reveal and also of the "gas station" murder where the spinning gas station sign covers the action. Loved it!)

I don't care that this was Abrams emulating Spielberg - I think it was the perfect mix of classic adventure cinema that touches on children and their relationships to each other, back when they existed in their own worlds and that whole "comradeship amongst friends knowing something the adults don't know and trying to save the day, despite being kids (in the Goonies, it was known as the "Our Time" speech by Mouth). I loved the innocent relationship developing between the two lead kids, I loved the group of kids overall, and I loved that I didn't mind this being a movie based on movies (much like how Sleepless in Seattle isn't a movie about love, its a movie about falling in love in the movies) I saw when I was a kid (I was born in '75. E.T., Goonies, hit right home with me).

I loved it. I got to regress for two hours back to being 8 and 9 years old again and revisit movies that affected me in such a way that movies today don't. That was definitely worth my cash, and it will be worth my blu-ray purchase.

Thanks J.J.!

Anubis2005X

I wasn't aware that "douche" was '79 slang. I thought that was a more recent thing. "That's MINT!"

whoopdido

It was an action scene. That's like saying all the T-Rex secenes in Jurassic Park were ridiculous and unbelievable.

I thought it was an amazing action scene and was very well done.

JMLEWIS1

Saw the movie last night and really loved it for what it was, a great summer movie! Is it going to win any academy awards? Nope.....is it "deep"? Nope....it's just a fun summer movie and for those of us who grew up watching movies in the 80's, it's also very nostalgic.

FantasticVSDoom

Born in 74 and raised in Florida and we never called it Jr High... It was Middle School and it was 7th and 8th grade.

That being said, I enjoyed this one. It wasn't great, but again I was not anticipating it as many others were it seemed. Im still not entirely sold on Abrams as he has some great stuff and not so great stuff and this was in the good category for me. I do say I thought it had heart and good character moments but fell short on the adventure side (which I admit its usually the opposite) although the train and bus scenes were great, just too few of those.

sherm42

No is mentioning that the movie also was an homage to Jaws by keeping the monster hidden until the last third. Before that, you barely get glimpses on the monster.