This review was written by husband Mike.
Kid-friendly movie review: Super 8
I’ll start this with my wife’s status update after the film: Super 8 was super awesome. This is a great film that is an excellent start for getting your kid into science fiction and fantasy movies. The acting is incredible which is particularly impressive given that the film mostly centers on a group of young teens. The story is also very solid in that it packs a great emotional punch, is exciting, suspenseful, and just hugely entertaining. Did I mention the special effects are also first rate?
The premise of Super 8 is that a group of kids are out one night making a movie and they witness a train wreck. This is no ordinary train wreck, however. Someone purposely caused the train to crash and it has to do with what was on board. Following the train wreck, government and military operatives move in, pets, people, and electronics start disappearing and a once-quiet suburb in Ohio is taken over by the military as they hunt for whatever top secret cargo was on that train.
What ensues is a wild mystery ride full of government cover-ups and military secrets that is made highly entertaining by the excellent cast of youngsters that make up the core group of protagonists in the film. There are also some nice comic moments that provide levity and comic relief to balance out a number of the more emotionally intense and suspenseful scenes. The special effects are also solid with the train crash sequence feeling almost real with amazing sound effects to put you in the middle of the wreckage.
If you’ve seen ET you’ll recognize the requisite evil government operatives and the plucky, resourceful, and full of heart youngsters that propel the movie forward in trying to save their friends. However, even though Super 8 and ET share some DNA, the stories diverge significantly enough that Super 8 stands on its own as a great film. As a note, Steven Spielberg – who directed ET - is a producer on Super 8.
To that end, so much of this movie is about the resourcefulness and creativity of kids. It is refreshing and exciting to see a movie that focuses on kids being cool and fun in a creative way as the group strives to complete their film. The film also deals directly with loss and in doing so shows how both kids and parents grieve and the difficulties in dealing with the passing of a mother/wife. This strong emotional grounding is what helps make Super 8 such a great movie. It is more than just science fiction – it has heart to it and a set of characters and people that you really care about. The dynamic between the lead kid (Joe – played by Joel Courtney) and his father (played by Kyle Chandler of the Friday Night Lights TV series) is excellent and feels incredibly genuine.
If you do take your kid to see this be prepared to buy them their own video camera – they’ll surely be inspired to start creating movies of their own. Also, make sure to stick around for the credits!
Is it appropriate for kids?
This is a family movie but definitely gears toward older kids. The PG-13 rating is very appropriate. It would be a tough sell for me to bring anyone under 13 to this movie given the use of foul language (including at least one use of the “f” word), very intense situations, violence and killings (minimal gore but some blood), gunfire, explosions, and a little pot smoking thrown in (NOT done by kids, though). However, when we saw the film there were some kids younger than 13 there and clearly each parent knows what their own child can and cannot handle.
The movie also does two important things. First, it provides a look at two families dealing with the loss of a parent – shown mostly through the eyes of the kids who are suffering with single dads, who aren’t coping all that well without the mother around. There are some really intense and emotional scenes and this movie could be a great starting point for discussions with your child about loss, grief, and even death. Second, it shows the value of kids being kids and also kids being creative. These kids are active, engaged, thoughtful, and out there exercising their creativity to create a film together but, most importantly, they are all doing something they love.
If you liked this then you’ll probably also like:
Super 8 is a great entry point into science fiction for kids and leads easily to Spielberg’s stuff such as:
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (for kids of all ages)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (for older kids)
And, of course, the JJ Abrams-directed Star Trek, a reboot of the classic series and movies of the same name
—–
Disclosure: We’re not in any way affiliated with the film. We’re just huge movie fans and want to share our thoughts with others! As always, all opinions are totally ours.
{ 4 comments }
