Super 8

On today's After the Credits I am covering Super 8. As you can see I have given Super 8 a 3.5 on the Willis scale and I might be under cutting it. This movie is written and directed by none other than J.J. Abrams (Star Trek, Fringe), the man who previously brought Lost into the world (personally one of the best TV series ever created). I personally think very highly of anything that has a "J.J. Abrams" label attached to it and only hesitated to go see Super 8 mainly based on the "Steven Spielberg" tag. After sitting through 2008's "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull", Spielberg's reputation has been a bit tarnished and might need years more to recover. These are my seconds after conclusion thoughts and reflections.

Super 8 is full of fresh faced young up-in-coming Hollywood talent. Most of the gang is little known of except for Ella Fanning (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), little sister of The Runaways star Dakota Fanning (not to mention a much better actress).  Ella has played the younger versions of Dakota in a few movies including I Am Sam, but is branching out on her own and making a name for herself. Aside from Fanning and Kyle Chandler (King Kong) there is little to be said about the rest of the cast, many of which are making their first appearances in Super 8.

The movie starts out on a sad note as the main characters (Joel Courtney) mother is killed in an accident at her work, quickly establishing the mood for the rest of the movie. Fast forward four months where the rest of the movie takes place when school is let out for the summer and the kids are hard at work. The gang is making a zombie themed movie for a local competition and while filming one of the new scenes the train derailment takes place. A lot of mystery surrounds this small town as the U.S. Air Force steps in to clean up the mess. People go missing and all of the dogs run away, a lot of appliances and car parts are stolen and no one knows why or how, but it is up to the kids to investigate the disappearance of their friend playing by Fanning.

Through the movie there is a lot of mysticism surrounding what this creature looks like and where it came from. If I have anything bad to say about the movie it is that the reveal of the beast is brought on a little to abruptly. I have to give it to J.J. Abrams though who to create a pretty unique alien.  He didn't make a cheap knock off of an alien from another movie and just add lights and dreadlocks (Skyline). There were tons of explosions and the monster rampages through this little county town like it was nothing. All in all, the movie had an old school Goonies/ET feel and the cinematography was amazing.

Lastly, there is something I should have been doing from the start of the blog. Ironically I am one of those people who stays until the end of the credits to see if there is any clips or glimpses. This is a tradition amongst me and a few of my friends for the better part of 8 years (every movie after Constantine came out in 2005). Considering that this blog is titled "After the Credits", I should inform you if there is or isn't a clip during or at the end of the credit reel and in the case of Super 8 there is. During the credits there is a clip a couple minutes long, but nothing after the reel has ended.

What's next from Abrams? We have the Cloverfield and Star Trek sequels coming in the next few years, as well as another Mission Impossible later this year and more Fringe to look forward to. Whatever is on the horizon, it looks like J.J. Abrams is emerging as an "originator" in a city of people who seem to believe in copying the past. That will do it for this edition of After the Credits, what movie will be next? Probably The Green Lantern, please God don't make this movie suck too bad.