Super 8

The first half was definitely a lot stronger, because by the second half I was having trouble keeping my attention at times. In fact, I started to get slightly lost in the fight scenes and I wasn’t really feeling any suspense. I'm definitely not disappointed though. You can smell good old Spielberg and it maintains its grandeur. The child cast in particular was excellent. Elle Fanning has grown up and is already a great actress. A weaker 4 stars. (08/12/2011)

Abrams carried this baby in his head for a really long time and his care is evident throughout picture. In story terms, this is a typical King movie (J.J. is a big fan) with some references to Spielberg’s most famous sci-fi. Excellent casting of the kid parts, gallons of emotion, perfect music by Giacchino, suspense, entertainment and a feeling that once upon a time everything was somehow better and slower moving. (22/10/2011)

J.J. Abrams uses exactly the trick that Steven Spielberg used thirty years ago to captivate audiences in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. What the children do and how they explore the circumstances surrounding the unknown phenomenon makes sense. What all the various parents do, however, feels less genuine, and suddenly, the majority of adult characters seem very unfamiliar, and the viewer must root for the children's efforts to succeed down to the last detail. This may explain why a wider range of viewers were disappointed. But after a minute, I understood that I would love the main group and had a clear view. A nostalgic sci-fi in the most positive sense. (01/09/2011)

Spielberg 101? No way, this is a far more advanced class. Apart from the final emotions between parents and children, everything works in this film. What surprised me the most was how likeable the kids are, and their good performances – especially Elle Fanning and Joel Courtney. If Abrams made a serious sci-fi thriller with the same skill, I would be jumping in joy, even higher than now, but this badass E.T. phone home is just great. You won’t see hectolitres of blood flowing from the screen (though there are a couple of proper horror scenes: the attack on the petrol station and the underground liar), but you’ll get hectolitres of love for cinema. Unless you need to prove to yourself or someone else that family adventure films are below your “level”, this film can never offend you – so I don’t understand the initial displeasure here in Filmbooster. It’s a very subjective full house (I am aware of several screenwriting crutches in the second half), but also very strong. The most pleasant film of the year. (30/08/2011)

It is evident that nostalgia does a lot because Abrams made his film as a clear tribute to Spielberg's 80s family sci-fi films E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Not only does he keep up with them, but at least when it comes to effects, cinema has advanced a bit, making it a more enticing spectacle for today's audience. Such a train derailment and subsequent catastrophe full of explosions and flying wagons must bring excitement to every fan of flashy blockbusters. Nevertheless, Abrams received considerably weaker reception and significant doubts. After all, in terms of subject matter and directorial style, today's cinema has moved somewhere else, more toward comic book and video game adaptations. As for Abrams' direction, I can't fault anything, he has a good eye for casting child actors and Elle Fanning is so adorable to the point that praising her to express my sympathies toward this young actress would risk accusations of pedophilia. Abrams knows how to work well with child actors and has a sense for careful tension-building. But what can I say, I have also outgrown this production, and when I recently revisited Spielberg's filmography, films like Jaws, Duel, etc., despite being old, they still worked on me just as they did before, but Close Encounters and E.T. really disappointed me. It's just not the same anymore. Overall impression: 55%. (23/06/2014)