Super 8 Review

Did you grow up watching those Spielberg adventure classics like E.T., Close Encounters of the Third Kind or The Goonies. No? Well then, you have my pity. But just to get you up to date with the flavour of nostalgia, J.J. Abrams unites with Spielberg to bring 2011's movie goers, Super 8.

Set in sunny 1979, the American town of Lillian finds itself in the midst of an emergency following a train accident carrying materials and other unknown cargo from Area 51. The government quickly moves in to take control of the situation, intent on recovering anything...or anyone...that went missing from the crash. Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney) and his friends who witnessed the crash while filming a movie, go searching for answers while mysterious abductions begin to pop up around town.

Abrams may not have earned himself Spielberg's reputation in Hollywood just yet, but his credentials as a filmmaker are more than worthy of teaming up with the cinema legend. His style of direction with a love for action and all things visually groundbreaking work wonderfully to what his partner-in-crime brings to the film; a wonderful musical score with a likeable cast of preteen troublemakers.

Touches of the old classics that parents grew up watching as a kid can be found everywhere, and the art department really went all out in giving that 70s feel; everything from the Tab cans to the shag carpet. But for the generation of our kids, the maturity bar is raised a little bit higher than what you grew up with, which makes for Super 8 to be an impressive ride but a hit-and-miss when it comes to fun for the whole family.