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Completely agree. Super 8 is a perfect family movie, the younger kids will be hugely rewarded by the special effects and mystery reveal, which may be less impressive to older audiences but the older audience members will be massively rewarded by the charming nostalgic 70s feel that brings them back to their childhood and those looking for a summer blockbuster with something more than the usual rubbish will be brilliantly rewarded by a film with heart, soul and something great underneath the GCI effects. Super 8 is proof that likeable characters are the recipe for success as they are always at the very heart of any film; the young adult actors' chemistry is what makes the film so likeable that it is, for myself at least, impossible to hate. Make sure not to leave as the credits roll. Second favorite film of the year, just behind Senna which takes the top step on the podium.

Haven't had a chance to see this yet, but I was in the cinema with my 13 year old son recently. When the trailer for Super 8 was shown he was really, really excited to see it, so, like you, I don't think the nostalgia argument stacks up.

I'm awaiting your reaction to the other summer blockbuster with a heart, Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes - which I thoroughly enjoyed (despite terribly wooden acting from the human cast and an occasionally clunky script).

PS - The Devils. I've had a response from Warner Bros' distribution people. See the thread.

Unfortunately have to disagree. The trailer ticked every box for me: outstanding nostalgic visuals and score, likeable child actors, Spielberg collaboration. But when it came to the viewing, I was deeply underwhelmed. The potential was there to produce something profound, to really say something about humanity, but Abram's shirked this for a predictable conclusion and a disappointing CGI alien. Want to take your kids to see something with real integrity, try Studio Ghibli's, 'Arietty'.

I went with my family to see this at our local IMAX on Saturday - and we avsolutely loved it. I was 16, and my wife was 17 in 1979, so we got the music and media in-jokes instantly, while my sons loved the fact they were scared by a well-executed screen monster - and, quite rightly, one you don't see clearly until the end. Mind you, the biggest scream was from the young Asian las who jumped and sceamed when the adverts started and the music came over very, VERY loudly...

@myerla is right, BTW - do NOT leave the movie while the credits are rolling. You'll miss one of the best parts of the entire movie.

I loved a lot about this film. I loved the old feel it had, I loved how good the young actors were, how natural many of the scenes were with them in together. I loved how American it felt, just in the details of the sets and scenes in the various homes. So ET.

I hated that the blockbuster side of it ruined the film. The finale. The alien. The boring action. The awful train crash - sorry, but things landing inches from the faces of characters doesn't make something seem even more exciting or dangerous, it just brings to your attention how fake everything has become with the ease of shooting whatever you like with CG.

All the adults in the film were fairly poor. The 'I gotcha' at the end was awful - the father having done nothing all film, but somehow that nonsense line is supposed to ammend everything. It undermined a good scene where the young protagonist (forget his name, Joe?) has it out with his Dad earlier and shows he understands more about the workings of their relationship than his father does.

So... a very good film spoiled by summer blockbuster tick boxes and cheese. Oh, and Abrams' nerdy humour - why did the stoned film shop guy have to be with the great gang of kids during their breakout? Not cool, not funny. Embarrassing compared to ET's cycle chase - no doubt the coolest thing I ever saw as a child.

Loved it. Waited all summer to see it. My favourite film of the year so far, not necessarily the best film I've seen this year, but my favourite..

Saw Super 8 in its opening weekend. Loved it, made me flash back to seeing films like E.T or even Close encounters when I was a kid J.J Abrams best film in my opinion.

I'm sorry to say that I have to disagree with the good doctor. Maybe it's because I'm not old enough to have been round when Spielberg was making Close encounters/ET, but it just didn't work for me, for the following reasons:

1. The lens flares were horrible and had no need to be there. When they first appeared it was a real annoyance because it just looked wierd and out of place.

2. The train crash could have been a lot lot lot lot shorter. There was enough time in it for me to lean over to my friend and say (very quietly) "how long is this going on for?" to which my friend agree. It was endless explosions and metal hitting metal. How is that different from the big robot battle at the end transformers.

3. The dialogue was really cheesey "No one beleives me." "I believe you." and made the film preditable. I knew exactly how it was going to end and it is never nice to watch. (I'll get to the ending later).

4. The characters were too cliched and because of that I didn't really care enough about them. The broken family thing again was cheesey.

5. The ending was complete and utter rubbish (I would use something stronger to discribe it). It was really predictable what was going to happen. I just knew that (spoiler) the kid was goign to get grabbed by the alien and he convices the alien that there is good in humans and that he would fix his relationship with his father and the father would forgive the other no good for nothing guy for his envolement in his wifes death and so on...

I'm sorry Mark, but I was very underwhelmed by Super 8. rant over.

Have to join with those disagreeing with the Good Doctor here - for me it's been the most disappointing movie of the year. Part of the problem might be that I love those early Spielberg movies so much and the movie just falls apart when placed next to them, but even taken completely on its own terms it's fairly weak. The characters are shallow and range from one-dimensional (the stoner who had smoked too much weed to run away FROM AN ALIEN) to almost-two-dimensional, the dialogue was absolutely dreadful in places ('when it touched me I knew it just wanted to go home' - one of many examples of clunky exposition); the lens-flares, as has been mentioned, were rubbish. The ending was basically a cop-out, my emotional attachment was almost nil (I honestly wanted to care about the kid and his mum and the girl and her dad, and I honestly did not). Place it next to (as someone has mentioned) the cycle chase in ET or the scene on the beach in Jaws before the boy gets killed and it just dissolves. The over-the-top train crash scene didn't work because it felt too much like a typical, unlikely Hollywood action scene; nothing inherently wrong with that, but it was like taking the truck-chase from Raiders of the Lost Ark and putting it in ET. Just doesn't fit; the kids would all have broken limbs, at least.

I'll give it this: the movie had one great shot, a wonderful example of economic storytelling, of imparting important exposition to the viewer as elegantly, visually and simply as possible. Sadly it was also the very first shot in the movie.

I really enjoyed Super 8 (which I saw in IMAX, is that some kind of contradiction in terms? it should have been really really grainy). This was despite expectation from reviews that it was nothing more than an enjoyable Spielberg homage; judgements which I felt were an oversimplification based on the obvious tropes kids + aliens. OK the penultimate shot was a direct cull from the last shot of E.T. but at least they cut away to the final shot of Close Encounters. I must admit that up to that point I thought it was fairly wink wink free, and that's because it presented credible well performed characters, particularly the central triangle of the kids, and gave them something to do. So it worked splendidly on it's own terms, which elevates it above mere homage. Considering that Abrams previous CV was well constructed but emotionally shallow popcorn fodder, I was pleasantly surprised.

It also had a certain enjoyable sense of threat that was more Jaws Spielberg than ET CE3K Spielberg. And for non Spielberg influences you could almost pitch it as The Iron Giant meets Predator. If you'd like to do a retro cinematic double bill, stick it alongside Attack the Block as a Carpenter vs Spielberg homage.

I don't see why anyone would be so jaded as to suggest that today's kids are so unlike us when we were young that they couldn't enjoy this. I think it may turn out to hold up pretty well, and in 20 years time some wunderkind may be doing an homage to this, maybe it'll be called "Blu-Ray".

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned lens flare in connection with Michael Bay as one of many things wrong with Transformers 3 (and possibly more of his movies, I can't remember). Seriously, in that case it happened every few minutes and was an integral part to that awful 'glistening' ad-man sheen prevalent throughout the movie. I can't really defend J.J. Abrams for using it, other than saying that in the case of Star Trek at least (I've yet to see Super 8), there was of course story/character behind the lens flare, as opposed to the lens flare being a replacement for character/story...

To me, Super 8 is one of those movies that is great on first watch, loses a lot of charm on second viewing, and subsequent viewings get irritatingly cheesy, especially towards the end. It lacks the sustained notes and depths of the early Spielberg movies it mimics - but it's definitely a wake-up call to the usual plot-free blockbusters we have to suffer and, for that it alone, it is head and shoulders above other films of the popcorn kind.

I agree for the most part, Mark. I just thought the 'creature' could have been done better and the ending was anticlimactic. The kids and families involved were more witnesses to an event than an actual part of the story. My own review (From about 2 months ago):

Completely agree Mark.
I too loved 'Super 8' - here's my review:

I had an excellent time with Mr Popper's Penguins too. I didn't actually see the movie, but I was waiting in queue for the next show when the audience came out and was delighted when a group of about seven little girls paraded around the foyer in a stiff-legged, arms-by-the-side imitation of a penguin walk.

Super 8 was lovely, truly redeemed my faith in mainstream blockbuster cinema -- pure escapist, heartfelt, hyperbolic, nostalgic magic. I laughed out loud and wept more than once. I think with the best of movies of this ilk, it's not just the slick and well crafted melding of these elements that truly moves, but a palpable sentimentality about the wonder of movie-making and the cinema!

Unlike the usual summer fare of fighting robots and egotistical superheroes, everything about Super 8 made me smile with glee.

Very,very,good,fun,lots of things to like, but just not GREAT

A solidly nostalgic flick seemingly lifted straight out of the summer's of 84/85/86. However, I'd have to say that despite a well written, well acted, beautifully shot three quarters of a movie, it all goes so very wrong once the creature is revealed. It looked ridiculous, CGI, and in no way in keeping with what had painstakingly been realised up until that point. Oh, well.

I really enjoyed Super 8, the film had me in tears at some points and had a joyous, uncynical tone. Sure it's not a perfect film, more could have been made of the ending, but I still left the cinema having been shaken up and reminded of how great those old style blockbusters used to be. But this film is not simply nostalgia for middle aged men, as you say, simply a great, intelligent blockbuster the likes of which they used to make until formula took over Hollywood. Super 8 stands head and shoulders above every other summer blockbuster this year, and we should vote with our wallets for more intelligent mainstream pictures, as this is the only way Hollywood will listen.

Simply have to join in with the discussion on this one. I loved thie film so much that I went to see it again. Completely agree with Mark's take on it, he covered everything I thought about it. It was a nostalgia trip for me and my daughters loved it too, so it does speak across the generations.
Long hot summers, action, bravery, adventure, gang of friends, bikes, star filled night skies, powercuts, aliens, spaceships, faceless officials, town hall meetings, family homes, bedrooms full of cool stuff, dysfunctional families, blossoming first love, realising what truly matters, the love between a parent and child.
The Spielberg influence can be seen across the whole film, so many movies crop up. The family scenes in Charles' house were straight out of Close Encounters, including some kid bashing the table with a toy! "Toby, you are close to death!"
Obvious nods to ET as well. But I also saw Jaws and Raiders through the Dad, who started off as Chief Brody and turned into Indiana Jones.
All the young stars were so impressive particularly Joel Courtney and Elle Fanning. The scene they shared when the home movie accidentally comes on in his bedroom had me in floods of tears, twice!
I loved how the film stock of the title was so important throughout the movie, and was used to instill emotion (bedroom scene) to move the plot (train crash) along or provide information (scientific alien footage), and of course the kids finished zombie movie "The Case" shown post credits.
Talking of which, wouldn't it be nice if announcements could be made prior to a movie showing if there are extra scenes after credits? I've taken to staying behind for a bit now as it's so common these days (Cap Am, ROTPOTA and Super 8).
All in all an intelligent, quality summer blockbuster. In case you're wondering Hollywood, this is how it's done!

I don't know whether to be delighted or perturbed that the review I wrote three weeks ago is almost word-for-word the same as this blog. Perhaps I should be both. Great film and really glad to hear that kids enjoyed it. It's the sort of film I'd have loved aged 11+.

Mark, you really need to see Rise of the Planet of the Apes. For my money, the best summer blockbuster of 2011.

I liked Super8, but it doesn't quite gel. The kids were terrific though.

i disagree
had a great time watching it (i have soft spot for all things retro and nostalgic) but the whole film is a bit of a mess and the ending nearly ruins the whole thing

it's a good film with a crap ending that strived to hit some sweet emotional note (completely rips off E.T.) but instead hits one of the worst bum notes in cinema history

loved the spielbergian feel to the film, the kids were excellent and there were some great sequences

but the major problem was jj abrams trying to weld those two story arcs together

spoiler:

im sorry, but why the hell were we suppose to care about that bloody monster going back to space? we're spending all our time with the kids and then jj abrams asks us to care about the monster, which has terrorised the whole community! it's like as if spielberg had asked us to care about bruce's death at he end of jaws!

also, the relationship between the father and the son was terrible, and overall the father character completely fails as a protagonist, he didn't have any motivation and was utterly charmless (give me roy scheider or richard dreyfuss any day of the week)

i know jj abrams was striving for something really great, on a par with spielberg's earlier films, but the fact that he came up short only increased the disappointment

easily the most disappointing film of the year

seriously kermode, you give the tree of life of such a hard time and then proceed to give this a free pass? pst..

This is somewhat off the topic but I just wanted to point out that Roger Ebert posted your article from guardian about blockbusters on his facebook page.

I enjoyed Super 8 so much that the backlash seems almost facetious to me. There are legitimate quibbles that people have, and I share one of them, but I think the attitude of "seen it all before" is overly dismissive. As you point out, this is a film with heart.
The quibble I have with the film, and Cowboys & Aliens was similarly afflicted, is that its big CG creation doesn't have any signature moment. Attack the Block is the only alien invasion film I've seen this year that features really distinctive aliens, and the creature design elsewhere has been decidedly bland. Because the main reveal comes right at the end of the film, and it ends in pretty short order, it left me right at the last moment, going "Is that it?"
Then there's the delightful short film in the closing credits, which brought a smile to my face again. A solid 4/5 for me.

Hey, Kermode!

I liked Super 8, but it was too much of a homage to Steven Spielberg's previous movies like Close Encounters and E.T. to the point of annoyance. I didn't feel that the story was movie at as fast a pace as Close Encounters and I don't think that the connection between the monster and the Lamb kid were exploited enough to make them connected to each other. It would have been cool that instead of an obsession that one to the kids became insane like Richard Dreyfus's character. Hey, if you're gonna do an "homage" at least take more good elements from the other movies. But what do you think of the Blu-ray releases of the original Star Wars releases? When is it time for George Lucas to stop futzing around with the old movies and release the original theatrical cuts?

I loved Super 8. Possibly my film of the summer and it absolutely kills that my local cinema pushed it down to having only two screenings a day to make room for near constant showings of The Inbetweeners on its 14 screens.

I do agree with the view that the best parts of the film are the ones with the kids making their film. I really liked the director kid and think that he made a good comic touch to the film.

Overall I highly agree with the good doctor that the film has heart. In a summer of same old same old with sequels and superheroes, that is good to see.

SUPER8 on the face of it looks like one big smug advert for Spielberg nostalgia. I love some of his work, but why does he HAVE to put his childhood in EVERY damn movie he makes? As Mark said, it's virtually in every film he's done: the same themes over and over. It's annoying and a bit conceited.

Looking forward to hearing Mark's review of MR POPPER'S PENGUINS, though; judging by his pained expression and his tone of voice, he loved it. I'm starting to think Hollywood execs get movie their ideas from listening in to conversations between toddlers in a school yard.

Really shocked you enjoyed this so much, Mark. I honestly felt it was shallow, faux nostalgia of the most underwhelming kind. The only creepy thing about it is that J.J. Abrams is so obviously desperately in love with his mentor Spielberg, and the whole thing came off as a particularly creepy episode of stalking.

I felt the characters were shallow, especially the adults, and the supposedl emotional resolution felt rushed and untrue. Also, I'm becoming increasingly tired of being expected to laugh at child characters' incessant use of mild swearing; something the harry Potter films suffered from any time Ron opened his gob.

There was utterly no point in featuring a piss-poor CG alien other than to satisfy the summer blockbuster prerequisites, and quite frankly the film would have been far better without the sci-fi element at all, scuppering as it so thoroughly did the family drama.

I had looked forward to Super 8 for some time, and I was so completely disappointed that it's hard for me to understand what others see in it. Cest la vie.

Great! I can't wait for Super 9!

Well it looks as though I'm not the only one who found Super 8 dissapointing. Fantastic first act and then it all goes quite horribly wrong. I appreciate it as a blockbuster with a little more heart but nostalgia can't change the fact that Super 8 hits some pretty duff notes.

@zampano
I do agree with some of your points, but I don't think caring whether the alien got home or not was the main theme. In fact when you think about it it was kind of the background to the main story of thie kids and their relationships. In the same way that Stand By Me isn't about finding a body. Yes, what the alien does is horrendous, but then again we are given some back story as to why it behaves in that way.I thought that it was quite an interesting approach in that it is neither viscious nor soppy. It is an animal trying too survive on an alien planet and trying to get home. I didn't feel overly sorry for it yet equally it wasn't the real bad guy. So often aliens in movies are very clear cut being either a danger or a friend. Here it was less clear, it is a danger to humans but why? This is quite a different direction to the usual Spielberg style and shows that Abrams does have some of his own ideas.
***plot spolier***
The ending is emotional because of Joe Lamb letting go of his mother, not because the alien is going home.

Mark seems to have liked this film a lot more than I did.
When I saw this months and months ago I remember really enjoying the sense of nostalgia and the Spielbergian touch which was clearly all over it. However despite of the ingredients were in the right place, I did think the film actually lacked that true magic that those early Spielberg movies and in a way it just felt it had nothing new to offer. Original was not.
To quote my review of that time, if I were cooking a cake from the "perfect recipe book" and I had all the right ingredients, would the cake still come up as perfect as the book described it?

Check out my review and let me know if you agree:

@marge

I respectfully disagree

take for example, E.T., where Spielberg take his time in developing beautifully the relationship between Elliot and E.T resulting in a very emotionally powerful ending. In Super 8, there is no connection between the alien monster and the boy apart from convenient psychic powers (again stolen from E.T.) the monster uses. I do realise that we are suppose to feel something when the boy overcomes the grief of his mother, but Abrams fails utterly in achieving this primarily because there is no real connection between the alien monster and the boy. It has been well documented that Abrams originally conceived 2 seperate stories and eventually decided to mash them together and create Super 8. Unfortunately neither is developed fully thus he ends up with mixed results.

I hated Super8... I used to make movies with my Super8 as a kid then, after my dad had taken them to be developed, screen them back on my Bolex. Well, the movie at the end of Super8 was the best part of two hours of bolux. 'Homage' doesn't quite nail the level of up-Speilberg's-rear-end-ness Abrams displays here. Also, where was the 'monster'..? If Speilberg was great at one thing it was that, when his big reveal comes, it's worth the price of admission. The alien in Super8 was more like a subliminal advert for crab paste. Disappointing review Dr.K. I really thought you'd hate this pile of...
p.s. Though I generally despise De Mille's films without exception, the train wreck in The Greatest Story Ever Told always tickles me too... you know the one... "He truly was the Son of God!"

Missed seeing Super 8 in cinemas, managed to catch it on DVD and loved it. I didn't have many expectations of it. It looked okay. It turned out it was one of the summer's best blockbusters and I really enjoyed it. It was one of those movies that reminded me of what it was like to be young. A great cming-of an-age story that took us back of the days where blockbusters were fresh, charming and full of heart. It was a film that reminded me of the magic of movie-making. If only all blockbusters were as much fn as Super 8. It really charmed me and showed J.J Abrams as a true successor to Spielberg. He is an exceptionally smart director
4 out of 5