After a run of successes for Mr. Jeffrey Jacob, better known as J. J. Abrams, including the T.V. shows Alias and Lost, followed by MI:3 and Star Trek, he directs this coming of age/alien movie, Super 8. He did good things with his producing contribution on Cloverfield, but has his alien adventure hit the mark too? Directing a movie with a scattering of obvious influences from other films such as Stand By Me, The Goonies and E.T., who better to get on board; none other than the beard himself, Mr. S.A.S; that’s Steven Spielberg, by the way.

Set in 1979, a bunch of mates are trying to make a zombie movie on one of their dad’s super 8 cameras. Contributing to a scene at a railway station is an approaching train. ‘Production Value’! What follows is possibly the most horrific and horrendously realistic crash that has ever been put onto film. Surviving the disaster with only a few cuts and scrapes, the friends decide to continue making their movie. The small town around them is thrown into disarray by the mysterious cargo (not) aboard the train (anymore) and the government moves in, and locks the town down. Bosh.

It’s been a long time since a movie has appealed to both kids and adults alike, but this has taken me back to a time when One-eyed Willy and a fat Jerry O’ Connell were on my T.V box. What J. J. has accomplished here is a throwback movie of a particular era; a time when cell phones weren’t the remedy for everything, when chucking rocks at a window gained entry into your mate’s bedroom and when kids went off on their bicycles (not frickin’ scooters!) for an adventure or in most cases doing something that they’ll probably get in trouble for.

The noticeable involvement of Spielberg is there throughout; family friendly entertainment, kids in lead roles and the otherworldliness of extra terrestrials. The Spielberg/Abrams collaboration is a fruitful one for cinema going audiences who’ve longed for a decent story, well written characters and a movie that doesn’t rely on special effects to entertain. Hopefully the guy who has made possibly the best family action/adventure movies to date and the guy who looks like Buddy Holly’s brother work together again. It’s a unique alliance with a similar vision – and audiences can only profit from this.

The kids: The main three characters’ shoes are filled with Joel Courtney as Joe the arty one who does the make-up, Charles (Riley Griffiths) the director; the loud one who knows exactly what he wants and Elle Fanning as Alice, the older girl who agrees to be in the movie. Joe has just lost his mother in a factory accident and has no real guidance now, as the deputy sheriff, his dad, has more important things on his plate, with an escaped alien n’all. Alice also lives in a motherless dysfunctional family unit with her drunken dad. The dads have issues with each other, but obviously the kids disobey the orders to stay away from one another. Charles likes her too. Shit. So, their stories and backgrounds are familiar but strong enough to carry the coming-of-age driven plot through. And you care for these kids; they’re all likeable, (as opposed to most kids in movies who are repellent dickheads) and you want them to finish their movie.

These kids, the ones who got through the massive ass sift are truly great actors. Apparently, Abrams auditioned 1000 children! Elle Fanning was the one that stood out for me though. Entirely believable in both her roles (as Alice and the female lead in the zombie movie), her performance was that of someone who’s been doing this for years – tackling every scene with absolute conviction. Her, Chloe Moritz and Abigail Breslin are all gonna be competing for roles after this – as teen actresses at the top of their game.

The sub-plot, and it is a sub-plot, which involves the escaped alien creature thing is what lets the movie down. It’s almost as if Abrams has used the monster as a back-up plan. But the kids’ story is far more entertaining and real than that of the alien or the sheriff or the army dudes. It suggests that Abrams has used the alien as a cinematic device, maybe to keep the movie ticking on at a reasonable pace or simply to get asses on seats. Other than a few good scenes with the big creepy crawly disguised behind stuff smashing shit up, that whole element was neither required or executed particularly well, especially in terms of the uninspired creature design.

With any luck, Abrams will direct kid orientated stuff again because he really can direct children, and there’s a space in the industry for someone to do these kinda movies; possibly take over from Spielberg himself. If it weren’t for the developed and well written characters and the exceptionally delivered dialogue, this wouldn’t have been half as good. Narratively, not quite there, but it’s probably the best blockbuster we’ve seen for quite some time. Well done, Jeff.

Oh, and as the credits role you get to see the zombie movie, and it’s well worth the wait, and quite possibly the best bit of the entire movie!