Why so much hype?

the audience applauded

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Despite being a fan of J.J. Abrams and what he does with his Bad Robot productions, I'll be the first to say it: At its core, "Super 8" is J.J.'s homage to his childhood cloaked in the storytelling techniques of Steve Spielberg. However, because JJ imparts so much of his own flare and personal charisma into the film, it ends up mostly transcending its "copycat" label and producing a result that is quite enjoyable on a number of fronts.For a basic plot summary, "Super 8" focuses on Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney), a young teen growing up in the 1970s who loves making movies with his Super-8 camera and building miniature models. When viewers are introduced to Joe, he has just lost his mother in a factory accident, and father Jackson (Kyle Chandler) struggles to be a single father while also serving as town police deputy. While filming a movie scene with his buddies, and notably crush Alice (Elle Fanning), Joe witnesses a train derailment in which some sort of creature is released and the military intervenes. With the film in Joe's camera being the only evidence of the incident, "Super 8" unspools into a race against the clock both for the military (to destroy the evidence) and Joe's crew (to figure out just what exactly is going on).I think the hallmark of "Super 8" is that it's a film that has a little bit of everything. It features tremendous action/adventure sequences, emotional family/character drama, and a mystery plot that keeps things moving forward. There is not one wasted scene in the entire film. Though it clocks in at about 2 hours, it doesn't feel "that long" because the action is always moving forward (a trait of Abrams films).The use of the child actors in the movie are also spectacular. They carry long (and most) stretches of the film with absolutely no qualms or drop in performances that adults may have given. In a way, JJ was kind of ahead of the curve here on the "kids riding bikes around the neighborhood" type film that "It" & "Stranger Things" would later bring firmly back into fashion.Oddly enough, the only reason I can't give "Super 8" an even higher ranking is a big part of the reason why it gets the 8 stars to begin with: The film is so slick and filled with relentless energy that I felt, at times, it doesn't take quite enough time to stop and savor the character moments (the highlight of the film by quite a bit). This is especially apparent in the ending, which should be even more touching than what ends up transpiring. This isn't a huge fault, but I think stems from the film coming from a Spielberg/nostalgia place instead of one of complete originality.Overall, though, "Super 8" is a fun and compelling film that can be enjoyed by a wide swath of audiences. No one will ever be bored watching the film, and it dips into enough genres to find some nerve in every viewer. Not quite at the top of my "favorites of all-time" list, but certainly in the tier right below it.

Maybe it's just nostalgia, but I really liked Super 8 - it helped me relive my childhood. There are some plot points that don't make sense, and the ending is kind of weak, but it reminded me of all the time my friends and I spent making movies back in the day. This film has a throwback feel to the classic adventure movies of the 80s and it features great performances by both the kids and the adults. Fun stuff.

'Super 8' starts off promisingly enough, but after the initial scenario is set (in spectacular fashion), the film's lack of ideas are quickly exposed and it nose-dives fast. Technically it's very impressive - well produced and the CGI/special effects are excellent and realistic, but visuals only get you so far. When you dig beyond the surface, there's nothing impressive about 'Super 8' at all. It's no different to 90% of other sci-fi films that have come before it.It's a distinctly average sci-fi thriller that borrows virtually all of its ideas from elsewhere. Despite all the action sequences, explosions and other special effects, the generic, shallow plot and uninteresting characters make it a completely forgettable film. The glowing reception it received on release is baffling, especially from the critics. 'Super 8' gets an average 5 from me.

This movie could have been really good but there are major, major problems. The train wreck was way over done. For one thing, at one point early on in the train crash the train was wrecking behind where the kids were running but they were reacting to something in front of them, which I guess was the train wrecking, but then how could it wreck on both sides of them? Then there is the fact that the guy that drove the pick up into the train caused the train to crash in such a dramatic way. It would take a train running into another train head on to create anything even remotely similar to what we saw (even then the way the trains were flying was probably 20 times more spectacular by far than any real train wreck in history). Then how does the man in the pick up not only survive running his pick up into what must have been an extremely fast moving train for it to have crashed the way it did, his vehicle also was shown to explode into a large ball of fire on impact. And so not only does he live, he is well enough to talk and move his arms around? Incredibly unrealistic. I also have major problems the intense contrasting in volume in this movie. You have to turn the TV up loud to hear what they are saying then something designed to startle the audience happens and the volume suddenly becomes a thousand times louder. Its annoying as heck. I won't blindly like what should be a good movie with so much nonsense thrown into it.