Aliens, Children and Spielberg? E.T. Got Violent With Age

At first glance, the Steven Spielberg produced film Super 8 has a number of similarities to his older film E.T. Super 8 is a story with a plot mainly driven by cute children, an alien visitor and members of the government attempting to capture and study the creature. The difference, however, is that instead of healing people and phoning home, Super 8's extra terrestrial eats people and systematically hunts down its previous oppressors. While the alien plays and integral part in the film, it is by no means a main character and when all is said and done, the audience knows very little about it. The film really focuses on a boy named Joe Lamb, (played by the charming Joel Courtney) the daughter of the town drunk (played by Elle Fanning) and their group of friends as they attempt to make a film for a film festival. The pre-teens are dealing with all the things that normal teens have to deal with, being grounded, fighting with friends, budding teenage romances and of course, an alien invasion. While the adult acting in the film is good and the alien is interesting, it is these kids that really make the movie brilliant and it is the kids that the audience ends up caring about. This movie has humor, charm, great acting and a great plot. I give it a 8.5 out of 10 and certainly suggest seeing it in theaters, even if that means shelling out the big bucks for a non-matinee showing.