Thoughts On The Newest "Super 8" Trailer

J.J. Abrams keeps getting more and more awesome. Lost, Cloverfield, and Star Trek were all fantastic, and now we get to look forward with Abrams' latest work-the sci-fi thriller/actioner Super 8. The first full-length trailer was finally released last week, and it looks pretty damn promising. Read on for my thoughts!

OK, so right away I'm pretty pumped after the classic Amblin Entertainment logo pops up-I honestly can't remember the last time I saw it, but it takes me back to the golden age of Spielberg with films like Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jaws, and E.T. Spielberg produced the film, and it seems like he and Abrams could develop quite a nice relationship.

We open on a kid cruising on his bike through town while a conversation with is dad is overheard. Dad doesn't really approve of his friends who "run around with cameras and monster make up", but kido insists he has to help his friend finish his film. They've got their own little crew going, complete with a super 8 camera and boom mic.

Let's go, we're losing our light!

The kids are making some sort of monster movie from the sound of it, but they capture something that wasn't part of the plan when a train comes barreling in on the tracks, hits and destroys a pickup truck, and is turned over. While it lies in smoldering ruins, something starts trying to break free from a car labeled "U.S. Airforce", sending bolts flying as it pummels the steel.

Thaaaaaaaat can't be good...

 Suddenly, the town is under attack by something strange-dogs go missing, then people, and whatever it is seems to a violent force that starts breaking into stores and dragging people out. In a thrilling montage, we see people running, cars being overturned, the kids doing some sleuthing, even an oddly engrossing shot of a soldier sweeping a field with a flame thrower:

Whoa.

We end on a mysterious shot of main street where things seem to levitating, maybe being pulled towards something? People look up in awe:

Flash to the title of the film and close with one of the kid filmmakers exclaiming "what the hell?" I don't know kid, but it looks pretty exciting.

Now the Superbowl spot for this movie really nabbed my attention, especially it's almost-E.T. vibe of a young kid being thrown into the middle of a crazy sci-fi adventure in a small town-this trailer just made me that much more excited. Some things I love in particular:

1. The fact that it features kids making a movie on FILM-naturally, they're doing so because the film looks like it takes place in maybe the late 70s-early 80s. Still, I always love a shout out to the medium of actual film, as it's ultimate demise in favor of strictly digital actually really saddens me.

2. The nostalgia feel: as mentioned, the film seems to take place in the late 70s-early 80s. That automatically gives it a sense of nostalgia. Thinking about it, it also feels that way because it was a "simpler" time in a lot of ways-a time before the internet, before final cut pro, before special effects were available to everyone. Again, a big factor in having the set up come from a couple of kids making their own movie.

3. In part of what gives me an E.T.-vibe, I get the impression that the team of kids could very well be the smartest people in the film-the main character's father seem cynical; the army wants to hide the truth from everyone. In one of the greatest moments in the trailer, a clearly shaken man talks with the kid and tells him "I saw it! No on believes me..." to which the kid replies earnestly "I believe you."

4. It has the signature Abrams feel with a dash of old-school Spielberg that makes it look like one of the more exciting and original sci-fi films as of late.

For now, I'll have to keep re-watching the brilliant trailer, as the film isn't released until June 10. Check it out below-it's well worth your time!