In the summer of 1979, a group of friends in a small Ohio town witness a catastrophic train crash while making a super 8 movie and soon suspect that it was not an accident. Shortly after, unusual disappearances and inexplicable events begin to take place in town, and the local Deputy tries to uncover the truth - something more terrifying than any of them could have imagined.

Super 8 is a throwback film to those old more simpler times of science fiction and when our imaginations ran wild. Before cynicism and doubt and when childhood innocence reigned supreme. Before constant news coverage and twitter and facebook back when the world was as big as our imaginations would allow it to be. That is what the film captures a sense of innocence and innocence shattered a trip of nostalgia and wonderment. Of seeing the world through eyes not clouded over with years of cynicism but of course sprinkled with danger and disaster and excitement. It captures that long lost youth feeling then plunges you down the rabbit hole for spectacular fights and explosions and all the while entertains you a joyous roller coaster of a film.

There is two things that Steven Spielberg seems to love and that is tales of aliens and tales of war. Throughout his career he has made his films with these two staples time and time again and it looks like has found a new counterpart that loves them as much as he does in JJ Abrams. The two collaborate together beautifully creating and almost re-creating some of Spielberg’s more fanciful films of his youth like Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T.. Super 8 takes all the elements of nostalgia and youth and melds them into one fanciful and entertaining film that is no lacking in story or characters or action for that matter. The film has a little of everything and is breath taking at times too.

One of the great things about the film is the suspense leading up to you finally getting to see why all these strange occurrences are happening. Abrams and Spielberg don’t reveal their secrets right away instead they build up to it slowly and bit by bit let you in on the secrets of the film. It adds tension to the story and is wonderful pacing for what will happen soon after when all the action starts to unfold. From there it is like you have slowly built to the top of the roller coaster and now all that is left is the breathtaking ride down with the wind blowing in your hair.

Finding child actors who do a good job is always difficult but the film seems to have done a good job with its casting. From Joel Courtney as the awkward kid dealing with loss to Gabriel Basso the kid who find himself being the clown to try and make friends and not be such an outsider. Characters you can relate to and who might have been like you and your friends when you were kids. Then just sprinkle in some older veteran actos like Kyle Chandler and you have a nice mix to fill out the movie. Super 8 is a fun, fanciful, entertaining piece of science fiction that begs for multiple viewings.

Grade: A-