After the critically and financially-acclaimed remake of ‘Star Trek’, writer-director J.J. Abrams is back to his secretive, mystery-filled roots with ‘Super 8’. The film revolves around a group of pre-teens who encounter a mild disaster and endure the mysterious events surrounding it. With obvious homages to early-Spielberg films, ‘Super 8’ is a silent, but strong summer film filled with lots of wonder.

Set in the summer of 1979, Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney), the main character of ‘Super 8’, has recently lost his mother. His father Jackson (Kyle Chandler) is the deputy police of the town, and his relationship with Joe is very distant and secluded. Joe relies on spending time with his best friends to pass the time, friends who include: Charles (Riley Griffiths), an aspiring filmmaker; Cary (Ryan Lee), who loves to play with fire; and Preston (Zach Mills) and Martin (Gabriel Basso). New to the group is Alice (Elle Fanning), who’s helping Charles with his zombie movie by acting in it. Joe obviously likes Alice, and the relationship between the two of them is, for the most part, sweet and sentimental. There are quite a few scenes that depict their relationship perfectly.

Late one night, however, as the kids are filming a scene for Charles’ zombie movie, they witness the derailment of a cargo train by a mysterious pick-up truck. This train-derailment sequence is absolutely fantastic, and probably the most spectacular part of the film, visually. The derailment is truly breath-taking. How a pick-up truck is able to derail such a large cargo train is even questioned by one of the kids, but that’s the least of their worries. Some thing inside the cargo train escaped, threatening the entire town. The United States Air Force is trying their best to cover up the situation, claiming everything is okay; Joe and the rest of the gang suspect it’s not.

‘Super 8’ isn’t just about the mysterious thing that escaped from the train. The strange events catapults Joe and Alice’s relationship. Joe’s relationship with his father is explored, as well as Alice’s with her father (Ron Eldard). Joe and Alice’s troubled relationships with their respective fathers, however, are not explored enough in the film. When Joe and his father encounter a major conflict between the two of them, they don’t see one another again until the conclusion of the film. The same goes for Alice and her father when they hit an emotional high-point in their relationship, and then Alice is left out for the majority of the second half of the film. There’s definitely emotional depth in ‘Super 8’, it just could have been explored further and better.

Alice’s departure during the second half of ‘Super 8’ is a big mistake because Elle Fanning is the best child actor of the bunch, though the rest of them are still pretty great. Fanning’s performance is really terrific and wonderful to watch. Joel Courtney and Riley Griffiths, in particular, are just as terrific as best friends, and the two of them work well with one another; the chemistry is there.

As great as J.J. Abrams is, and as great as the script for ‘Super 8’ is, the film stumbles a bit during its second half, and especially during its third act. The first half of the film has most of the fun and wonder. ‘Super 8’ is more thrilling during its first half when the “thing” is shown less than later on in the film, and it’s more charming and fun with all of the young friends together. The third act of ‘Super 8’, which is the final 15 or 20 minutes, isn’t bad, but it’s slightly disappointing compared to the rest of the film. It’s not that there’s a lack of pay-off as to the mystery of the thing that escaped from the cargo train, but the conclusion just didn’t seem befitting; it feels too frantic, too rushed. Also, the film ends with more questions than answers.

No matter the small faults and issues there may be, though, ‘Super 8’ is one of the best films you will see this summer. It’s wonderfully acted, well-scripted, and full of spectacles. ‘Super 8’ does not rely on special effects like most summer blockbusters, and for the most part they’re kept to a minimum (aside from the train-derailment sequence and the film’s third act). The film is absolutely well-made and beautifully filmed (seeing it in IMAX really makes the film so much better), and the cool lens-flares featured predominantly in 2009’s ‘Star Trek’ appear in this film as well. J.J. Abrams, the man behind ‘Lost’ and ‘Cloverfield’, has a knack for thrills and suspense, and it works in a film like ‘Super 8’. Abrams knows how to balance action and special effects with great storytelling and fleshed-out characters.

Three and a half out of four Kents.

Extra Notes:

• What’s neat about ‘Super 8’ is during the train-derailment sequence, the film version depicts it from the children’s point of view. In all of the trailers, the scene is depicted from a different point of view, showing more of the pick-up truck’s view.

• The film would have worked for me a lot more if the supporting characters within Joe’s circle of friends had more importance. If each of the children had an equal amount of screen time, I feel like ‘Super 8’ may have been better, and the adventure may have been more exciting, instead of just focusing on mostly Joe and Alice.