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Super 8 (view source)

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{{quote|''There's a reason that ''Super 8'', its cool thrills, also seems a work of innocence: it takes incidental inspiration from the films of a director who, back in 1979, was the J.J. Abrams of his day. Look closely and you'll see that ''Super 8'' [[George Lucas Throwback|is a medley of tropes from the films of Spielberg's early prime.]]''|'''Richard Corliss''', ''Time'' magazine}}
 
''Super 8'' is a 2011 [[Science Fiction Films|science fiction film]] written and directed by [[JJ Abrams]] and produced by [[Steven Spielberg]]. It is an homage to classic "adventurous children" movies, particularly those made/produced by Spielberg like ''[[ETE.T. the Extraterrestrial (Film)|ET the Extraterrestrial]]'', ''[[The Goonies]]'' and especially ''[[Close Encounters of the Third Kind]]''.
 
A group of pre-teens in a small Ohio town in 1979 are dedicated to making a zombie movie to enroll in an upcoming film festival, with Charles as script-writer and director, his best friend Joe as the make-up artist and other cast and crew members like Martin (lead actor), Cary (pyrotechnic/pyromaniac) and Preston (misc crew/extras). Charles manages to convince a girl and classmate, Alice, to play the part of the wife and she and Joe start to form an affection for each other. Unfortunately, there are some lingering emotions surrounding the death of Joe's mom several months prior, as well problems with his distant father, a deputy in the local sheriff's office.
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{{quote| "[[Lampshade Hanging|How could a pickup truck derail a train, man? That's impossible!]]"<br />
"[[Captain Obvious|Obviously]], it isn't." }}
** Actually [http://en.[wikipedia.org/wiki/Ufton_Nervet_rail_crash:Ufton Nervet rail crash|it really isn't]]. Although in that case the driver of the car was very dead indeed.
* [[As You Know]]: A few times with the kids, who usually respond with a huffy, "I know that!"
* [[The Atoner]]:
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* [[Cute Monster Girl]]: Alice, after Joe applies the zombie make-up.
* [[The Danza]]: Well, one consonant away from it.
* [[Deconstruction]]: Of a sort. The plot shows a [[Darker and Edgier|grittier]] realization of an ''[[ETE.T. the Extraterrestrial (Film)|E.T.]]''-style alien arrival and some ''[[The Goonies|Goonies]]''-esque meddling kids' entanglement in it. {{spoiler|Ultimately, the kids have next to nothing to do with the alien's escape from Earth. Rather, the story is about the ''humans'' learning to forgive and move on with their lives. Whether or not the alien learned about human emotions it's likely unable to comprehend is pretty much irrelevant. In fact, the kids' and the alien's paths only briefly intersect a couple of times.}} There's also a few fatalities, something that wouldn't happen in a kid's movie.
* [[Defictionalization]]: Rocket Poppeteers are available at 7-11 stores. You wouldn't know they're Super 8 tie ins unless you followed the ARG.
* [[Defrosting Ice Queen]]: Alice, who is initially cold towards Joe but quickly warms up to him once they spend time together.
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** {{spoiler|And when Deputy Lamb is coming out of the press conference or whatever it was, a man comes up to him and tells him about "some kinda sinkhole" in his garage.}}
* {{spoiler|[[Forgiveness]]: One of the major themes of the film.}}
* [[The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You]]: At the end of "[[Show Within a Show|The Case]]," Charles talks directly to the audience, only to be interrupted by a zombie tearing out his throat. It's a [[Shout -Out]] to grindhouse movies that did the exact same thing.
* [[Free-Range Children]]: The kids do sneak out at night, but they also spend all day on their own.
* [[Freeze Frame Bonus]]: The alien is first briefly seen in the reflection of a gasoline puddle.
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* [[George Lucas Throwback]]/[[Reconstruction]]: The entire film appears to be honoring every late 1970s-1980s film that [[Steven Spielberg]] either directed or had a hand in:
** Specifically ''[[Close Encounters of the Third Kind]]'' (the midwest setting, power outages).
** ''[[ETE.T. the Extraterrestrial (Film)|ET the Extraterrestrial]]'' (the kids on bikes, coping with an alien {{spoiler|that only wants to go home}}, and dealing with uncaring military authority figures).
** ''[[The Goonies]]''
** Even Deputy Lamb trying to find out what's going on with the disappearances in town is reminiscent of Chief Brody's investigations in ''[[Jaws (Film)|Jaws]]''.
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* [[What Measure Is a Non-Human?]]: {{spoiler|Before the end}}, the creature, when seen, had predatory-looking black eyes, killed people, and for the most part seemed utterly monstrous. When it picks up Joe, after {{spoiler|he makes it clear that he understands what happened to it and just wants the creature to leave in peace, the black ''lids'' slide back, revealing startlingly intelligent and human-like eyes. It then proceeds to put the boy gently down, lets him and his friends leave, and makes its own exit.}}
* [[Would Hit a Girl]]: Joe, but hesitantly and only because it was the only way to wake her up {{spoiler|so that they could run for their lives.}}
* [[X Days Since...]]: Used at the very start of the film to (fleetingly) cryptic effect. {{spoiler|Joe's Mom broke the streak. It was an accident.}} May be the first example of this trope used for ''dramatic'' effect.
* [[X Meets Y]]: The movie is ''[[ETE.T. the Extraterrestrial (Film)|ET the Extraterrestrial]]'', ''[[Cloverfield]]'', ''[[The Goonies]]'', ''[[Close Encounters of the Third Kind]]'', and a few dashes of ''[[The Blair Witch Project]]'', ''[[Star Trek (Film)|Star Trek (2009)]]'' and ''[[Independence Day]]''. Shake well.
 
{{reflist}}
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