The Super Bowl offered us at our first real look at J.J. Abrams’ Super 8, his throwback to a cinematic era when Steven Spielberg wowed audiences with films like Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Ironically Spielberg is producing Super 8 for Abrams meaning he should be much more hands-on than say his executive producing gig with Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Spielberg filming techniques, whether solely the work of Abrams or mentored by Spielberg, are evident throughout the Super 8 Super Bowl ad.
This first 30 seconds of Super 8 is already drawing comparisons to Spielberg’s E.T. for the late 70s/early 80s setting and child actors pushing the story forward. This is exactly the reaction Abrams is hoping to get which goes against the modern grain of big stars and spectacle driving big event films.
The “monster” that terrorizes a small town in Super 8 remains a mystery even after watching this footage. Several shots show characters looking at “it” and in one split-second you can see a tank taking a shot at “it.” How big “it” is, what “it” is capable of (the scene with cars seemingly coming to life raises a lot of questions) and what “it” looks like remain as mysterious as Area 51.
Check back tomorrow for more information on Super 8 after watching the Super Bowl spot below several times in a row. I’ve yet to get sick of it.
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Super 8 will be in theaters and IMAX on June 10.
