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SUPER 8Movie Reviews
Science fiction thriller, set in 1979, about a group of kids who set out to investigate inexplicable events in their town that take place in the wake of a spectacular train crash. Cast:Kyle Chandler, Elle Fanning, Amanda Michalka, Noah EmmerichDirector:J.J. AbramsRelease Date:June 10, 2011DVD Release:November 22, 2011From:ParamountRating:PG-13Length:1 hr. 52 min.
Super 8 played to excellent reviews. • Bill Goodykoontz wrote in the Arizona Republic, "...a tremendous amount of fun.... Echoes of 'E.T.' and 'The Goonies' abound, but this is still Abrams' film. The power of imagination at work here is moving..." • And Norman Wilner wrote in Toronto Now, "...rousing... a mixture of old-school storytelling and state-of-the-art production values.... nostalgic and novel in equal degrees." More Reviews Below...
Super 8 Positive Reviews (50 Reviews, reviews below)
Alynda Wheat, People: OUTSTANDING(cg) "J.J. Abrams could have sent producer Steven Spielberg a gushy fan letter. Instead he gave him a whole movie -- a taut, emotional adventure jammed with his mentor's touches."(See all of Alynda Wheat's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 142 words, 06/09/11
Richard Corliss, Time: OUTSTANDING "...scary, artful... plays with genre expectations, then transcends and obliterates them.... the year's most thrilling, feeling mainstream movie."(See all of Richard Corliss's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,505 words, 06/03/11
Christy Lemire, Associated Press: VERY GOOD(cg) "...earnest and irony-free... all you're left with is story. And strong performances. And well-developed characters. And a believable emotional arc. And genuine thrills."(See all of Christy Lemire's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 857 words, 06/09/11
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...spectacularly well made... How have we survived for so long on such a meager, high-cal, low-nutrition diet of processed summertime superhero sequels?"(See all of Lisa Schwarzbaum's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 515 words, 06/10/11
Claudia Puig, USA Today: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...has an engrossing plot and a strong cast of fully drawn characters. There's even a sweet youthful love story.... it's a summer blockbuster firing on all cylinders."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 435 words, 06/10/11
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "During the first hour, I was elated... Then something started to slip.... All the same, this is a wonderful film, nostalgia not for a time but for a style of filmmaking..."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 881 words, 06/10/11
Glenn Kenny, MSN Movies: VERY GOOD(cg) "...what's actually revealed isn't as interesting as it kind of promised to be... and it doesn't matter all that much.... it works because of, yes, its emotional commitment."(See all of Glenn Kenny's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 832 words, 06/08/11
James Berardinelli, Reel Views: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...smart, exciting, heartfelt, and suffused with nostalgia. It's a great thing to see a motion picture spectacle that does not require a temporary lobotomy for gratification."(See all of James Berardinelli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 991 words, 06/10/11
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (14 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: EXCELLENT "...attempts the difficult feat of balancing self-consciousness about the olden days with wide-eyed, headlong, present-tense fun. For about an hour it succeeds marvelously."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,041 words, 06/10/11
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...uneven but often charming... gets a lot of things right, including its inspirations' sense of innocence. What's missing, however, is a crucial sense of connection to itself."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 436 words, 06/10/11
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: FAIR "...not as exciting or involving as we'd like it to be.... The problem is not how much there is to complain about but how little there is to be excited about.... a disappointment."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 757 words, 06/09/11
Lou Lumenick, New York Post: VERY GOOD(cg) "...an enjoyable, well-acted, old-school geekfest pitting a group of middle-school students against an escaped monster from outer space."(See all of Lou Lumenick's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 725 words, 06/10/11
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: VERY GOOD(cg) "Abrams brings so much affection to the project the results reveal both the film geek he surely was as a Spielberg-lovin' kid, and the hard-charging populist he has become."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 605 words, 06/10/11
David Edelstein, New York Magazine: GOOD "Abrams, who wrote the script, has enough storytelling savvy to keep you guessing from scene to scene... he makes you feel his enthusiasm."(See all of David Edelstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 703 words, 06/06/11
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "During the first hour, I was elated... Then something started to slip.... All the same, this is a wonderful film, nostalgia not for a time but for a style of filmmaking..."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 881 words, 06/10/11
J. Hoberman, Village Voice/LA Weekly: EXCELLENT "...greatly enjoyable... manages to keep its secret for nearly 90 minutes and, although not hard to figure, you won't have it spelled out by me."(See all of J. Hoberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 648 words, 06/08/11
Peter Howell, Toronto Star: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Abrams fashions it in such a calculating manner, with every element weighed both for maximum nostalgia value and ironic hipster cred, that it has an artificial feel to it."(See all of Peter Howell's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 904 words, 06/10/11
Rick Groen, Toronto Globe & Mail: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...all the kids here are terrific, significantly better than the actual movie that surrounds them.... has small pockets of charm..."(See all of Rick Groen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 702 words, 06/10/11
Josep Parera, La Opinion: EXCELLENT(cg) "Lo más interesante y logrado de 'Super 8' es su entrañable y encantadora apuesta por contar una historia emotiva acerca de los últimos latigazos de la niñez."(See all of Josep Parera's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 551 words, 06/10/11
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: EXCELLENT(cg) "...rousing... a mixture of old-school storytelling and state-of-the-art production values.... nostalgic and novel in equal degrees."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 325 words, 06/09/11
KEY CITIES (14 Reviews)
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Fanning emerges, not just as a fetching ingenue but as a true movie star... it takes a terrific actress to play a terrific actress who doesn't know she's terrific."(See all of Ann Hornaday's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 773 words, 06/10/11
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...the movie of the summer, the movie of MANY summers going back to the '70s. It's a creature feature, a first-love romance and a movie buff's movie..."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 782 words, 06/10/11
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: EXCELLENT(cg) "...a tremendous amount of fun.... Echoes of 'E.T.' and 'The Goonies' abound, but this is still Abrams' film. The power of imagination at work here is moving..."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 747 words, 06/10/11
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: VERY GOOD(cg) "...the humor and the humanity outweigh the big-bang-boom. It's a good movie that makes you want to go home and re-watch a great one."(See all of Ty Burr's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 817 words, 06/10/11
Stephen Whitty, New Jersey Star-Ledger: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...as full of rich characters as it is smart popcorn-movie scares.... big, bold entertainment -- guaranteed to bring out the monster kid in all of us."(See all of Stephen Whitty's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 546 words, 06/10/11
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: OUTSTANDING(cg) "The pacing is superb, quick and agile without being frenzied, and the special effects are jaw-dropping. Abrams gets excellent performances from his young cast..."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 606 words, 06/10/11
Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian: EXCELLENT(cg) "...spirited and funny and deeply entertaining, a summer movie for kids who think like adults and adults who feel like kids."(See all of Shawn Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 309 words, 06/10/11
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: VERY GOOD(cg) "Breathing new life into these old forms is a next-to-impossible mission, but if the skeletons in your closet are made of celluloid, it will be more of a treat than a trick."(See all of Joe Williams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 375 words, 06/10/11
Steve Persall, St. Petersburg Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...takes viewers back to days of 'Gremlins' and 'Goonies,' when movie kids looked and acted real, and everything was almost right with the world."(See all of Steve Persall's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 613 words, 06/09/11
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: MODERATE(cg) "...a loving, heartfelt but hollow pastiche. It was intended as a from-the-heart love letter to moviemaking... but instead it ends up as something that rolled off the assembly line."(See all of Rene Rodriguez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 601 words, 06/10/11
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (10 Reviews)
J. Hoberman, Village Voice/LA Weekly: EXCELLENT "...greatly enjoyable... manages to keep its secret for nearly 90 minutes and, although not hard to figure, you won't have it spelled out by me."(See all of J. Hoberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 648 words, 06/08/11
Eric Eisenberg, Cinema Blend: EXCELLENT(cg) "J.J. Abrams has captured the essence of growing up... pays homage to genre classics without ever losing its spark of originality."(See all of Eric Eisenberg's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 867 words, 06/01/11
Keith Phipps, AV Club: VERY GOOD(cg) "...of all the filmmakers who have tried to recapture the Spirit Of '82, nobody has succeeded as well as Abrams does here.... Its pleasures are borrowed, but durable."(See all of Keith Phipps's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 438 words, 06/09/11
Stephanie Zacharek, Movieline: GOOD(cg) "I couldn't always tell if the movie was teasing out my own childhood memories or just memories of old Steven Spielberg movies... I figure out the latter was winning the day."(See all of Stephanie Zacharek's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,519 words, 06/09/11
Nick Schager, Slant: MODERATE(cg) "...merely a high-resolution photocopy devoid of its revered predecessor's soul... ultimately feels stuck in a state of suspended supernatural-sci-fi adolescence."(See all of Nick Schager's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 845 words, 06/08/11
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: EXCELLENT(cg) "...rousing... a mixture of old-school storytelling and state-of-the-art production values.... nostalgic and novel in equal degrees."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 325 words, 06/09/11
Curt Holman, Atlanta Creative Loafing: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "The more grown-up plots involving military cover-ups, grief and forgiveness feel far more perfunctory, although it's an entertaining movie overall."(See all of Curt Holman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 589 words, 06/10/11
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: EXCELLENT "...terrifically pleasing... And the pleasure continues beyond the end, in a way that goes beyond afterglow. Stay for the final credits and you won't regret it."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,075 words, 06/10/11
A.O. Scott, New York Times: EXCELLENT "...attempts the difficult feat of balancing self-consciousness about the olden days with wide-eyed, headlong, present-tense fun. For about an hour it succeeds marvelously."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,041 words, 06/10/11
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: FAIR "...not as exciting or involving as we'd like it to be.... The problem is not how much there is to complain about but how little there is to be excited about.... a disappointment."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 757 words, 06/09/11
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon: VERY GOOD "...an expertly constructed thrill ride with wonderful atmosphere and tremendous good humor; if its heart of gold is artificial, that won't stop you from enjoying the heck out of it."(See all of Andrew O'Hehir's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,129 words, 06/08/11
MOVIE INDUSTRY (6 Reviews)
Peter Debruge, Daily Variety: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...refreshing to the extent that it feels personal, but ultimately exasperating for how much the project is compromised by unfair expectations..."(See all of Peter Debruge's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 932 words, 06/04/11
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: FAIR "...not as exciting or involving as we'd like it to be.... The problem is not how much there is to complain about but how little there is to be excited about.... a disappointment."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 757 words, 06/09/11
Emanuel Levy, Cinema 24/7: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a compendium of conventions and clichés... a picture in which individual parts are more significant and interesting than the overall system in which they are contained."(See all of Emanuel Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,141 words, 06/04/11
A.O. Scott, New York Times: EXCELLENT "...attempts the difficult feat of balancing self-consciousness about the olden days with wide-eyed, headlong, present-tense fun. For about an hour it succeeds marvelously."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,041 words, 06/10/11
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: EXCELLENT "...terrifically pleasing... And the pleasure continues beyond the end, in a way that goes beyond afterglow. Stay for the final credits and you won't regret it."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,075 words, 06/10/11
16.0 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Super 8's reviews are separated by an average 16.0 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Super 8 (50 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Super 8's reviews cover 94.0% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 35,788 words involume (average is 20,172 words). Length:The film's reviews average 716 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Super 8 Coverage, Volume & Length (50 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 36.5 Hours Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Super 8's reviews on average broke 36.5 hours before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Super 8's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
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