Joe (Joel Courtney, second from right) and his gang of amateur filmmakers discover something very wrong in their small Ohio town in Super 8.

Abrams and Spielberg team up with predictable, if enjoyable, results. Elizabeth Kerr reports.

Every generation has its galvanizing cinema moment, be it the birth of sound or color, a radical shift in content or message, or simply something never seen before. 1982's E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial was one of those moments - a slice of old-fashioned innocent wonderment in a post-Me Generation, pre-excessive '80s era. For millions across the globe the vaguely slimy alien that ate Reese's Pieces and pointed his creepy glowing finger at our hearts was a retro breath of fresh air. It also signaled the cementing of director-producer Steven Spielberg's filmic personality. Despite the inherent viciousness of Duel, the old-school frightfest that was Jaws, the questioning tone of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and the self-aware adventurism of Raiders of the Lost Ark (as much to do with star Harrison Ford as with Spielberg), it was E.T. that really put the man-child filmmaker on the map. Ever since then, it's been all childlike bravado and sentimentalism every step of the way. Now, childlike bravado and sentimentalism don't go with the Holocaust (as he tried to force in Schindler's List) and slavery (ditto The Color Purple, Amistad). He's been called a modern day Peter Pan for good reason.

Twenty years later and a new geek/wunderkind is on the scene. Many have lumped director-producer J. J. Abrams in with King Geek and pretend feminist Joss Whedon in the wake of genre hits like Alias, the Star Trek reboot, some little show called Lost, and "edgy" fare like Cloverfield and Fringe. Spielberg is a child of the 1950s, Abrams is a child of the '60s, and it shows in their respective oeuvres. Where Spielberg is all about the power of unbridled innocence, Abrams tempers that same ideal with a touch of modern cynicism and caution. Make no mistake: he is a latter-day Spielberg. But Abrams' brand of sentimentalism is just world weary enough to go down with contemporary audiences.

So what happens when these titans of fantasy collaborate? They make E.T. with an attitude-and less irritating children. In the interest of editorial transparency I will admit that on the list of my least favorite films of all time, E.T. is near the top, stuck between The Sound of Music and The Wizard of Oz. Admitting you eat babies is less offensive than admitting you don't like E.T. in some circles but there it is.

Super 8 is a bigger, uglier, angrier E.T., with a touch of Stand By Me coming-of-age boy drama and a serving of Cloverfield/District 9 on the side. (Noting that the creature could be genetically connected to Alien is like noting the sky is blue. No science fiction film after 1980 draws from any other source.) How much you enjoy Super 8 will be directly influenced by your tolerance for the "Phone home" movie.

It's 1979 and Joe (Joel Courtney) has just lost his mother in an industrial accident in rust belt Lillian, Ohio. His father, county deputy Jackson (the reliably working class Kyle Chandler), is mired in functional depression and if he had his way, Joe would be off at summer camp. Soon. To escape domestic misery, Joe and his bossy friend Charles (Riley Griffiths), firebug Cary (Ryan Lee) and nerdy Martin and Preston (Gabriel Basso and Zach Mills) start working on a Super 8 zombie movie, the way kids often did in the '70s, and the way Abrams and Spielberg did for sure. Their leading lady is Alice (Elle Fanning), whose father Louis (Ron Eldard) is the town drunk and who Jackson seems to hold responsible for his wife's death.

That's the squishy, emotional core that underlies the action, which is based on the kids inadvertently filming a spectacular train derailment that quickly gets the attention of the Air Force. Enter the shady colonel, Nelec (Noah Emmerich, in an, "Oh THAT guy!" role), vanishing sheriffs, household electronics, and neighborhood dogs, and a possible conspiracy to hide the truth from the overwhelmed Jackson. Any idea what happens next? That's right, this is E.T., so it's youthful ingenuity and relentlessness in the face of adult skepticism to the rescue.

For what it is, Super 8 is an enjoyable, often amusing, family entertainment that revels in reminding us of the value and pleasure of the imagination. There's a reason it's set in 1979 and not 2009. In '79 we all had to wait to find out what was on that film. We had to hope for the best when framing our shots. We still had the ability to be surprised, and that's what Super 8 is really about. There are relational and emotional surprises throughout the story, most of which end in a "Hold me?" moment. This is sweet filmmaking for the 21st century that somehow manages not to teeter over into tooth-aching syrupy-ness despite some painfully simplistic symbolism.

Writer-director Abrams does indeed have a sharp ear and eye for how pre-adolescent boys interact, and he manages a mostly believable dynamic among the group, and between Joe and Charles in particular. "Mostly" because, as with many films, Abrams' 14-year-olds are the kind of self-actualized individuals that are often the result of years of therapy-or a Hollywood writer's mature remembrance of those years. But he's helped along in creating a vivid impression of time and place by strong production and costume design, art direction, and kickin' 'burns on Eldard.

Like Stand By Me, Super 8 lives and dies on its young cast, and fortunately none of the stars is grating, whiny (Drew Barrymore, anyone?), or simply blank (Henry Thomas). Newcomer Griffiths reveals his novice status in a few mannered moments, but for the most part brings a nice balance to the blustery Charles, and Courtney could easily have slipped into maudlin as the grieving boy who just wants his daddy. Lee makes the most of his comic relief status and Elle proves she's the Fanning more capable of nuance. Is it as saccharine as E.T.? Not even close, thanks to Abrams. Is it as edgy as it could have been? Not even close, thanks to Spielberg. Super 8 is exactly what you'd expect from their partnership. But if you leave before the credits you'll miss the best part.

Super 8 opened in Hong Kong on Thursday.

(HK Edition 06/11/2011 page4)