Super 8

There is no doubt that Steven Spielberg is one of the great directors of our time. In addition the Director of Super 8, JJ Abrams, has shown signs of brilliance with his work in the reboot of Star Trek, Mission Impossible 3, and the television series Lost.
When I first heard about this movie I thought it was The Goonies meet Cloverfield since both Spielberg and Abrams were involved. I was dead wrong. Super 8 takes place in 1979 and a mysterious train crash takes place in front of a group of young friends. They begin noticing strange happenings going around in their small town, and begin to investigate into the creepy phenomenon.
When you go to an IMAX summer movie you expect to be dazzled by things on the screen you have never seen before. Almost everything in this movie you have seen in Steven Spielberg movies. Flashing lights, close ups of characters with wind blowing in their hair, they even have the E.T. bike in the movie. In E.T. The Government is the enemy as well as in Super 8. The ending tries to tug at your heart strings similar to E.T. but it's a poor attempt. The only thing that I felt Abrams brought to the movie was his signature soundtrack by the great Michael Giacchino.
I felt like I was watching Abrams love letter screenplay to Spielberg even though Spielberg produced the movie. If this movie came out in 1979 then I would feel like I got my money's worth. By the way if you hated The Goonies like I did then you will not like these group of kids either. Super 8 is entirely a tribute to Spielberg and for the audience it's a waste of time.

Verdict:
Ordinary 8.