Super 8 feels like the type of fun, science fiction fluff that once typified the summer blockbuster. So why is it that I'm so put off by it? If for nothing else, J.J. Abrams's movie stands out among the countless sequels and remakes that currently populate American multiplexes by being an "original" story. A throwback to Steven Spielberg's late 70s/early 80s UFO thrillers, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, for much of Super 8's, admittedly tense, running time I admired Abrams's ability to recreate much of the excitement generated by those landmark films of my youth. But shortly after the final credits rolled, my enthusiasm dissipated as I started to realize how calculated, how thoroughly engineered, Super 8 really is to tickle the nostalgic area of my brain.
