From the directer of the last Star Trek comes a super action alien movie as good as it gets. There has been a lot of hype on this flick and now the jury is out. Director J. J. Abrams also wrote the script for Super 8 and he is very good at his direction in Sci-Fi/ Thriller flicks.  His latest effort is another fine example of his works.

In the summer of 1979 a group of young friends in Lillian, Ohio who are would be actors/producers/directors and a possible young George Lucas who want to start filming a zombie movie with a 8 mm camera. But they have to sneak around their parents to do so. Charles (Riley Griffiths), Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney) and a few more friends set out to start shooting their project. While shooting on a train platform one evening, the group witnesses a very impressive train derailment.

They survive the wonderfully filmed wreck but soon realize something strange is going on. Suddenly the Military gets involved and things get hidden, covered up and not talked about. From the train come these white rubic cube-like objects that have a mind of their own. Joe’s dad is deputy sheriff Jackson Lamb wonderfully played by Kyle Chandler from “Friday Night Lights” and Early Edition tv series from 10 years ago.

He suspects a cover up when the Military start combing his town with no explanation. They cover up the train wreck but suddenly things and people in the town start disappearing. Things like utility wires, microwaves, car parts, and cars totally destroyed. Meanwhile, the kids take their camera in to have the film developed. Which back then days a rush was 3 days. Funny how things have sped up. Steven Spielberg has his hand in this as well and he too is Super.

Joe has a hunch that something big is going down. Well the film gets developed and the Military wants it. The strange encounters is indeed happening. No electricity, even the dog is missing. Joe is still grieving over his mother’s industrial accident months earlier but now he is focused on the weird stuff in town. He and his friends take it upon their selves to help solve the mystery. It’s an Alien cover up. But the poor creature just wants to go back home but the government has other ideas. It destroys everything in it’s path.

The camera angles used in filming Super 8 are fantastic. But the show belongs to the kids and each one shines in his or her own way. The models Joe builds and his pendant his mother gave to him at birth all play a neat role in this film. The acting is top notch but the ending was a little weak but was good for an E.T. like ending. And Joe’s first teenage crush, Alice (Elle Fanning) was the film’s leading lady and a nice touch. Be sure to stay through the closing credits for a Super 8 Zombie production that was all about Paramount’s Super 8.

Super 8 opens in theaters June 10, 2011 and is rated PG-13. It runs 112 minutes and is NOT in 3D. YES!

By Hustlin Bob Higgins 4 1/2 stars