“Super 8” (2011) was, as everyone told me, a good movie – I’d give it an 8 out of 10. It had a smart, funny script that made for likeable adolescent protagonists, some nice tension in setting up a sci-fi mystery, and some great special effects (including an impressive train crash that reminded me of the very different “Final Destination” movies). I had fun with this.

I can only enjoy “family films” so much, though. It isn’t that I need violence or sex to be entertained. It’s that these movies are “safe” and therefore predictable. When I realized early on that this was intended for general audiences, it gave me a pretty good idea of what would and would not happen throughout the film. (This film is a mystery that is a little hard to discuss without spoilers.)

The movie was made even more predictable when you realize that director JJ Abrams was consciously imitating a certain other famous filmmaker. Let’s look as what we’ve got: 1) an earnest, vulnerable, yet ultimately heroic adolescent boy; 2) quirky, flawed, yet lovable supporting characters that aid him in his quest; 3) a sci-fi mystery; 4) several family conflicts involving absent parents; and 5) ruthless government and/or military authorities.

Hmmmm. Remind you of anything, anyone?  Hint: see this film’s producer.

There was a little too much heavy handed imagery and plotting. Accidentally turning on a film projector and seeing a dead parent? A flying locket with a picture of said parent? And the locket is let go at the story’s climax? I felt that Abrams would next reach right out of the movie screen and write the movie’s message in black Sharpie marker across my forehead. Just in case I didn’t get it.

Still, this was good. Those kids were so damned cool it made me think it might be fun to be a parent. That heavy kid would actually be really cool to hang out with. If I were his Dad, I’d buy him all sorts of stuff for his hobby of making zombie movies, and I’d let him skip his chores just to give him the space he needs.

This movie also did something pretty creative that I don’t remember seeing done outside of “The X-Files.” We’re shown a government or military conspiracy, but this time the local police department does NOT cooperate or become complicit in it. So you see local cops actively working against their federal or military counterparts. I found that to be different and interesting, and it seems like the sort of thing that might occur in real life.

All in all, this was a good movie. It seems like a pretty decent flick with which to introduce a kid to science fiction.