More than a month out from its official Australian release date of June 9th, portions of JJ Abrams’ upcoming Super 8 were revealed to select Australian media outlets including yours truly, inthemix. During that screener we were given a first look at Abrams’ science-fiction adventure flick, prefaced by the director himself talking about working with production partner and film icon Steven Spielberg and how what we were about to see was “not even close” to complete, and now a week away from bowing in cinemas here and in the US that same footage has begun to trickle out online, offering everybody not on a media list the chance to look inside the exciting world of Super 8.

Now I use the word ‘exciting’ quite purposefully as when I watched the incpomplete 15 minute selection of footage from Super 8 I was struck by just how neatly Abrams had crafted his story and his characters. Following a rag-tag group of youngsters in sleepy late ‘70s US suburbia there’s a genuine sense of affectionate mateship that can’t be simulated. These kids, with Joel Courtney and Elle Fanning as our focal point, feel like real kids; at times they’re goofy and giggly and other times they’re unsure of how to deal with issues that’re just too big for 12 year olds. They pull us in wonderfully to the point where you wouldn’t mind if the mysterious alien at Super 8’s centre doesn’t show up and the kids cast off on a Stand By Me style adventure. But then the alien does turn up. Holy shit does it turn up.

Of course we don’t see the alien just yet, that’d be cheating, but that epic train crash is such a jolting change of pace and it begins to shift the film into an unexpectedly dark and treacherous tone. From the footage shown to media the film swings swiftly from the warm Goonies vibe to big budget action scenes, sci-fi pondering and intriguing monster mystery as the escaped alien begins to terrorise the small township where our heroes live.

In a movie going season full of remakes, reboots, sequels, threequels and even fourquels, Abrams’ original blockbuster looks like a legitimate highlight of the year. Go see it!