15 Terrible Movies That Actually Improve Good Ones
6. Super 8 Improves E.T.
The Bad
Let's get this out of the way quickly, Super 8 is not a 'bad' film as such. Unfortunately it fails at what it sets out to do which is emulate the beloved 80's, Spielberg-esque adventure tale. For those living under a rock this has now been done exceptionally well in this year's Stranger Things.
Franchise aficionado J J Abrams' Super 8 has its moment of enjoyment certainly but the attempt at old school awe and wonder feel forced and ultimately it misses the mark.
How It Improves E.T.
One of the previously mentioned films Super 8 is clearly trying to emulate is Spielberg's E.T. The Extra Terrestrial.
Super 8's story line is the run off of what you'd get if you put E.T. and The Goonies in a blender, (you child blending psychopath) but E.T. is the king of childlike wonder, which is clearly what Super 8 was aiming for. Aiming for a missed by quite some margin. Putting the two next to each other is really quite cruel, as one is just the lesser loved, ugly sibling.
The last thing you want from your film is for it to make you want to turn it off and watch a better version. Don't bother with Super 8, just stick on E.T. instead.