JJ Abrams Officially Gets My Most Frustrating Man in Hollywood Reward

(Image taken from: weekinrewind.com)

Oh, my God. Super 8 is so...good. It's very good, actually. But dammit, JJ, why can't it be great? Why can't ANYTHING you do be great? For directors and creators who make crap some of the time but greatness most of the time, I don't mind that. Scorsese is guilty of this offense and so is Spielberg, and they're always forgiven because when they're great, they're REALLY great. And I mean really. But JJ Abrams, you make such GOOD material that has so much potential and you always raise the bar SO high that when we finally get to the end, we're always like, "MAN, WHAT HAPPENED? You started off so WELL."



Take for example the mythos of Lost, which he co-created. The first season was great beyond measure. Smoke monsters, a survivalist who was once a cripple before he got to the island, polar bears (!). Everything was setting up for what could have possibly been the great sci-fi epic of our day. A serialized Twilight Zone with a continuous plot. Some people actually DID wind up staying to the end and loving the entire series, but many were disappointed. And you know why? Because anything Abrams is connected to, he can't conclude satisfyingly. He gets your blood boiling and your interest piqued, but it's never met with the excellent kind of ending that you would nod in approval and say, "Good, Lord, that was a masterpiece."

Instead, you always wind up saying, "Good, Lord, can't that man ever wind down a story correctly."

His most recent film Super 8 is in similar territory. Just watch the trailer.



Magnificent, right? From the stirring music, to the great pacing of the shots, to the looks on the children's faces, everything about it just spells classic. But it's not. Instead, it reaches soaring, majestic, precipitous heights, and then...it falls flat on its face. God, Abrams, you're so FRUSTRATING. And it's all because you're just so...good. And not great.