J.J. Abrams' Forgotten 112-Minute Sci-Fi Movie Is Streaming For Free

"Super 8" is now available on Pluto TV if you're in the U.S., and that means it's free to watch, as long as you don't mind sitting through some adverts every now and then. The ad-supported network holds many a secret treasure, including British sci-fi classics, "Doctor Who" and "Red Dwarf." Now, it's hosting J.J. Abrams' totally-not-obvious tribute to Stephen Spielberg.

The film was never a major hit, releasing two years after Abrams had rebooted "Star Trek" in 2009, with attention fizzling out incredibly quickly around the film. While it performed great at the box office, earning $260 million against a $50 million budget, it just never became the cultural touchstone that it very much wanted to be. Produced by Spielberg, the film has the director's air about it, a coming-of-age story wrapped up in a little nostalgia and a darker mystery. 

This time, it's a 14-year-old lad grieving for his mother's death, and finding solace in making a zombie film with his friends. Witnessing a train crash that leads into the wider mystery surrounding what exactly was on the train to begin with. It's a "fun" film, in that it makes for a great watch around Halloween, or a lazy Sunday afternoon. Nothing too serious, and something even the kids can get involved with if you have them.

"Super 8" might not have stuck like a Spielberg movie, as it can sometimes feel a little too much like a fan film. Rather than creating its own ideas, it came out at a time when the nostalgia train was really about to ramp up. In fact, J.J. Abrams has been at the center of Hollywood's reliance on nostalgia one too many times, helming "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," an almost remake of the original movie, and the third in the sequel Trilogy, "The Rise of Skywalker," which, out of nowhere, brought back the Emperor out of seeming desperation.

Even his second "Star Trek" film, "Into Darkness," commits so many crimes, like bringing back Khan with none of the context; it's basically the rulebook on what not to do with "Star Trek." With nothing really original, while a novelty at the time, it's clear that "Super 8" is destined to be a bullet point in Abrams' career. Unlike "Lost" or "Cloverfield," it remained too close to what we already had, rather than what could have been. But hey, it's free on Pluto TV. Have a bit of fun for two hours and then, like the rest of us, forget it ever happened.