From The Urban Wire: 

The boy, Joe Lamb (played by Joel Courtney, in his debut performance), who is obsessed with Carpenterhorror and model sets, finds himself having to come to terms with his life after tragedy strikes. Lamb is caught between his personal demons and his obligation and enthusiasm to help his best friend Charles (Riley Griffiths) finish his zombie movie, and the film is centered about his growth rather than the rampaging monster from outer space, a mere subplot in the face of adolescence.

The amateur crew is backed by Lamb and Charles’ boyhood gang, pyromaniac Cary (Ryan Lee), Preston (Zach Mills) and their actors, Martin (Gabriel Basso) and Alice Dainard (Elle Fanning). Their innocence and youthful energy are captured through brilliant, honest performances from the child actors, particularly from Joel Courtney, which is pretty impressive seeing as many of them (including Courtney) are total newbies.

Abrams also handles the emotional scenes with enough depth and warmth, and balances them with his signature fast paced action to ensure his audience is at once sympathetic and entertained.

"All I Have To Say About That" Reviews Super 8

With a group of young talents, some of which making their cinematic debut,Super 8 introduces the world to faces like Joel Courtney and Riley Griffiths, and really puts an actress like Elle Fanning (Dakota’s younger sister) in the spotlight. The young stars shined. Fanning and Courtney were especially wonderful, with chemistry rare for actors so young.

From Inside Pulse's Blu-ray Review of "Super 8"

Super 8 successfully walks this fine line of being both a character drama and a mystery for the first two thirds of the movie. I found myself heavily invested in the lives of the characters, particularly the lead character Joe and how he and his father were dealing with the loss of his mother. The tension between he and his father was perfectly handled – both trying to figure out how to handle each other but coming up short. And that served as a great backdrop for a tense search for the mysterious creature terrorizing this little Ohio town. It made for invigorating and addictive watching…and it bubbles up and up, too. As the attacks increase, so does the tension between Joe and his father.

From Robert Prentice over at Three If By Space:

Up and Comers to keep an eye on

This movie had many familiar faces but one in particular is going to be a face we will be seeing a lot more of in the near future. Joel Courtney, who plays Joe Lamb, lands his first acting role in Super 8. This movie was Joels first audition and first role as an actor and was called back twice in the same day to read more lines. I must say the casting director made an excellent choice. Many times we find hollywood bringing in actors who are in their 20′s to play characters in their teens because most teens dont have the level of talent or the maturity to pull of the role at hand. Joel had both the skills and the maturity to pull this off. He brought with him what felt like a seasoned actors skill set to the screen and displayed a great deal of emotion and awe that we would expect from someone in their mid twenties. He has already signed on to several more roles in different films and I think we will be seeing a lot more of Joel in the very near future.

From the Fresno Bee: 

"Super 8": Young filmmakers capture a mysterious image. The film has all the trappings of a sci-fi film -- from a mysterious threat to an ominous military presence. Writer/director J.J. Abrams has culled the best paranoia-creating moments from '50s sci-fi movies. It may have all those trappings, but at its heart is a family drama that swirls around Joe (Joel Courtney), a teen trying to deal with the loss of his mother. It's the best blend of sci-fi and family drama since "E.T." phoned home.

The following excellent quote is from Canada's The Globe and Mail article "J.J. Abrams’s Super 8 bears the mark of Spielberg."

In Super 8, Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney, making an impressive debut) has lost his mother to an accident at work, and his father isn’t on Joe’s wavelength. He wants to send the boy to baseball camp. “It’d be good for you to spend time with kids who don’t run around with cameras and monster makeup.” In the Abrams-Spielberg universe, this is a sign that Dad is being unreasonable.

Blacksheep's "best of" contains a review of Super 8. 

Most people expected SUPER 8 to be simple homage to the film’s executive producer, Steven Spielberg, king of the family adventure film. While the influence is undeniable, the execution contains a more modern understanding of emotional communication. Films like E.T. and CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND are event pictures that commanded attention but the depth in SUPER 8 is at times completely flooring. For instance, Joe has a crush on a girl he shouldn’t, Alice Dainard (Elle Fanning). Their fathers (Kyle Chandler and Ron Eldard) are messed up and can’t stand each other but these two can’t help but gravitate towards each other. In one scene, while watching footage of Joe’s deceased mother on a projector, Alice says through her tears, “I know I don’t know you at all, even though it feels like I do.” It is as if they’re discovering themselves and healing their hurt right before our eyes. It is truly moving.

SUPER 8 can be called a tribute and be proud to wear the moniker but the truth of it is that Abrams’ latest is a unique experience unto itself. It is often frightening and tense, surprisingly touching and contains some of the most massive special effects extravagance I’ve seen. Perhaps what it shares most in common with Spielberg’s earlier works is that it too demands to be seen and experienced in theatres, sitting amongst family and friends. It is an event that is utterly thrilling and yet somehow manages great insight and comfort as well – a rare feat as I’m sure we can all agree. In the end, watching these kids come of age made me wish my eyes were still just as wide as theirs. Thanks to SUPER 8, for a couple of hours, they actually were.