“I Am Number Four” is very similar to the movie “Twilight” so if you are an Edward Cullen fan, you will like this one. If not, don’t waste your money and time.
In this movie, an alien in human form tries to fit in and falls in love. The high school scene is full of stereotypical teenagers and did not belong in this sci-fi thriller.
Director D.J. Caruso introduces his newest film starring Alex Pettyfer (“Tormented,” 2009) as Number Four/John, an alien teenager from planet Lorien who just wants to be a regular human. Timothy Olyphant (“Hitman,” 2007) stars as Henri, also from Lorien and John’s protector.
There are nine alien teenagers in human form from Lorien, and together they are called the Garde. Each teen has his or her own legacy and powers. The aliens’ names are their numbers. Ex: Number One, Two, Three etc.
The Mogadorians are the villainous aliens from Lorien that are out to kill the Garde one by one. It is never said why they want to kill them or why the Garde chose Earth, but the story continues on. The teens are sent to Earth with a protector and a necklace charm that will protect them from being killed out of numerical sequence. On Earth, the teen makes his or her own identity and tries to keep a low profile to remain safe.
The movie starts out with a burst of action and Number Three is killed by the Mogadorians, which starts the hunt for Number Four. The high school’s bullies are the football quarterback, Mark James and his clique. The bullies pick on a geek named, Sam Goode, who believes in aliens and UFOs. John stands up to Mark and his friends for Sam. Instead of saying “thank you,” Sam says, “I am not a person you want to be friends with, trust me.” This is a rude statement, but he says it because no one else talks to him since he believes in aliens.
John meets and falls in love with Sarah Hart, a junior, who is obsessed with photography.
This story is too predictable and has the exact same back-ground as Twilight with a hint of X-men. The alien side of the story is great and will have audiences on the edge of their seats, but resembles the one in Degrassi:The Next Generation, a teen-soap that used to be a hit.
The acting isn’t bad at all: everyone played their part very well, but some characters could have been left out. Alex Pettyfer nailed his character well and shows every emotion to make the viewers feel it. Timothy Olyphant was excellent on his part also. It is a little hard to take Sarah, actress Dianna Argon (“Glee”), seriously. Her character belongs on “Glee” or Disney TV shows, not movies. The same goes for Callan McAuliffe and Jake Abel, who play Mark and Sam: they belong on the Disney channel, not in a sci-fi movie. Maybe their acting would have been better with different characters other than high school stereotypes.
On the plus side, the action was great, the graphics were good, and the animation of the giant beasts fighting is interesting and leaves the viewer wanting more. It is like Jurassic Park dinosaurs or Transformers’ autobots fighting each other.
“I Am Number Four” is an action/sci-fi/thriller rated PG-13. Runtime is 110 min.
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars.
