Feb
25
Let’s get something straight here, if you are a fan of teen novels turned to screen adaptations, you already must and should know that not everything you read is given justice in the film (Of course the most obvious reason is of the time frame). I am Number Four is an American teen science fiction film, much like the Harry Potter series and the Twilight Saga, rooted from the intended six part novel of James Frey and Jobie Hughes. Primarily, what you have to watch for two hours in this movie won’t give you anything new or anything surprising other than the thought of having something else to watch.
Planet Lorien was destroyed by the Mogadorians and a few numbered from one to nine were able to escape along with their guardians. And where else could be a better place for them to escape? Bingo! Planet Earth! (You guessed it right) John Smith, aka Number Four (Alex Pettyfer) is the alien in focus together with his guardian Henri (Timothy Olyphant), and with the death of the first three in the hands of the Mogadorians who are in close pursuit, they had to move to Paradise Ohio where everything fictional unfolds. Against the wishes of Henri to be scrupulous, John falls in love with Sara (Dianne Agron) and as the Mogadorians come closer, John’s destiny reveals a lot of who he is and what powers lies beyond his human flesh.
I am Number Four, hmmm…. Basically what we have here is a bit of a shadow of Twilight with a touch of glimmering hands, a much ripped protagonist, Voldemort-looking Mogadorians and a morphing beagle. Want justifications? Let’s see: Supernatural guy turns up to study in highschool, falls in love with a focus-given girl, holds secret powers, and at the end, both of them end up getting caught in an on-going war of the Loriens and the Mogadorians. Yep, sounds like something you have seen before. But this isn’t Twilight (or some of it aren’t), the science-fiction speaks for the whole movie. Although, I am Number Four is an enjoyable movie for the boys and girls, it offers little to no surprise, nothing that can really make that “Wow!” pop out of the mouth.
There are some things I don’t get in I am Number Four, questions I would like to ask Director D.J Caruso (Eagle Eye) personally. First, Henri, the guardian of John, a warrior of Lorien, was easily taken hostage by two hillbillies? Here’s another one, particularly the numbering system of the Lorien survivors, why did they have to get killed in sequence? Are the Mogadorians strict in following numbers or what? The movie doesn’t delve much into that. Want some more? What’s with the 20 to 30-second clip of Number Six (Teresa Palmer) blowing up a house? The father of Sam (Callan McAuliffe) being abducted by aliens was not given any life in the film; it was clearly bypassed that as a viewer, I cannot help but ask what really happened to him. The story feels so much compressed in two hours and it’s pretty obvious that a sequel is necessary.
Also, there are crucial parts of the novel that were taken away by the movie, like John’s training to master his powers – It’s as if he learned to master them in . Some things also seemed pretty obvious to the viewers like the sudden appearance of the beagle – this already tells you the dog was there for a purpose. And what’s the deal with the “dark” Mogadorians? They didn’t appear as scary as they should be. They turned out to be these humongous cool-looking aliens who have a knack for killing. Nothing was ever explained about John’s powers, it was all “You can do this and that” at best.
With all those criticisms, I am not about to turn my back on the movie yet for like all movies, I am Number Four has some good attributes to it. The final battle scene of Number Four and Number Six against a group of Mogadorians was fantastic to say the least. Convincing battle scene effects were presented, and that is something you have to commend. Callan’s character Sam was a pretty good neutrality for John’s character, giving the latter enough escape to the Boy and Girl protagonist theme. As the new best friend of John, he offers roughly comical and humorous lines and dialogue (perhaps the only source of humour in this film), and I think it worked out pretty well. Performance-wise, all actors were fine and impressive. I might even throw in a possibility for Alex Pettyfer to be a huge icon for the girls in this movie.
For the pretty much hyped young audience, I am Number Four can be synonymous with excitement. But although it gives off impressive generated effects and a story to keep viewers interested, I don’t think it will make for a worldwide phenomenon like the Harry Potter Series or the Twilight Saga (unless the sequels improve). It is a workable and acceptable fun movie to watch, it may even bring out some comments adhering to the spectacular, but there seems to be an underlying tone all over that supposes it to be a resembling and forgettable film.
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