DVD Reviews

I Am Number Four – Blu-ray Review

By Patrick Luce May 31, 2011, 14:21 GMT

Three are dead. Who is Number four? From Director D.J. Caruso (Disturbia), producer Michael Bay (Transformers) and the Emmy-winning writers of TV\'s Smallville, comes this gripping, action-packed thriller. John Smith (Alex Pettyfer) is an extraordinary teen masking his true identity to elude a deadly enemy sent to destroy him. Living with his guardian (Timothy Olyphant) in the small town he now calls home, John encounters unexpected life-changing events - his ...more

I Am Number Four is a fast-paced sci-fi romp that feels familiar, but manages to be entertaining. It is a popcorn adventure film with decent effects and acting that is a fun watch on a rainy afternoon.

Based on the novel by Pittacus Lore (James Frey and Jobie Hughes), the film was directed by D.J. Caruso (Eagle Eye and Disturbia) with a screenplay from Alfred Gough & Miles Millar (the creative minds behind Smallville and the upcoming Charlie's Angels television series) and Marti Noxon (television's Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the upcoming remake of Fright Night).

It stars Alex Pettyfer (Beastly), Timothy Olyphant (A Perfect Getaway), Teresa Palmer (The Sorcerer's Apprentice), Dianna Agron (Glee), Callan McAuliffe (Flipped), and Kevin Durand (Robin Hood).

Although the film moves fast and doesn’t give a lot of details, it is pretty simple to figure out what is happening. It appears there are some aliens from the planet Lorien hiding out on Earth and another group of aliens known as Mogadorians are hunting them.

The Mogadorians destroyed Lorien, but not before nine children were sent to Earth with their protectors for their safety. The nine children have powers that manifest as they grow older and grow more powerful when they are all together.

The film opens with one of the nine and his protector being hunted and killed by a Mogadorian leader (Durand) and his men. As this is happening John Smith/Number Four (Pettyfer) has one of his powers manifest at a very inconvenient time (he has lights shine from his hands which he can use as telekinetic power beams.

The display forces Four’s protector Henri (Olyphant) to decide it is time to relocate to Paradise, Ohio. This gives Four a chance to return to high school; meet and fall in love with the artsy Sarah (Agron); struggle with a school bully (who used to be Sarah’s boyfriend); and make friends with alien conspiracy nerd Sam Goode (McAuliffe). Four also acquires a cute pup Bernie Kosar – who starts off as a lizard so it is clear there is more to the dog than meets the eye.

As they are relocating, the film introduces us to Number Six (Palmer) – who also appears to be attempting to track down the others. It is instantly clear that Six is a tough chick who has no intentions of waiting on the Mogadorians to track her down and is instead hunting them.

Back in Paradise, Four continues to develop his powers (along with the lights, he has strength and speed), and fall in love with Sarah (Loriens only fall in love once and stay that way for life).

The film moves at a predictable pace as Four is forced to use his powers to defeat the bully, and the Mogadorians show up in time for a massive battle at the high school with Six getting there in the nick of time to add a little more alien power to the fight.

Having not read the book, I can only base my opinion of I Am Number Four on the film, and I enjoyed it. The movie isn’t the best sci-fi action film I have seen, but was good enough to keep me entertained.

It does takes for granted the audience won’t wonder about certain story elements (such as why there are only four or five Mogadorians running around on Earth or why only 9 Lorien children and their protectors managed to leave the planet) or care that the ending is left wide open for a franchise that will probably never happen.

The cast does solid work with their performances with Pettyfer carrying most of the film as Four – who is discovering his powers as we are watching the film. The actor manages to capture the teenage rebellion clashing against Henri’s overprotective reach and falling for his first love.

Olyphant, Agron, and McAuliffe work well as supporting characters to Pettyfer and manage to matter to the story – even Agron who is little more than window dressing and a plot device for Four to love. McAuliffe even manages to steal the spotlight from Pettyfer as his character moves from nerd to hero.

The film’s weakness comes from less than stellar special effects towards the end of the movie (Bernie Kosar’s transformation is horrible looking and reminded me of some of the shoddy creature work on 2004’s Van Helsing); villains that seem more like the Three Stooges than a legitimate threat; and the fact that Number Six gets no development.

Durand is hilarious in the film, but I don’t think he was supposed to be funny. About halfway through the film, I kept wondering why Henri was so frightened of the Mogadorians when they come across as complete idiots. They are never frightening or seem deadly – even at the end when they start blasting away with weapons left over from Star Wars.

Number Six is the perfect onscreen bad girl, but I could care less since she only pops up like twice in the film before showing up for the end battle. Her character clearly will have a bigger role in the franchise – if those movies ever get made. Instead of saving the day, she became a distraction for me since I wanted to know more about her character than Number Four.

The film comes with some decent special features - including deleted scenes which expand on the story some, and a blooper reel that at times is more entertaining than the movie.

Thanks to a director who knows how to handle fast-paced action sequences, I Am Number Four manages to be entertaining from start to finish. It isn’t the best sci-fi film to come out in recent years, but it isn’t the worse. The light story makes it possible to watch the film without devoting too much time to the plot, and the action sequences make it enjoyable enough to take the time to watch.

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I Am Number Four - Behind-the-Scenes Slideshow:

I Am Number Four - Film Still Image Slideshow: