I Am Number Four (D+ or 1.5/4 stars)
Want a teen angst/Twilight-ish superhero movie for the young folk? I offer you 'I Am Number Four' (directed by D.J. Caruso). John Smith (British newcomer, Alex Pettyfer) ... is an alien. Placed under the care of an alien guardian named Henri (Timothy Olyphant), he's living on Earth in hiding. Why hiding? Well, he is one of 9 survivors saved from genocide on his distant planet. Now, hunted by the murderous Mogadorians, who look something akin to Voldemort (of Harry Potter lore), the 9 have unfortunately become only 6 - with numbers 1, 2, & 3 killed off. John is "Number 4" ... so he's next on their hit list. The death of Number 3 puts Henri into a state of paranoia, so her moves 15 yr. old John from his Florida Keys home to a new city & school in Paradise, Ohio.
There, John meets & falls for a cute blonde named Sarah (Glee's Diana Agron). This doesn't go over well with Sarah's ex, a numbskull bully named Mark (Jake Abel). When he's not trying to win-over Sarah or discovering some powerful, magical abilities or trying to persuade Henri to let go of his leash (on him), John befriends a smart, but outcast nerd named Sam (Aussie, Callan McAuliffe); who has an affinity for all things UFO. All the while, "Number 6" (Aussie, Teresa Palmer ... what is with the foreign cast?), a sexy alien with some ammunition, is trying to find John before the Mogadorians catch up with him. Standard special effects, incredibly loud noises, & boring action sequences ensue. Can John & his allies all stay alive to fulfill destiny & defeat the evil Mogadorians?
'I Am Number Four' is one of those movies that - for me - doesn't do anything glaringly wrong, but is still so unbelievably boring; that I can barely muster up anything overly positive to say. Really, 'I Am Number Four' is like a mishmash of a hundred better genre films from the past. 1) angsty teens (Twilight), check. 2) Superhero origin stories (Spider-Man, Iron Man, etc.), check. 3) cliched romance flick (with doe-eyed girls & rugged blonde male heroes), buddy flick, sci-fi flick (with ass-kicking female heroines), alien flick, Spielbergian action/adventure flick ... check. There is no originality in this movie anywhere. Heck, even the villains look, as I said earlier, like H. Potter's Voldemort. Furthermore, the screenplay unfolds as if someone in their 1st year of film writing school penned it.
I REALLY thought I would like this film (based on what I knew about it prior, & judging the trailers). But I'm more dishearteningly depressed about the film's execution than I am angered. 'I Am Number Four' will have fans; I would assume, mostly pre-teens. They'll latch onto good looking Alex Pettyfer & adorable Diana Agron. They'll like the high school campus melodrama. The storyline is diverting enough. And the movie is not without its smattering of niceties or rootable characters. But again, wholly unimpressive enterprise, for me. The 'I Am Number Four' superhero mythology is banal. The storytelling is witless. The climactic fight scene is not nearly as involving as it should be. The bad guys couldn't be more cardboard dry. Nothing scared me. The CGI & sound effects are blurry & noisy. After the 1st 15 minutes or so of this movie, I became indifferent to it all (even the good stuff), & never regained interest.
There, John meets & falls for a cute blonde named Sarah (Glee's Diana Agron). This doesn't go over well with Sarah's ex, a numbskull bully named Mark (Jake Abel). When he's not trying to win-over Sarah or discovering some powerful, magical abilities or trying to persuade Henri to let go of his leash (on him), John befriends a smart, but outcast nerd named Sam (Aussie, Callan McAuliffe); who has an affinity for all things UFO. All the while, "Number 6" (Aussie, Teresa Palmer ... what is with the foreign cast?), a sexy alien with some ammunition, is trying to find John before the Mogadorians catch up with him. Standard special effects, incredibly loud noises, & boring action sequences ensue. Can John & his allies all stay alive to fulfill destiny & defeat the evil Mogadorians?
'I Am Number Four' is one of those movies that - for me - doesn't do anything glaringly wrong, but is still so unbelievably boring; that I can barely muster up anything overly positive to say. Really, 'I Am Number Four' is like a mishmash of a hundred better genre films from the past. 1) angsty teens (Twilight), check. 2) Superhero origin stories (Spider-Man, Iron Man, etc.), check. 3) cliched romance flick (with doe-eyed girls & rugged blonde male heroes), buddy flick, sci-fi flick (with ass-kicking female heroines), alien flick, Spielbergian action/adventure flick ... check. There is no originality in this movie anywhere. Heck, even the villains look, as I said earlier, like H. Potter's Voldemort. Furthermore, the screenplay unfolds as if someone in their 1st year of film writing school penned it.
I REALLY thought I would like this film (based on what I knew about it prior, & judging the trailers). But I'm more dishearteningly depressed about the film's execution than I am angered. 'I Am Number Four' will have fans; I would assume, mostly pre-teens. They'll latch onto good looking Alex Pettyfer & adorable Diana Agron. They'll like the high school campus melodrama. The storyline is diverting enough. And the movie is not without its smattering of niceties or rootable characters. But again, wholly unimpressive enterprise, for me. The 'I Am Number Four' superhero mythology is banal. The storytelling is witless. The climactic fight scene is not nearly as involving as it should be. The bad guys couldn't be more cardboard dry. Nothing scared me. The CGI & sound effects are blurry & noisy. After the 1st 15 minutes or so of this movie, I became indifferent to it all (even the good stuff), & never regained interest.