★★★ I Am Number Four is getting a ton of bad reviews. Many of those bad reviews state that it steals from other sci-fi/fantasy shows, the characters are flat, Michael Bay produced it, it tries too hard to be like Twilight, and on and on. Well, you know what? I liked it! It was better than I was expecting.
Alex Pettyfer is interesting to watch on screen, good looks aside. He’s not the best actor around, but he has potential. Pettyfer plays Number 4/John Smith, an alien who is being hunted by the evil Mogadorians. The Mogadorians are hunting down the last 9 remaining aliens left from the planet Lorian. They are hidden all over Earth, and protected by their guardians. When John receives a signal that Number 3 has been killed, he knows he’s next. With the help of his guardian, they move to a small town in Ohio to establish a low profile.
Tim Olyphant was a great casting choice to play Number 4’s guardian; he can a give a good kick-ass/wise vibe that Number 4’s guardian should have. He urges John to keep a low profile, but it proves hard for him to do that when he falls for a girl, Sarah (Dianna Agron). Agron’s acting in Glee always bothers me; however she’s a little better in this movie. Maybe because the chemistry between the two is real, she and Pettyfer are a couple in real life. Teresa Palmer’s Number 6 far outweighs Agron in the awesomeness scale. Palmer is lethal, powerful and interesting. I was really excited to see her every time she entered a scene.
DJ Caruso does a great job directing the film. He sets a good pace, even if it was a little slow in the beginning. The movie was produced by Michael Bay, so of course expect great special effects. The final battle scene was awesome. The movie is also pretty faithful to the book. Funnily enough, the movie was made before the book was even published. You can read our review of the book here.
The only bad thing about the movie was the villains. The Mogadorians looked and acted stupid. They weren’t scary or menacing. They were just annoying. I was never scared for Number 4 and company because some lame bad guys were after them. Every time they entered a scene, it was hard not to laugh. The audience and I couldn’t take them seriously. This is really what stops the movie from being great. You know the saying “a film is only as good as its villain?”
Despite the bad buzz, I think that I Am Number Four is the best movie out this weekend. The soundtrack was great. (The first three songs of the movie were Kings of Leon, Black Keys and Adele; I almost died.) The movie may be a hodgepodge of elements we are already familiar with, but it didn’t annoy me. It’s not entirely original, it isn’t groundbreaking cinema. It’s just entertaining, like a fun rollercoaster ride. You get the thrill and afterward you want more. The movie leaves you wanting more, and hopefully it does well enough in the box office to warrant a sequel.
I Am Number Four is now playing in theaters and IMAX.
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