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I Am
Number Four
isn’t a terrible
movie but it could
have been s much
better than it was.
Based on the novel
by Pittacus Lore,
the movie is a
sci-fi adventure
that’s original and
fun to go through.
Unfortunately, there
are too many holes
in director D.J.
Caruso’s story and
there isn’t nearly
enough set up at the
beginning of the
film to what’s going
on. There isn’t
nearly enough
closing at the end
for the movie to
feel complete
either. It’s a fun
watch but its
glaring holes effect
its lasting
perception in a big
bad way.
Our story begins
with young John
Smith or whatever
alias he was going
by in Florida. He’s
an all-star teen
that the girls like
and the boys are
friends with. Turns
out, there’s more to
John than meets the
eye. He’s an alien
from the planet
Lorien and he’s one
of only a handful
left of his kind.
After his planet was
taken by an evil
alien species, the
Lorien sent young
John and eight
others to Earth so
they can their
species alive and
stop the evil race
from taking another
planet. So John’s a
young teen in
Florida and, yes
he’s Number four of
the nine remaining
Lorien. Turns out
the evil aliens are
hunting down the
nine one by one and
number one, number
tow, and number
three are all dead.
When number three
dies, John gets a
burn mark on his leg
to let him know and
he gets a message
from the evil race
that he’s next. So
John and his
protector and father
figure Henri
(Timothy Olyphant)
take off from
Florida to Paradise,
OH. In Paradise,
John goes to high
school, meets his
first love, a new
best friend, and
hides the best he
can. Of course the
evil race of aliens
catches up with John
for an epic
showdown. The final
showdown rocks in a
big bad way. It’s a
tad confusing, and
they skip things,
but it’s still an
exciting story.
I Am
Number Four
has some amazing
special effects.
When John’s hands
light up it looks
amazing. When he and
his cohorts go to
battle at the end of
the movie… There are
killer special
effects at the end.
There’s also great
makeup and character
designs too. The
special effects rock
and director D.J.
Caruso made a great
looking film that
has lots of dark
colors but has a lot
of warmth,
especially during
his inside shots.
Caruso made a film
that looked great
but he still resorts
to a TON of cliché
shots in this movie
with explosions and
walking through
smoke etc, those
cliché shots keep
him from getting an
‘A’ but how good
this movie looks
gives it a ‘B’. As
far as acting goes,
Glee’s Dianna Agron
plays Sarah and
she’s great here.
She shows off a
little bit and puts
her Glee
performances to
shame really.
Starring as Number
Four/John is Alex
Pettyfer and he’s
not great, but he’s
decent in the main
role. Timothy
Olyphant plays the
protector of Number
4, Henri and just
like he is in most
things… he’s great
here.
There
are tons of problems
with
I Am
Number 4
that keep it from
being an excellent
movie. The first and
foremost problem is
that there are way
too many holes in
the script. It feels
lost and disjointed
in several places.
There are way too
many questions in
the beginning of the
movie and there even
more at the end of
it. It tries to set
things up for a
sequel that’s
probably not coming.
I
don’t want to spoil
the movie for
anybody because the
mysteriousness of it
is a huge asset
before you watch it,
but let’s just say
that several key
things in the story
just got skipped
over and we have no
clear answers at the
end of the movie.
The movie feels
slightly incomplete,
and the same thing
goes for bonus
content on the Blu-ray.
The packaging is
great with DVD and
Digital copy
included with the
Blu-ray. But with
bonus content, the
only things featured
are deleted scenes
with introductions
by Caruso, a short
blooper real, and a
12 minute feature
with Teresa Palmer
on her becoming
Number 6/an action
star. That would be
it, it works for
what this movie is,
but you would have
liked to have gotten
some more answers
with the origin of
the story etc.
I Am
Number Four
isn’t a bad movie
but it’s not a great
one either. There
are plenty of
unanswered questions
at the end of the
movie and there are
plenty of holes in
the script. Making
up for its problems
though are some
fantastic special
effects and some fun
battle scenes. It
could have been
better than it is,
but
I Am
Number Four
is
still worth
watching.
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