I Am Number Four (DreamWorks)
Hopefully The First Of The Last
In the new movie I Am Number Four Alex Pettyfer plays John Smith, a teenager new to the town of Paradise, Ohio. He and his father Henri (Timothy Olyphant) have moved there after an attempt on Johns life was made at their last location. The movie later reveals that John and Henri are from another planet and have come to Earth for safety purposes. Henri is actually the guardian assigned to keep John safe.
There are nine aliens who escaped from their home planet and a group of evil avengers from that same planet are killing them off in numerical order. The first three are dead and John is number four on their list. Henri advises John to keep a low profile and not draw attention to himself, but John and attention go hand in hand.
He befriends the high school nerd, Sam (Callan McAuliffe) and also begins a romance with the football captains ex-girlfriend Sarah (Glees Diana Agron). Pretty soon everyone in town knows who he is and so do the avengers.
None of this is very interesting and the lack of star power on the screen is evident. John and Sarah are supposed to be deeply in love (aliens love for life) but they act more like brother and sister. There is no spark between them and they have a very low interest presence on screen.
The storyline starts out with some enthusiasm but falls apart after only a few minutes. If this film is supposed to be setting up some sequel of sorts it fails. Most audiences will have little interest in seeing I am Number Five, Six or Seven.
Pettyfer appears to be the most pushed newcomer of the year. He follows this film with the Beauty and the Beast inspired Beastly in a couple of weeks. Maybe he and Vanessa Hudgins can generate more heat in their pairing than he and Agron do in this one.
I Am Number Four has all the requisite special effects but they arent very special. It has handsome and beautiful lead actors but they seem to be all looks and no talent. And the storyline is just too ordinary. All in all there is nothing to make you want to see this film or any others like it.
The movie is rated PG-13 for profanity and violence.
I Am Number Four fits in perfectly with all the other blah movies that populate the month of February. Hopefully as the weather heats up so will the entertainment and artistry of the films being released.
I scored I Am Number Four an enumerated 5 out of 10.
