I Am Number Four

I Am Number Four is based on a young-adult novel that spent six weeks on the children's chapter of The New York Times Best Seller list. It is also the first part of a six book series. No wonder this book was snagged up to make a movie, I imagine all the producers heard was ka-ching. And with producer Michael Bay on board how could this not be a hit.

The movie is about a teenage outsider named John Smith, how outside, well he's from space. He and his eight other Lorien friends are being hunted down by another alien race called the Mogadorians. Three others have already been killed and he is next on the list.

It is never made apparent in the movie why they have to be killed in numerical order, or for that matter why these Mogadorians are hunting them down. I think they tried to explain it, but really it just boiled down to them being giant douche-bags because that's what they do, kill children. But I'd probably be pissed if I had weird gill things on the side of my nose too so I'll let it slide.

Once number three is killed John Smith is escorted out of Florida and on the move again to Paradise. Ohio that is. And there he meets the other hot outsider of the high school Sarah. She used to be a cheerleader, but now is into photography and as we all know photography is the kiss of death in your high school social life. But it was all a matter of time, because everyone knows that Sarah should be spelled without an H, but what do I know. He also manages to piss off the quarterback and befriends the school nerd.

Alex Pettyfer does a solid job as the lead character John Smith/Number 4. If I was going to cast a brooding alien teenager I would probably cast a former GAP model as well. He has already done quite a bit and while he may never reach the teen heartthrob level of Robert Pattinson he could definately become a Channing Tatum. I'm still not sure if any of that was a compliment or an insult.

The movie is at its best when it is dealing with issues of Puppy love. It does well with teenage angst and doesn't linger on it too long before it becomes annoying. Dianna Argon does a terrific job as the love interest. With a couple more roles like this one to prove she can be cutesy and create on scream chemistry, she is probably the most likely of the Glee kids to break out into the film industry. Hopefully not too fast, they still need to win at regionals.

They seemed to have the timing down for this movie, because just as I was starting to wonder when the action sequences were going to start our hero meets his villain. Kevin Durand plays our Mogadorian Commander and has become a staple in popcorn action movies. He plays this character a little over the top, but it's only a little annoying, as it appears he just seems to be having fun with the role. The action sequences are also over the top, but that is to be expected with Bay. Really the most out of place part is that our hero's hands can turn into flashlights. That super power is almost as lame as the kid on Captain Planer who got heart. It also probably explains why he feels the need to flick his hair back so often rather than go and be a tough guy.

Timothy Olyphant obviously does a stand out job as the guardian for number four. He takes over as the bad ass of the film, but his trademark style from Justified is toned down a little so that the kids could shine in this one. Which is unfortunate because if he had been allowed to let loose a little this could have proven to be a darker movie that maybe more of the adult crowd could get into.

But it was never going to be that movie, this movie was put out fast to grab a quick buck and tried to follow a formula. Take the teenage angst of the CW, add the action and love beats from Twilight, find people who love Abecrombie and Fitch, insert some major explosion and you should have a winner. Basically just focus on the aesthetics of the project and everything else should follow. They paid no heed to the overacting of some of the actors and the stale writing.

Thats not to say it is entirely bad, I actually enjoyed the movie. It reminded me a little of Smallville which is a guilty pleasure of mine. I should probably feel a little ashamed of watching it but the story is usually interesting and its trashy enough for me to enjoy it and then forget about it as soon as it's over. I imagine that is how most people will feel about this movie so I doubt we'll get a chance to see this franchise continue unless the box office numbers are staggering. B-