I Am Number Four Hopes To Ride The Twilight Wave

February 22nd, 2011

Film: I Am Number Four
Director: D.J. Caruso
Cast: Alex Pettyfer, Dianna Agron, Callan McAuliffe

If you took the teen-romance of Twilight, the superhero-in-high school experience of the CW’s Smallville, and the magnified special-effects of producer Michael Bay, you’d have a combo that gives you the latest teen sci-fi film, I Am Number Four.

Or in terms of our millennial generation, if Twilight, Smallville and Michael Bay got into a whole bunch of shenanigans on a Saturday night.

Like Twilight, I Am Number Four is based on a popular novel, but the teen vampires and werewolves are replaced with a teen humanoid (Alex Pettyfer). He’s the fourth of nine children (called Loriens) who are sent to earth as infants and gifted with special powers that begin to develop in their adolescent years.

The Loriens are being hunted down by a rival race called the Mogadorians, a group of scary looking trenchcoat dudes who destroyed their home planet. But the kicker is that the Lorien children can only be killed in chronological order. Nobody really knows why yet. Maybe the sequel will explain. Still interesting, nonetheless.

Each Lorien has an adult-handler to help protect and train them. As a result, Number Four’s guardian always has him on the run, switching identities to keep a low profile. When the first three Loriens are killed, Four’s latest move is to Paradise, Ohio where he assumes the name of “John Smith.” But after meeting a high school love-interest named Sarah (Dianna Agron from Glee), and a nerdy best bud named Sam (Callan McAuliffe), Four decides it’s time to stop running and fight back.

The Good:

Like I said before, part of this equation is Michael Bay and Smallville. There’s definitely a ton of impressive special effects to show these superpowers on-screen. Viewers can also expect a nice dose of adrenaline during the action scenes, including acrobatic flips and a ton of impressive telekinetic moves (that kind of got the superhero geek in me going).

The Bad:

However, with the Twilight vibe comes the over-cheesiness. It may attract all the “Twihards,” but for everyone else it may seem a bit too familiar and bland. Some parts seem overdone, for example the concept of how Four has trouble hanging with the Sarah because she’s the ex-girlfriend of some aggressive high school jock. Or maybe how Four and Sarah go from being new friends to immediately long-lost soul-mates? I do believe there was even a “I can’t stop thinking about you,” followed by a…”I can’t stop thinking about you either.”

Overall:

It’s clear that DreamWorks Studios has intentions (or maybe hopes) to make I Am Number Four into a teen-gripping franchise like that of Twilight. But maybe catering to a wider male audience due to the potential appealing big action sci-fi element would be a better bet. Despite the somewhat cheesy dialogue, murky story-line, and abundance of unnecessary questions that it leaves viewers with, the film’s concept still has some potential to develop.

Best Moment:

The super power fight at the end, when Numbers Four and Six team up against some Mogadorians. It’s Michael Bay’s special-effects at its extreme in the film. Neat light show, to say the least.

Rating:

2.5/5

Tags: I Am Number Four, Movies, reviews