Given the massive success of the Twilight films, it should come as no surprise that Hollywood has gone into overdrive, trying to adapt specific types of stories for the screen–ones about mopey teenagers falling in love with just the right amount of action to persuade guys to accompany their girlfriends. Though the trailers for Disney’s I Am Number Four attempted to convince viewers the film was much more than a Twilight clone, It is quite similar, only with aliens.
Based on the best seller from author Pittacus Lore (a pen name for writers Jobie Hughes and James Frey), I Am Number Four concerns John (Alex Pettyfer), a seemingly ordinary teenage boy who is, in fact, an alien. He’s one of nine who have been hiding here on Earth, the last of their kind, and the last line of defense between mankind and a race of malevolent aliens called Mogadorians who want to wipe us out and take over the planet.
John lives with his guardian, fellow alien Henri (Timothy Olyphant), who has been assigned to protect him. If they catch wind of the Mogadorians tracking them, or their cover is blown, Henri and John have to move to a new town and establish new identities. “This is the part I hate the most,” John says in voice-over. “The running. But it’s the only thing in my life that’s real.”
The Nine have become Six, with numbers One, Two, and Three eliminated. John is Number Four, so he’s next. The death of Number Three puts Henri into a heightened state of paranoia, so he forcibly moves John to a new city and new school. There, John quickly falls in love with Sarah (Dianna Agron), a beautiful, yet sensitive girl. This development doesn’t sit well with her ex-boyfriend Mark (Jake Abel), a rather aggressive fellow. When John is making time with Sarah, he’s hanging out with resident outcast Sam (Callan McAuliffe), who knows a lot about UFOs. Meanwhile, Number Six (Teresa Palmer), a hot Aussie alien with a big gun, is trying to find John before the Mogadorians do. Since Michael Bay is involved (as producer), you can bet that a few things are blown up before it’s all over.
While D.J. Caruso (Disturbia, Eagle Eye), is at the helm here, I Am Number Four has Michael Bay’s footprint throughout. We get lots of action, and plenty of explosions, but little plot and plenty of ridiculous dialogue, explosions and destruction. Screenwriters Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, and Marti Noxon (yes, it took three of them), don’t give very much background on the aliens, or their planet Lorien. It would’ve been nice to know why its residents look human, and how they made it to Earth in the first place. You know, that annoying thing called backstory is always a good thing when trying to craft a good movie.
With the exception of Callan McAuliffe, the young cast are playing high school age characters, even though there all in their mid-twenties and look it. As a result, the only one with a modicum of credibility is Timothy Olyphant, but he hasn’t been given much to work with. I Am Number Four‘s lead, Alex Pettyfer is a good looking guy, but his expression never changes. Glee’s Dianna Agron shows off a great smile here, but I’m not yet convinced she has a future as a movie star. As Number Six, Teresa Palmer looks stunning walking toward the camera in slo-mo with a fireball behind her. However, I would hardly call her performance memorable.
If I were a pre-teen, I Am Number Four would probably be pretty exciting. I suppose that should come as no surprise, since the film is based on a young adult novel. Glee fans, who want to see Dianna Agron in a different role, might enjoy this one as well.
I Am Number Four is presented in a 1.85:1/1080p MPEG-4 AVC transfer. Sharpness, contrast, color resolution, flesh tones, and black levels all look fairly sharp here. There are only a few shots that look a bit murky and lack some fine detail. There were also one or two instances where shadowing was briefly apparent.
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 sound mix features terrific resonance throughout the soundfield with many examples of split surrounds in the fronts and rears and great panning effects across the soundstage. Music is woven throughout the available channels and sounds impressive. Dialogue appears in the center channel but is occasionally hard to decipher.
The 3-disc Combo Pack also includes a standard DVD and Digital copy of the film, and the following special features:
- Deleted Scenes (HD, 19 minutes): Director D.J. Caruso introduces six extended and deleted scenes, among them “Extended Strangers in Paradise,” “Sam’s Mom,” “Worth Mentioning,” “Power Prank,” “Trying to Connect” and “Extended Warsaw Basement.”
- Becoming Number Six (HD, 12 minutes): Actress Teresa Palmer, guides viewers through the stunts, powers, visual effects and attitude required to bring her character to life on the big screen.
- Bloopers (HD, 3 minutes): There isn’t much of note in this outtake reel, other than the usual eruption of snickers and gaffes.
- Trailers (HD, 5 minutes): Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Real Steel top the disc’s theatrical trailers.
