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February 19, 2011
Review - " I Am Number Four " - (in theaters) By Roland Hansen
For comments or to submit a movie review for possible inclusion on Delta Films site
please send an email to Critics@deltafilms.net
please send an email to Critics@deltafilms.net
other plans. John wants to go to high school and lead a normal teenage life.
John and Henri live a nomadic lifestyle in order to keep one step ahead of the Mogadorians. John is tired of moving around
and always being the new kid in town. He wants to settle down and stay in one place, even if that means risking his life.
At school John meets a beautiful girl name Sarah (played by Dianna Argon who also plays the part of Quinn Fabray on the
hit TV show Glee) and a boy name Sam. Sam’s father mysteriously disappeared while trying to gather proof that aliens exist.
John soon discovers that he has special powers. With each passing day his powers get stronger. However with each passing
day the Mogadorians also get closer to finding him. Will John’s powers be strong enough to fight of his enemies if they find
him? Will he ever be able to live the normal life that he so desperately wants to have? And who is number six?
The reason I’m not sorry I sat through I Am Number Four arrived in the last twenty minutes or so of the film. Director D. J.
Caruso and the special-effects folk serve up a thoroughly entertaining, action-packed grand finale as the punky aliens,
aided by two hideous pet monsters—something like dinosaurs crossed with pit bulls crossed with flying squirrels—launch an
all-out attack on John and his pals at the high school.
I Am Number Four’s dialogue is too insipid, and the actors too generic and antiseptic, to give it any authenticity. But it’s
slickly made and well-paced; it zips right along, so maybe in twenty or thirty years it will play as a teen-camp artifact, like, say,
the Beach Party movies do now.
I Am Number Four is essentially a big screen version of Smallville: a benevolent, handsome teenage alien living in small town
America comes to terms with his newfound powers while battling otherworldly enemies and falling for the local hottie.
I Am Number Four actually gets better in its second half, where it gets down to the business of being a Michael Bay-
produced action flick rather than a melodramatic teen romance. It's at that point that the movie rouses to life and delivers
some decent action set-pieces and monster effects. Unfortunately, there was about an hour of CW-style small screen drama
to endure before getting to the money moments.
I Am Number Four essentially accomplishes what it sets out to do, which is to make a middle-of the-road, Twilight-esque sci-fi
film aimed at teens. But that doesn't mean it's very good, or isn't something you could basically watch for free on TV.
My biggest complain is that I Am Number Four isn't really a complete movie in and of itself. It's really more of a set up for a
sequel (or series of sequels). We only meet two of the remaining six super-aliens, and we never get to find out what's in the
secret box that John's father left for him "when he's ready". He has the box - why the hell doesn't he open it already? If
Number Four makes enough money we'll get the answers in subsequent iterations, if not - to quote a certain lollipop eating
owl - the world may never know.
John and Henri live a nomadic lifestyle in order to keep one step ahead of the Mogadorians. John is tired of moving around
and always being the new kid in town. He wants to settle down and stay in one place, even if that means risking his life.
At school John meets a beautiful girl name Sarah (played by Dianna Argon who also plays the part of Quinn Fabray on the
hit TV show Glee) and a boy name Sam. Sam’s father mysteriously disappeared while trying to gather proof that aliens exist.
John soon discovers that he has special powers. With each passing day his powers get stronger. However with each passing
day the Mogadorians also get closer to finding him. Will John’s powers be strong enough to fight of his enemies if they find
him? Will he ever be able to live the normal life that he so desperately wants to have? And who is number six?
The reason I’m not sorry I sat through I Am Number Four arrived in the last twenty minutes or so of the film. Director D. J.
Caruso and the special-effects folk serve up a thoroughly entertaining, action-packed grand finale as the punky aliens,
aided by two hideous pet monsters—something like dinosaurs crossed with pit bulls crossed with flying squirrels—launch an
all-out attack on John and his pals at the high school.
I Am Number Four’s dialogue is too insipid, and the actors too generic and antiseptic, to give it any authenticity. But it’s
slickly made and well-paced; it zips right along, so maybe in twenty or thirty years it will play as a teen-camp artifact, like, say,
the Beach Party movies do now.
I Am Number Four is essentially a big screen version of Smallville: a benevolent, handsome teenage alien living in small town
America comes to terms with his newfound powers while battling otherworldly enemies and falling for the local hottie.
I Am Number Four actually gets better in its second half, where it gets down to the business of being a Michael Bay-
produced action flick rather than a melodramatic teen romance. It's at that point that the movie rouses to life and delivers
some decent action set-pieces and monster effects. Unfortunately, there was about an hour of CW-style small screen drama
to endure before getting to the money moments.
I Am Number Four essentially accomplishes what it sets out to do, which is to make a middle-of the-road, Twilight-esque sci-fi
film aimed at teens. But that doesn't mean it's very good, or isn't something you could basically watch for free on TV.
My biggest complain is that I Am Number Four isn't really a complete movie in and of itself. It's really more of a set up for a
sequel (or series of sequels). We only meet two of the remaining six super-aliens, and we never get to find out what's in the
secret box that John's father left for him "when he's ready". He has the box - why the hell doesn't he open it already? If
Number Four makes enough money we'll get the answers in subsequent iterations, if not - to quote a certain lollipop eating
owl - the world may never know.
I am Number Four
Directed by: D.J. Caruso.
starring: Alex Pettyfer, Timothy Olyphant, Teresa Palmer, Dianna
Agron, Kevin Durand, Callan McAuliffe
I am Number Four is based upon the book by the same name written
by Pittacus Lore. I have never heard of the book before. I also found
at that there is another book in the series called The Power of Six,
also by the same author.
I am Number Four starts out with an intense action sequence. It is not
apparent at first what is going on but you can tell that some kind of
evil force was after the two men that were sleeping in a hut in the
middle of the woods. Within the first few minutes of the film I was
already on the edge of my seat.
I am Number Four is about a teen that goes by the name of John
Smith. To most people John is just an average teen who loves to
hang out with his friends, surf and hang out on the beach. But John is
far from average. John is actually one of a handful of surviors of an
alien race that is hiding out on Earth to escape their nemesis, another
alien race the Mogadorians.
The Mogadorians have already killed three of the survivors of John’s
alien race. The Mogadorians are killing them off one by one. John is
number four and the next to die.
In effort to protect John his guardian Henri moves them to another
state and they take up residence in a house deep in the woods. Henri
wants John to stay at home where he can be protected but John has
Directed by: D.J. Caruso.
starring: Alex Pettyfer, Timothy Olyphant, Teresa Palmer, Dianna
Agron, Kevin Durand, Callan McAuliffe
I am Number Four is based upon the book by the same name written
by Pittacus Lore. I have never heard of the book before. I also found
at that there is another book in the series called The Power of Six,
also by the same author.
I am Number Four starts out with an intense action sequence. It is not
apparent at first what is going on but you can tell that some kind of
evil force was after the two men that were sleeping in a hut in the
middle of the woods. Within the first few minutes of the film I was
already on the edge of my seat.
I am Number Four is about a teen that goes by the name of John
Smith. To most people John is just an average teen who loves to
hang out with his friends, surf and hang out on the beach. But John is
far from average. John is actually one of a handful of surviors of an
alien race that is hiding out on Earth to escape their nemesis, another
alien race the Mogadorians.
The Mogadorians have already killed three of the survivors of John’s
alien race. The Mogadorians are killing them off one by one. John is
number four and the next to die.
In effort to protect John his guardian Henri moves them to another
state and they take up residence in a house deep in the woods. Henri
wants John to stay at home where he can be protected but John has
