Darryl Owens
March 8th, 2011
It’s up to one man to keep a once prosperous and knowledgeable race from almost certain extinction inside this intense blockbuster film, in which nonstop action, romance, comedy and drama make you squirm all over the seat along with the constant fluctuation of your emotions. Clever plot, creative dialogue, and brand new cast became quickly loveable, are discovered when enjoying I am Number 4. Action, comedy, and fantastic, futuristic concepts make this 2011 spring flick a great choice to go see. That’s if you enjoy a film that closely resembles Twilight, replacing werewolves and vampires with an alien covenant to keep their kind alive.
The Magadorians, because of the destructive race that they are, commence their violent conquest to decimate total worlds; with the uncanny ability to track one’s scent similar to that of a dog, consequently they relentlessly pursuit the natives previously forced to flee from their pillaged planet of Lorien unto complete extinction. They are hunting them in numeric order starting with number one out of nine, successfully dispatching the first three. As a result John Smith (Alex Pettyfer) happens to be number four, hence the “creative movie title”.
Directed by D.J. Caruso, the man responsible for 2007’s amazing film Disturbia, snuck in as Dreamworks final pick for the filming of the debut. Also appearing in I Am Number 4 was Timothy Olyphant acting as Henri, who displayed an excellent performance as John Smith’s protector who has no powers, but the film neglected to explain why. Then there was the unforgettable, petite thespian Dianna Agron who played the cute, little schoolgirl named Sarah that John ends up falling in love with. Apparently his race can only love one person, so it must really suck if she died. Following the rest of the cast was Teresa Palmer and her exploding performance as number six. Coincidence or not, I believe it’s irony that Teresa Palmer’s last name bears, because that’s just how aliens from Lorien utilize their powers; they emit blinding rays of light through their palms.
John Smith, who was a native alien from another planet, is now living, hiding amongst humans and has sought refuge on Earth. Now, it is ultimately up to a handful of his kind, including him, in order to defend their existence. He could only successfully preserve his kind by understanding the racial powers that have remained oblivious to him in his adolescence.
“I play a lot of X-box.”
Just one of the clever lines that was mentioned right after Sam (Callan McAuliffe) picked up a weird looking weapon, dropped from one of the Magadorians, and fired it with amazing accuracy. Sam was, in my opinion, the best supporting actor in the entire flick. He was the unlucky one targeted for high school bullying, and had a deadbeat stepfather whom obviously didn’t give a rat’s behind about life in general, other than the use of vulgar language and disrespect to is stepson. In addition, Sam overcame many sad memories of his real father, along with carrying on the family burden of unfinished quests. On the contrary, Sam becomes quickly lovable through all the trials and tribulations that this boy must endure. With that in mind, the movie wouldn’t have survived as well as it had if Sam’s character weren’t in the film. Had it not been for his stunning performance, which centered on key points of drama, comedy, as well as storyline, the movie just wouldn’t quite make sense.
I personally enjoyed the movie, however it doesn’t mean that I would recommend it. Like I stated previously, if you’re into Twilight it’s the perfect film for you to go see. I have a taste in movies that differ from the norm and to top it off, I give poor movies an artificial handicap. Never the less, I must be brutally honest; the movie was unoriginal as it went through a difficult time cramming it all onto one film roll. There was an in-depth love story lingering beyond the mask of the whole “aliens from another planet” story. Also, even more disappointing, was the incomprehensive explanation for the ungodly amount of power that the aliens essentially wielded. For Pete’s sake, he started the engine to a 70’s model truck with light from his hands, yet no explanation as to why or how. Anyhow, to sum it up in layman’s terms, you can’t take the whole Starwars saga, melt it together in one two and a half hour film and expect your audience to know what your talking about.
