I Am Number Four (2011)
Certified: 12
Duration: 114 minutes
Directed by: D.J. Caruso
Starring: Alex Pettyfer, Timothy Olyphant, Dianna Agron, Teresa Palmer, Kevin Durand, Jake Abel, Callan McAuliffe
KRS release

I Am Number Four is a film I desperately wanted to like. It is the first in a franchise whose teen sci-fi/romance/action elements could have been such an interesting mix. However, it takes itself too seriously and wastes too much time building a kind of “origins” story. By the end the film leaves many plot strands up in the air and a sense of unfinished business, which is a pity as the original premise was a promising one.

Just before the destruction of the home planet Lorien by the warlike Mogadorians, nine Lorien children are sent to earth to defeat these creatures. Each child is given a protector and a number is registered on them.

Number Four is “John Smith” (Alex Pettyfer) who along with his older guardian Henri (Timothy Olpyhant) has been moving from one place to another. Nearing the end of his teenage years John’s powers are starting to kick in. After an incident in Florida the duo move to the small town of Paradise.

Meanwhile, the Mogadorians have started eliminating the Lorien children and have reached Number Three. Henri wants to keep moving, but John wants to stop and make a fight out of it and against his guardian’s wishes, he enrols in the local high school, promising not to stand out. However, he is immediately attracted to the belle of the school, Sarah (Dianna Agron), is challenged by her ex-beau Mark (Jake Abel) and protects the school geek Sam (Callan McAuliffe). The latter believes that his father had been abducted by aliens.

The Mogadorians are soon on John’s tracks; also on his trail is Number Six (Teresa Palmer) who is at a much more advanced stage in the development of her powers. When these finally clash, Paradise in Ohio will never be the same.

What is lacking in this film are essentially the characters that are simply cardboard cutouts for which one finds it difficult to really care. Alex Pettyfer has everything going for him: blonde looks, cool powers and being his planet’s “chosen” one. Yet all he does is mope and grumble. He rarely evinces any sort of meaningful emotions.

The main fault lies in the hands of director DJ Caruso who leaves the film looking disjointed and a mix between deadpan and dull. His version of The Mogadorians leaves Much to be desired. In my opinion, they looked as extras from the Super Mario Bros (1993) film. I cannot imagine how these big-heeled, carnivore-toothed aliens managed to kill off a whole planet. Why do they have to kill off the young heroes in a numerical order? What is wrong in killing Number Five before Number Four? Are these Mogadorians mathematically deficient? They look to be too much of a pastiche of what a teenager would draw up in art class under the subject “space villains 101”.

Mr Caruso is also saddled with the pre-set plan of having to develop the subject as the first in a series of films.

The film’s production values are slick and polished. The action sequences are well-handled and the final battle is spectacular. The Mogadorians’ hunting beasts are fine CGI creations as too is Number 4’s pooch.

When Teresa Palmer makes her entrance as Number Six, she controls the screen. I was actually more interested in seeing how come she was turned into such a badass kind of “supergirl” rather than the glum Robert Pattinson-wannabe Number Four is.