I Am Number Four

This one was a kind of unexpected feel to me. I felt like it was going to be something other than how it was portrayed in the trailer. I thought the movie was, I guess the best word would be, okay. I didn't get sucked into it. There were a lot of elements in the movie that that I think we, as an audience, are too familiar with.

Story:

It begins with a weekend party at the beach. It portrays John(Alex Pettyfer), as a very outgoing socialite. All the guys wanna be his friend, and all the girls simply just want him. After an invitation for a private swim with this girl, John feels a sharp pain in his leg. It intensifies to a burning sensation. When John looks down at his leg, he sees a bright glowing circle on the side of his calf. With the people at the party noticing his strange behavior, he runs off into the night.

The next day, John is awoken by his guardian Henri(Timothy Olyphant). The little show John had given his friends had blown their cover and they had to move. The thing with John is, he's not human. He's an alien being who's homeworld was overtaken by another alien race, the Mogadorians. He was one of nine sent to Earth. It was all their destiny to rise together to defeat the Mogadorians. So what the light show meant, was that another one of the nine had died. The third one. Leaving the next target to be John, number four.

Review:

To be honest I wasn't much of a fan of it. The whole atmosphere of it was high school. It had the high school problems, the stereotype "The jock who is loved by all, but is a complete jerk and treats his girlfriend badly". I've seen that character so much I could die the next time I see it. Enough, please. Speaking of which, I found much of the storyline kind of cheesy. For example, the mogadorians were more cheesy than a 1980's crime boss. It was awful to watch. Not to mention the way they hid their identity's is waaaaaay to suspicious to ignore. Whomever wrote this screenplay must have been cheating off everyone else's papers in film school. You've just seen the examples hundreds of times.

Now that I think of it, most of the storyline of this movie, could be 80 percent consistent with the first season of "Smallville". There was only one event in the movie which I found "real", and that scene I really liked. It'll be the one where he hangs out with the girl in her room, after family dinner.

The thing that irked me the most was the high school feel. It was a really bad setting. The atmosphere was a lot of gags you've seen elsewhere. The jock pickin' a fight, the prank on the nerd, or someone sitting in the principle's office. It was because of that, that I think someone in high school would enjoy the movie more than one who has "been there, done that". 


One suggestion, if you want the full effect from the movie, don't watch the trailer other than the one posted here. It reveals a character whom shouldn't have been revealed until her spot in the movie.  And both trailers show footage that is inaccurate to the movie, and shows footage that didn't occur in the movie.

Cast:

Alex Pettyfer's character was very emotionaless for a being that can love only one person their whole life. So if his acting got in the way of the development of the character, that's a shame.  In my opinion, he should have stuck with modeling.
I don't know if I'm qualified to give an opinion on Timothy Olyphant. Ever since he ruined Agent 47 in "Hitman", he kinda ruined my positive thinking toward him. But there was nothing to 'wow' you here.
Most of you would recognize Dianna Agron as Quinn from "Glee". This was the first time I've seen her in something and I thought she was the only good person in it.
Teresa Palmer's character was brought in really late, I think. It hit some points against the movie for me. And I thought her character was "bleh". I can't say why without ruining the plot.



So basically, I wouldn't recommend it. But if you're going to see it expect the high school drama, the misunderstood alien vibe, and something more cheesy than spray cheese. That's right, I said it. Sue me.