I Am Number Four

Welcome to another episode Lights....Camera....Popcorn!

Today's review is I Am Number Four. Directed by D.J. Caruso. Written by Alfred Gough, Miles Millar & Marti Noxon. Based on the novel written by Jobie Hughes & James Frey AKA Pittacus Lore.

Review #102

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, and for language.

Runtime: 110 min

Cast

Alex Pettyfer - John

Timothy Olyphant - Henri

Teresa Palmer - Number 6

Dianna Agron - Sarah

Callan McAuliffe - Sam

Kevin Durand - Mogadorian Commander


One of my favorite quotes is....

"Those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it."

That quote can be and should be applied to most of everyday life. It most definitely needs to be applied to the world of movies when it comes to adapting books. Adapting a book into a feature film is not easy, but in my opinion it shouldn't be complicated either. For some reason the scribes tend to complicate the process and the end result needlessly suffers.

John is an alien hiding in plain sight, on the run from beings who exterminated his home planet. He's 1 of 6 of his kind that possess the power to fight their enemies. John and his protector Henri have spent most of his life moving from place to place trying to avoid capture and training John for his destiny while his abilities grow in strength.

Let's begin with the good. The action here was pretty cool. John's abilities are on full display here and they look impressive. When we see Number 6 appear in the film, she kicks ass with a furious abandon and a very cool power as well. The story here is actually not as bland as it may sound. There is a legit blueprint for a very good sci fi tale here. That is until John goes to school. Here is where the movie goes south.

This movie is adapted from a young adult novel which means that there is a ton of kiddie stuff in here that promotes character development. That kind of development is tossed out here and replaced with cardboard actors portraying cardboard characters. What's worse here is that these off the beaten path story arcs just kill the flow of what I Am Number Four is really about. You don't care about the humans here. They are just there to fill time and give John a reason to stay where he is and fight. Another poor aspect of the story is the fact that it's poorly structured. It has the feel of broken up scenes from the book and just dropped in the film for story's sake.

Here's the best example. John is forced to reveal his true identity to everyone by using his powers in public. When that happens he gets chased by the police so what happens next? He goes to the high school with his love interest and develops pictures.

WHAT???

I'm sure that moment is better depicted in the book and has a much greater purpose but here it just purely nonsensical. This movie was full of those flow killing sections that bring the movie down to a stand still. It's too bad because with some fine tuning you could have had a pretty cool flick. Instead you have another failed attempt to adapt a kids book.

On the 5 star scale. I Am Number Four gets 2 stars with a "Netflix it" recommendation.

That's a wrap for today. Up Next is Unknown.