I Am Number Four
Screen Rant ’s Roth Cornet reviewsI Am Number Four
I Am Number Fouris an amalgamation of every conceivable gin for both the manful and female teenage animal . With thematic and visual reference point to classic teenager - angst romances such asRebel Without A Causeand the contemporaneous paranormal young - sexual love phenomenonThe Twilight Saga , as well asa third number infusion of the Michael Bay - brand action , I Am Number 4shamelessly grasps for every last leaf on the unseasoned - adult picture show money tree .
Using a sci - fi ( rather than paranormal ) templet as the background for the story , the film attempt to appeal to the male child , and distinguish itself from the pop made - for - girls romance of the day , such asThe Vampire Diariesand , of track , the aforementionedTwilight . Though the film does take advantage of certain romantic conceit found in the extrasensory genre – for object lesson the biologically - compelled faithfulness of perfectly constructed men .
I Am Number Fourtells the story of Number 4 / John Smith , the quaternary of nine exotic child who were forced to take flight their domicile major planet of Lorien after it was brutally ravaged by the evil ( and wretchedly unattractive ) Mogadorians . Herein dwell the flick ’s first moral moral to the youth of the earth : regretful ethnic music = frightful , good tribe = Abercrombie & Fitch , no shot work required .
The “ Mogs ” must kill each of the nine childrenin numerical order(for arbitrary reason ) before the children can manifest their “ legacies ” ( superintendent - powers ) and utilize them to halt the Mogs ' attempt take over the Earth ( a unfriendly coup d’etat which is being undertake , once again , for what appear to be arbitrary rationality ) . You would opine the Mogs would be whoop it up in their late conquer of Lorien , but no .
bit Four / John Smith played by Alex Pettyfer - really one of the most gorgeous untried men the British Isles have ever produced - has take this second to claim his independency from his mentor / guardian Henri , play by Timothy Olyphant . The terror of subjective death , the destruction of a second major planet , and give way to fulfill the promise of his portion , is seemingly not enough motivation for John to discourage a cute female child from take his photograph ( repeatedly ) and posting it on her website for all the mankind ( and the Mogadorians ) to see .
The shutter - hemipteran in question is a late extremity of the outsider part of the high - school day public . Sarah , played byGlee’sDianna Agron , is no ordinary dweeb , however . No , she is the coveted cheerleader - turned - hispter - artist , who is too deep for the shallowness of in high spirits school ( kind of like her character onGlee ) . She even come equip with an regalia of 35 millimetre cameras with which to fritter her beshrew portraits , a entwine cap to manifest her superior sense of suburban - bohem , and perfect beauty – lest we forget what is really important ( please refer toNumber 4’slesson one for the younker ) .
Sarah has a hangover from her day with the “ in ” crew , in the mannequin of an over - avid ex - boyfriend . Guess which sport he play ? Hint , it ’s not figure skating . entrust no commonplace unmolested – it ’s football . Of course he and his gang of stereotypic Midwest gombas plague the school day geek , who our lofty Number Four ( shockingly ) take it upon himself to fight back .
Sam ( Callan McAuliffe ) , the geek in inquiry , is unrelentingly teased due to his father ’s notion in , and breakthrough of , the Lorien foreign species . Four quickly becomes best friend with Sam ( the eccentric person ) and falls in love with Sarah ( the sexually serene ) via the magic of the movie - montage . Lending itself to the fourth dimension - lapsed beloved account is Four ’s ( previously - observe ) biological imperative to sleep together one , and only one , adult female forever and a day … It seems that it is not enough to fall in love anymore - now a romance must guarantee the happily - ever - after via the transmitted captivity of the son . " Lorien ’s do n’t love like the humans , " you see . Apparently this is the bone being thrown to the immature adult girls in the audience who might otherwise be somewhat concerned about following their warmheartedness into exotic Armageddon .
John Smith is an alien, sent to Earth as a child along with eight others, to escape a deadly threat on his home planet. He and the others are known as the Garde, but when John is a teenager, the enemy learns of their existence. The Garde must be killed in order, and the first three are dead. John, the fourth member, is next.
For the boy , there is a 2nd gorgeous blond distaff character reference - a spicy girlfriend who kicks mad “ Mog ” butt and straddles a bike ( yep ) . Six , play by the red-hot Teresa Palmer ( Lorien either did not make unattractive people , or did not allow them survive their global Apocalypse ) , has been on the track of Four and the “ Mogs ” in an attempt to bring the fight to the villains . Fortunately Six go far just in timefor the most exiting portion of the film , a truly well - construed and entertaining end action mechanism sequence in which , in true teenage fantasy fashion , the High - School is bust up , and entire the football game field is destroyed . Cue the end credit .
Despite the laughably manipulative story construction , the young actors deliver okay performance . They are committed to their roles and are perhaps the only people involve in the production ( other than theatre director DJ Caruso ) who are earnest about their investment in the undertaking . The film is well - made in the sense of being well shoot , with mostly well - done force work and strong action sequences , as remark .
The real emergence withI Am Number Fouris that it so patently reads as pandering . film are improbably knockout to make , and in general there is a spate that can be forgiven in the side of what a filmisoffering : a simple good - meter , a laugh , and/or a daring attack that others are not taking . Some would claim thatI Am Number Fourwas not made for grownup as a way to explicate and excuse its defect . Yet , the film ’s greatest weakness is indeed its open and insincere grab at its young adult target demographic .
apply the opportunity to create a occur - of - age story ( of a sort ) , the movie maker did not opt to make aStand By Me , anE.T. , or even a singular and engaging extraterrestrial being - romance such asStarman(which the filmmakers clearly cite ) . No , there is no Passion of Christ in this task , no heart , and trivial - to - no solemn investment in the story on the part of the God Almighty . There is merely a financially - motivated attempt to smooch - provender honk idea from badly constructed sources to an impressionable audience these filmmakers owe more to .
producer Steven Spielberg and Michael Bay hiredSmallvillewriting partners Alfred Gough and Miles Millar to work on the hand , in tandem withI Am Number Fourbook series authors Jobie Hughes and controversialA Million Little Piecesauthor James Frey , writing under the pen name Pittacus Lore . ( Side eminence : Pittacus Lore is a fiber who plays a meaning role in the rule book series , but is not interpret in the film . ) In other words , screenwriters Gough and Millar put to work in concurrence with Hughes and Frey for construct a incorporated version of the book and the cinema , with each informing the other , rather than conform the motion-picture show from a book which was make organically , with floor in mind first and foremost .
It is natural , in any stage business , to in some ways model or emulate what has been a successful formula for others . This film , however , feels a bit like a group of investors got together and open a “ MacDougals ” concatenation in the hopes that at least some portion of the population would either misidentify it for McDonalds , or would n’t wish that it was a belt - off , so long as they receive their high - fat , gamey - common salt , food for thought - ware extract . The original lacks nutriment at adept , and is harmful at worst ; the copy lacks sustenance , imagination , and integrity .
Perhaps the most disappointing scene of this picture ’s chemical formula is that it is likely going to work . Box office projection indicate thatI Am Number Fourwill win as the highest - grossing movie in its opening night weekend - a exploit that will promise us much more of the same vacuous and derivative cinema in the years to amount .
Check out the house trailer forI Am Number Four :
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[ public opinion poll id=“124 " ]
John Smith is an foreign , sent to Earth as a minor along with eight others , to escape a mortal threat on his home planet . He and the others are be intimate as the Garde , but when John is a stripling , the foe take of their world . The Garde must be killed in rescript , and the first three are dead . John , the quaternary member , is next .
