USA, 2011: I Am Number Four

**Conde Koma** · Posted On: 2/19/2011 5:02am

I Am Number Four
USA, 2011
Genre: Action, Science Fiction
110 minutes
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1464540/

A teen with strange powers hides out in a small Ohio town, where he begins to unravel his mysterious past.

Based on the novel of the same name, I Am Number Four is a pretty typical piece of young adult science fiction brought to the big screen like other cash-in projects before it. As a film it’s well made enough, I suppose, but everything about its production is so unremarkable that I doubt it will be any kind of blockbuster. The look works fairly well most of the time, but there were definitely some poor choices by the cinematographer, especially in regards to the handheld camera scenes. The special effects were decent by themselves, but the art direction was so uninspired and genre typical that it takes away any punch that the flashiness may have had.

The actors do what they can with the material given them, but not all the blame can be placed on the clichéd dialogue or contrived plot devices. Even though the script was about as bland as they come, the performances were equally as superficial and boring to boot. Alex Pettyfer and Timothy Olyphant have pretty good chemistry as a father-son duo, but their scenes with just about everyone else in the cast is so woefully vanilla that it’s like watching reruns of any Disney channel original movie with a sci-fi twist. The premise of the film is interesting enough, but everything about the execution is just so plainly teen drama that it removes any possibility of a substantive narrative.

As I mentioned before, the effects themselves are pretty enough, and the same could be said for the action sequences peppered throughout the story. There isn’t really enough action to keep your attention anyway, but they do put at least some effort into the scenes at the climax of the movie. The hand-to-hand fights are actually pretty neat, but generall aren’t shot very well and thereby lose a lot of the energy. As video games strive to be more like films, we can see the parallel as films try to look more like video games, to the medium’s detriment.

Honestly, it’s pretty apparent that I, and probably not anyone reading this review either, am definitely not the target audience for this series and its likely sequels. Still, that doesn’t change the fact that this movie is insipid and completely unimaginative, meant to be a bridge in the gap between teenage girls looking for a sweet and funny romance and teenage boys looking for a flashy action adventure movie. For anyone above the age of sixteen, I can’t imagine I Am Number Four being worth the price of admission.

Blog Link: http://fightfilmfriday.wordpress.com...m-number-four/

**Soldiermedic** · Posted On: 2/19/2011 9:54am

I took a load of kids from the residential place I per diem to go see this last night. It was pretty awful, and even the 14-16 y/o thought that the acting was bad and the plot was predictable. It was yet another Micheal Bayesque CGI shitjob(I think he was one of the producers). Its too bad, cause DJ Caruso is a decent director, I enjoyed Disturbia for what it was, and he did The Shield for a little while too.

**Conde Koma** · Posted On: 2/19/2011 1:37pm

here's the list of words i wrote down after watching this movie, and i still needed more when i actually started writing the review:

Spoiler:

**It is Fake** · Posted On: 2/19/2011 1:55pm

Yeah, That's why I saw Unknown instead. Saw Rango a week ago and that was better than I thought. I'll be seeing this sometime in the next week.

**Phrost** · Posted On: 2/19/2011 2:23pm

Has it always been like this and I just didn't notice, or is there a lot more media coming out targeting dumb teenagers? And I'm not saying that all teenagers are dumb, just that movies, like this, target the dumb ones and there seems to be a lot more of this crap coming out lately.

**It is Fake** · Posted On: 2/19/2011 2:33pm

Yes, there is an entire sub-genre now thanks to Twilight. Each generation has their teenage aimed movies based on angst ridden coming of age stories. Now, it is all about supernatural/powers and coming of age.

**Conde Koma** · Posted On: 2/19/2011 2:58pm

unknown was the plan, but it wasn't playing in the town i was staying in, for some reason. also, it seems more like a thriller than action? i'm still a little unsure about its genre conventions.

**Teh El Macho** · Posted On: 2/19/2011 7:37pm

Originally Posted by Phrost

Has it always been like this and I just didn't notice, or is there a lot more media coming out targeting dumb teenagers? And I'm not saying that all teenagers are dumb, just that movies, like this, target the dumb ones and there seems to be a lot more of this crap coming out lately.

Nah, media has been targeting dumb teens for quite some time. What I see is the deterioration in quality. In the past it was between the campy and the cheesy. Now, it is between a) dumb **** on the big screen where werewolves and vampires are homo-like pansies that make teen girls giggle and b) dumb **** in 3D with breakdancing or **** that's flashy and go kaput every once in a while.

**helmutlvx** · Posted On: 2/21/2011 12:35am

Oh hey, look.

Another movie poster with teal and orange.

**Snake Plissken** · Posted On: 2/21/2011 4:55pm

The boy and I were going to see a movie on Saturday since the missus had to work and I gave him the choice. He chose "The Eagle" instead of this.....and it sounds like he chose wisely.

Originally Posted by It is Fake

Yes, there is an entire sub-genre now thanks to Twilight. Each generation has their teenage aimed movies based on angst ridden coming of age stories. Now, it is all about supernatural/powers and coming of age.

Lest we forget the WB/UPN movie era from the late '90s