I AM NUMBER FOUR -- Review

I have always heard that imitation is the highest form of flattery. Well I guess that means that I Am Number Four is a film meant to flatter all things science fiction and fantasy, or at least that is the impression. Granted the concept of the story is very interesting and has great potential as a film, but the images and story that is given to the audience is less than flattering.

Unfortunately I Am Number Four does not live up to its potential. With an opening scene that left some audience yelling out "What is this... just another Twilight?", and characters that look like pathetic knock-offs of other recognizable sci-fi characters I can't help but question the longevity of the franchise.  If you have never heard of I Am Number Four, you should be aware of the fact that it is a film adaptation to a young adult novel by author Pittacus Lore (which is actually a pen name used by co-authors James Frey and Jobie Hughes). Although this is set to be a series, the second book (The Power of Six) is not due out until August. That being said, if you have not read the story then film does little to help you along as it gives you little to no back story and then leaves you scratching your head with confusion so many times that your not sure what the story is.  There is no clear indication as to what is going on in the opening sequences, and by the time the story has started you question if they even had a script to shoot with.  However if you have read the book and are able to keep up with the film... I'm sorry to say this but be fair warned the story has pretty much been slaughtered.

SOME SPOILERS AHEAD: Very early on I knew things were going to be bad.  When you have to guess and hope to piece together information on your own it seems like it defeats the purpose of going to the movies a bit.  I mean think of it like this, when Harry Potter first came out no one really knew what a Muggle was, right?  But now I'm sure that every (even those who have never picked up a Potter book) know what it means.  Now, with I Am Number Four there is enough information that is extremely important and relevant to the alien worlds that are created that if you don't know what a Legacy is (magical power developed by the "gifted") or that a Mogadarians are an evil race that invaded the home planet of the main characters, than you are kinda left hanging.  There was enough time during the opening scenes to have developed this information during the voice overs that were used, but for some reason it never happened.  You are slowly fed the information over time and then have to think back to an earlier scene just to recall something that was seen or mentioned.  Even some of the characters are all over the place and not quite who they should be.  Like Herni (Timothy Olyphant - Justified and Hitman) should have a much larger role but is instead left on the side of the road to hang, or the fact that Four (Alex Pettyfer - Beastly), who goes by the name John Smith, is almost just as clueless as the audience AND THEN Six (Teresa Palmer - Sorcerer's Apprentice) shows up and she's doing things that she should not be doing.  And the reveal scenes to John's friend Sam (Callan McAullfie - Flipped) and his girlfriend Sarah (Dianna Agron- Glee) are so out of place and messed up that it just made my heart sink at how badly the production had hurt these great scenes.  But before I give too much else away I will move on...

SPOILERS OVER

With an opening scene that looks as though it was pulled from Twilight's New Moon and a complete lack of information regarding who any of the characters are, audiences are given little chance to connect with the characters and story. I understand that this is a film adaptation, and it would be one thing if the majority of those going to see the film have read the book, but that does not seem to be the case.  At the screening I attended I over heard more people questioning what they had even gotten themselves into as they had neither heard of the film and clearly had no idea it was based off a YA novel.  My biggest disappointment is how poorly they represented some of the pivotal scenes in the story.  Pittacus laid out so many great scenes that could have been built off of, while instead it seems as though the film adaptation has turned into nothing more than a parody or satire of the story.  The one-liners are so bad that they are more likely to just leave you laughing, and with the way the film is laid out it is unclear how much time is actually covered.  On top of that, several important characters are introduced and then forgotten halfway through the film only to return just before the credits roll and have performed a comlpete 180 for no explainable reason.  I can't help but wonder who had the final say on the edit.  With the number of holes that exist in the story I don't understand how Disney approved the cut and gave a release before it was truly ready.

I Am Number Four takes over an hour to develop and then ends before it can begin to redeem itself. Granted there is one amazing scene just before the end that almost makes up for all of its faults, if only you can get past the Mogadarians appearance. As I watched the film I could not help but think that the Mogs looked like poor imitations of the Romulans from Star Trek, although they were dressed in "Goth" clothes and 6" platformed boots and their faces resembled a cross between a fish and the vampires from 30 Days of Night.  It was almost a laughable offense to what those characters should have been. Unfortunately there is little else I can say about the film, but if you are able to get through the first hour I promise you will be rewarded with one amazing fight sequence when Six (Teresa Palmer - Sorcerer's Apprentice) shows up to help the main character John (Alex Pettyfer - Beastly)  fight the Mogs. I'm sure that the follow-up film will make up for all the mis-haps, if it is given a chance to survive opening weekend.

As much as it pains me to do this I give I AM NUMBER FOUR a 2 out of 5.  The film can't touch the novel.  So, if you are looking for something that is a quick read that is fun and somewhere along the lines of a Harry Potter or Percy Jackson type of story I would recommend checking out the young adult novel by Pittacus Lore.  EVEN BETTER... pick up the book at the library or book store and read it before going to see the movie.  It will help guide you through and in all honest, even though I disagree with a lot of what they did with the adaptaion, I enjoyed the film knowing all of the backstory.