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The Reel Deal: "I am" - not worth the price of a ticket
(by Dedra Cordle, movie reviewer - March 04, 2011)
Question 1: If a movie is compared to “Twilight,” do you:
A: Immediately want to see it.
B: Roll your eyes and shudder in horror.
C: Want to avoid it like the plague.
D: Experience options B and C simultaneously.
Question 2: If you write a movie review and nothing good is coming out that weekend, do you:
A: Go see that Nicolas Cage movie you really don’t want to see.
B: Go see that “Hall Pass” from marriage movie you really don’t want to see.
C: Go see that movie that was compared to “Twilight” that you really don’t want to see.
D: Suck it up and go with option C because, in your mind, it looks like the lesser of the evils.
If you picked D for both questions, I’m sorry to say this, but you’re me.
It’s no secret I hate “Twilight,” so when people started comparing “I Am Number Four” to that woeful, anti-feminist claptrap I was scared away. Unfortunately, my love for all things alien-related rose above the negative connotations and I went to a showing.
Sometimes, low to no expectations are a good thing.
Based on the semi-popular novel from Pittacus Lore (Jobie Hughes and James Frey – yeah, that one), “I Am Number Four” centers on attractive teenagers and the people who want to kill them for their extraordinary abilities. To clarify, that’s the basis for the entire book series, but that description works here too.
Alex Pettyfer plays Number Four (alias John Smith), an escapee from the planet Lorien who, along with his guardian Henri (Timothy Olyphant) is just trying to stay under the radar. Unlike other alien movies, they are not being tracked by the government (yet?), but a group called the Mogadorians. Years before, the Mogadorians attacked Lorien and ravaged their planet. The parents who were lucky to survive the initial attack sent their children (nine in total plus their guardians) to Earth to be safe. Now, it appears the Mogadorians have also made it to Earth undetected and are killing the children in numerical order.
When John feels the death of the third one, he knows he is next on the list.
After a public display of manifesting powers, he and Henri move to Paradise, Ohio to hide. Instead of lying low as planned, John decides to enroll at the local high school.
There, he meets Sam (Callan McAuliffe), a school outcast who believes in aliens and Sarah (Dianna Agron), a former popular girl turned social leper and photographer. Jealousy from her former boyfriend (Jake Abel) puts John right on the school radar. So much for laying low, I guess.
He begins a tentative friendship with Sam and Sarah, but with his awakening abilities and the Mogadorians on his tail, he exposes them to an extremely dangerous and potentially short life.
“I Am Number Four” is not a great movie. With odd editing, an unforgivable misuse of Adele’s beautiful song “Rolling in the Deep,” stiff acting and cheesy dialogue, it’s an overall mess.
However, I found it wasn’t completely unwatchable either. My like of this movie is unexplained so it shall be placed on my mantel of guilty pleasures.
C+
Dedra Cordle is a Messenger staff writer.
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