I Am Number Four (2011)

Aliens and their Guardians are hiding on Earth from intergalactic bounty hunters. They can only be killed in numerical order, and Number Four is next on the list. This is his story.

Director:

D.J. Caruso

Writers:

Alfred Gough (screenplay), Miles Millar (screenplay),

Stars:

Alex Pettyfer, Timothy Olyphant, Teresa Palmer

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alex Pettyfer	...	John Smith
Timothy Olyphant	...	Henri
Teresa Palmer	...	Number 6
Dianna Agron	...	Sarah Hart
Callan McAuliffe	...	Sam
Kevin Durand	...	Mogadorian Commander
Jake Abel	...	Mark James
Jeff Hochendoner	...	Sheriff James
Patrick James	...	Kevin (as Patrick Sebes)
Greg Townley	...	Number 3
Reuben Langdon	...	Number 3's Guardian
Emily Wickersham	...	Nicole
Molly McGinnis	...	Receptionist
Brian Howe	...	Frank
Andy Owen	...	Bret (as Andrew Owen)

Storyline

Extraordinary teen John Smith (Pettyfer) is a fugitive on the run from ruthless enemies sent to destroy him. Changing his identity, moving from town to town with his guardian Henri (Olyphant), John is always the new kid with no ties to his past. In the small Ohio town he now calls home, John encounters unexpected, life-changing events-his first love (Agron), powerful new abilities and a connection to the others who share his incredible destiny.

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Plot Keywords:

guardian | on the run | alien | fugitive | ohio | 

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, and for language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

18 February 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

I Am Number Four: The IMAX Experience

Filming Locations:

Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,628,523 (UK) (25 February 2011)

Gross:

$55,092,830 (USA) (27 May 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

DreamWorks SKG, Reliance Big Entertainment, Bay Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The license plate that is burned in the beach fire is a Florida plate, the license plate that Henri replaces it with is a New Mexico plate.

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Goofs

(at around 29 mins) When John is standing in front of his open locker, three students walk by him in the background. In the next hall scene, the students have suddenly vanished.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Drew: [to Daniel] You know, showboating like that just make you look desperate.
Kern: Yeah, "Look at me. I can flip my ski."
[scoffs]
Kern: Pathetic.

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Crazy Credits

Clouds blow over the DreamWorks SKG logo which then reveals a shot from space

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Connections

References Hannah Montana (2006)

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Soundtracks

"Curfew"
Performed by Beck
Written by Beck (as Beck Hansen)
Courtesy of Iliad Records

User Reviews

Boring besides the last 20 minutes...

Of course, "I Am Number Four" is by no means a great movie. Characters are stereotypical, things fall into place way too conveniently and one has the feeling that a good junk of the original novel has just been crammed together to (barely) fit into the running time of 90 minutes. The story feels a bit weak and there are so many plot holes it takes away part of the enjoyment like if the nine aliens are so powerful, why can't they stop those Mogadorians? Is it because they have a huge flying squirrel like monster? Oh wait. Number Four also have one of those. Is it their appearance? Or is it unexplained? I've never read this book before. Lack of narratives? They never mentioned why kill them in sequence. But however, This is not a bad film. It's just not that great. Among the good points, the visuals were astounding. The final battle in the movie is something that save the movie from being a huge disappointed. The last 20 minutes will most certainly entertain the majority of audiences. And also the villains are pretty cool. There gigantic, bald, covered in tattoos with gills and sharp teeth, carry some pretty cool weapons, and have 2 gigantic beasts as pets.

The main problem is the movie is totally clichéd. I mean how many times are we going to see the exact same story. I mean this was your typical teen drama….new kid..shady past… weird and wants to stay to himself, but there's always some cute chick who he risks everything for. There's always bullies who hate that he's got the attention of the cute chick, so they always end up having a conflict. I mean 90% of this movie was your typical high school drama teen movie. And the "discovering" of his powers was like the alien version of spiderman. I will say I was interested and intrigued when the film was attempting to do something with the plot and overarching story, but these moments are never given the chance to fully develop.

This Twilight series' formula might cheer up the hearts of teenage girls, but males with an ounce of testosterone will grow increasingly restless as they await the arrival of the action that the film's trailer promised. I was intrigued from the early moments in the film where it started to set the plot into motion, and the need for John and Henri to keep running to avoid death. But then it suddenly shifts from a science fiction tale to a romantic love story, and totally loses anything it has going for it. A last minute save in the final act of the film where it shifts back into the realm of sci-fi in the form of a machina known as Number Six (Teresa Palmer) who proceeds to kick a satisfying amount of rampage against the backdrop of CGI and special-effects, is not nearly enough to make up for well over an hour of melodrama and teen angst.

Acting wise, Alex Pettyfer is just plain with no expression but of course teenage girls will love him for his looks and physique. Dianna Agron is pretty and acts fine. Teresa Palmer who I adored in The Sorcerer's Apprentice looks great but barely gets enough screen time to make an impact with little dialogue. Kevin Durand as the Mogadorian Commander is good in his evil act. But one of the film's biggest disappointed is the misuse of Timothy Olyphant as Henri. The film criminally under-uses Olyphant, the only actor who actually acts in the entire film, and makes him into an almost useless background character. We're told that he's a Lorien warrior, and as such you'd expect him to join in the butt- kickery. Unfortunately, he's only involved in one fight and is inexplicably kidnapped. His role is more of a babysitter for Number Four than a warrior/guardian who dispenses valuable training and wisdom. And then there's the relative newcomer Callan McAuliffe stuck in the cliché- ridden role as the know-it-all geek of a best friend though he's fine in whatever he has.

All this said, though this movie isn't the best action film of the year, its still worth a watch for the CGI and the last act of the movie. This is the first installment of the probable trilogy or more. So let's just hope they do it right in the sequels. I rate it 5.5 out out 10.