Alien tale fails to take off...
> I Am Number Four
3 stars (out of 5)
Director: D. J. Caruso
Cast: Alex Pettyfer, Timothy Olyphant, Teresa Palmer, Dianna Agron, Callan McAuliffe, Jake Abel
Rating: (M)
John Smith (Alex Pettyfer) is number four of nine alien children who were hidden on Earth to protect them from the Mogadorian, evil aliens who have destroyed their home plant, Lorien.
The Mogadorian are slowly tracking them down before they can mature into their powers and be able to effectively fight back.
John is forced into flight when number three is killed. He ends up in Paradise, Ohio where the perils of high school are almost as bad as his fiendish alien trackers.
I Am Number Four (Hoyts) is based on a book by Pittacus Lore, supposedly one of the Elders of Lorien who is documenting the struggles of the nine against the Mogadorian to help prepare us Earthlings for the time when we will have to face up to the Mogadorian threat.
I have it on authority that the book is awesome but there has only been one published so far, so it is still reasonably underground.
The lack of a complete book franchise undermines the movie, which feels like an extended season-opener for a new television series rather than a stand-alone film. It has strong plot elements but often feels paint-by-numbers and rushed.
Best thing: Alex Pettyfer is quite a hunk so if you are a teenage girl who has outgrown Robert Pattinson it might be worth checking out.
Worst thing: It promises cool alien action but the Mogadorians seem a mere hybrid of other previous cool aliens.
See it with: A giggle of teenage girls or a science-fiction geek.
- Christine Powley
