I AM NUMBER FOUR

A brief action sequence that opens the movie establishes the fact that a handful of good aliens from the doomed planet of Lorien are being hunted on Earth by villainous ones called Mogadorians. These baddies are eliminating nine good Loriens in numerical order; Number Three meets his fate in the opening, thus letting the target fall to Number Four (Pettyfer). The film gives no clue as to whom or what established this pecking order.



Number Four and his protector (Timothy Olyphant), masquerading as his father, flee their identities in the Florida Keys for brand-new ones in the small town of Paradise, Ohio. As “John Smith,” Number Four enters a high school that even one character is forced to admit consists of clichés run amok: A male clique surrounding the school’s star quarterback bullies a geek who believes in UFOs; and a beautiful cheerleader only wants to escape the gravitational pull of these thick-headed jocks. Number Four is ordered to keep a low profile by his protector, which is hard to do when your hands glow like light bulbs and you can toss around football players and police cars like matchsticks. So Number Four has a very hard time staying off YouTube, which is why the Mogadorians, lead by a hammy Kevin Durand, are hot on his trail.



I Am Number Four is mostly a missed opportunity. The film plugs into some genuine teen angst and identity confusion that might have dovetailed nicely with its sci-fi elements. Instead these two realities, a high school with its many melodramas and aliens chasing each other around the country, operate on parallel tracks. At times it feels like the reels from two very different movies got mixed up in the projection booth. The idea here is nifty; the execution mostly pedestrian.



Even the ending as it relates to the teenagers in love feels weird. Perhaps the filmmakers are setting up a sequel, but this film’s final note is most unsatisfying.