Review: I Am Number Four

IMDb

Title: I Am Number Four
Distributor: DreamWorks SKG
Director: D.J. Caruso
Writer(s): Alfred Gough (screenplay), Miles Millar (screenplay

Staring: Alex Pettyfer, Timothy Olyphant, Teresa Palmer, Dianna Agron, Callan McAuliffe
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, and for language
Running Time:
Synopsis: John is an extraordinary teen, masking his true identity and passing as a typical high school student to elude a deadly enemy seeking to destroy him. Three like him have already been killed ... he is Number Four..

What Others Are Saying?

Rotten Tomatoes: T-Meter: 27% (Rotten), Top Critics: 19% (Rotten), Audience: 74% (Fresh)
Metacritic: Critics: 35 out of 100, Users: 5.6 out of 10
MRQE Metric: 49 out of 100
Yahoo Movies: Critics: C- Users: A-

My Review

Source Material: Based on book with the same title written by Pittacus Lore (James Frey and Jobie Hughes)

Entertaining Value:

• Action Elements: The basic "Micheal Bay" action movie we all have either grown to hate or love. Personally, his formula in this movie fits to a degree.
  

• Comedy Elements: This area was really lacking there could have been more. This guys is in a sci-fi movie there could have been some funny reference to other alien type movies. Making pop culture reference grounds you into the reality of the real world. It also brings comedy to the film.
  

• Dramatic Elements: I will explain this more in the acting section but it was very "Twilight" esk, meaning very melodramatic without any substance.

• Sci-Fi / Fantasy Elements: For being a Sci-Fi film the CGI and mythology was very weak to say the lest. Visually it belong on the CW ranking behind Smallville and Supernatural.
  

Cinematic Value:

• Acting and Dialogue: D+: Very weak acting. I understand that the filmmakers were trying to appeal to Twilight crowd but did they have to emulate the acting style as well?

• Art Direction: C: Most of the movie happens at night or around night fall. The effect were dark and dingy and not very appealing.
  

• Cinematography: C: Average at best the movie seemed poorly lite maybe that's because it spouse to be night time or something.
  

• Direction: B: I thin it had decent pace for what it was worth like I said before it would work on television among Smallville and Supernatural. Maybe it should have been a mini series or episodic.

• Editing: B: I always thought something was missing in the story but maybe that was what they eliminated from the book not necessarily the editors fault. Over all I think it was a decent film from a editing stand point.
  

• Screenplay: C: The mythology was very weak. There was too many question left unanswered...answers are probably in the book. I would think when you adapted a book into a screenplay you not only please the fan but you include important details. Since I never have read the book I don't fully understand what going on. I keep on equating this movie to Smallville and Supernatural but these two show have ten times better mythology.

• Sound and Music: B:The sound track fits I will say it again CW material.
  

• VFX: C-: Very weak could have been a lot better.
  

Overall: C: I would say this film was around the decent markers on the scale of "Lame as Hell" to "!@#* Amazing" It has it entertaining moments that work for the average movie going audience that loves tv shows like Smallville or Supernatural. But climatically it very flawed. You may think I am tearing this movie apart saying it sucks well it this retrospect it kind of does. But you may want to wait for this one to come on DVD and or catch it on Netflix for "free"