I Am Number Four

From: You Tube


 I Am Number Four was released in theatres on February 18, 2011. It's about a young boy named John who is from a far away planet that got destroyed by an enemy planet. His protector brought him to planet Earth to be safe. Three of his kind have already been killed...he is number four. Later he finds out he has super powers and must find others like him to grow strong and beat the enemy that is after him. The movie was directed by D.J. Caruso and leading actor is Alex Pettyfer. I chose this film to watch in theatres because it was either this or watching Unknown and to me, Unknown looks like a remake of the Bourne trilogy, but worse. Plus the leading actor in I Am Number Four is young and attractive.


The leading actor, Alex Pettyfer, was born on April 10, 1990 in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. His career started at age seven when he did child fashion model for Gap, after meeting Ralph Lauren in a toy store in New York City. After that he did various plays in his high school  and tv commercials. In 2006, Alex did his first movie called Stormbreaker. He played the role of Alex Rider which nominated him for Young Artist Award and Empire Award for this role. In 2009, he played in a horror comedy called Tormented. I Am Number Four is his fifth movie but won't be his best until the movie Beastly is released this year. Beastly is about a modern day spin off of beauty and the beast. I predict Beastly will be his break out role and everyone will know his name.

While watching this, supposedly, science fiction movie, I couldn't help but relate it to the typical romance movie. You know the movie where boy meets girl and has to hide who he is and his secrets. Then when he is in danger he can't leave her and puts "his love" in danger where he later has to save her. In the end she finds out who he is and accepts him for who he is. This is the basic plot of the movie with a little more detail of where he came from, his super powers, and what he has to do to defeat the enemy. I would put this movie in a category of romantic science fiction. The basic plot isn't unique at all. Its very simple and doesn't take a lot of thinking to watch it. The movie came from a novel by Pittacus Lore. The novel was on New York's Best-seller List for six weeks. It is the first book of a six book series. Not every best-seller book should be turned into a movie. It doesn't make an automatic blockbuster like what happened to the movie Twilight. Personally, I think it ruins the book if the movie isn't successful and this is a perfect example. 




This movie is important to culture that books shouldn't always transfer into movies.  Some movies that have done well with the transfer is Harry Potter series, Twilight series, and Lord of the Rings series. To be successful with the transition is that the book has to be popular first. That way readers who fall in love with the book will want to see the movie. Or if you fall in love with the movie you will want to read the book. The only fall back is that when the movie is changed from the book. For example, the movie Dear John. I loved the book so I went to see the movie and it was disappointing because the writers changed the characters and plot. This trend of books becoming movies catches young audience and promotes them to read more, or at least see movies about books. It doesn't include stereotypes or offensive message since it was a children's book to begin with. 


Its a good attempt to create a blockbuster hit but fell short with the simple plot and not enough detail. I found myself being bored while watching even though there was a couple of action and funny moments. Hopefully they won't make all six movies because it will be a waste of time and money. The next movie Alex Pettyfer does will be his best work hands down. Its a good start for him to do movies but won't be his breaking out role. Its strength was the action and special effects when the character runs. The main character John has super powers so he runs very fast. The camera follows him from all different angles which is neat to watch. The characters in the movie needs more detail and personality. It will definitely be forgotten by next week when the Marvel superhero movies come out. The first one will be Thor based on a Marvel Comic book. 


I have no desire to engage more into this movie by reading the books. I'm not too interested in science fiction books. I will go see Beastly just because it has the same leading character by looking him up online. I went to see this movie with my friend. She thought the movie was entertaining but doesn't have desire to go see the second one if it comes out. I wouldn't see it again when it comes out on dvd or recommend it to anyone to see it. 


I learned that books shouldn't always be turned into blockbuster movies. It can make or break the books popularity. A popular saying is that, " A movie can never be as good as reading the book". Which is definitely true for this movie.