I Am Number Four: Not A Four-Star to Me

Salam ukhuwwah fillah...


So, I went to watch I Am Number Four (IAN4). Location: GSC Alamanda.


I was there on the dot; took a few minutes for the ticket, lining up for popcorn and drink (compulsory) and I went right in just seconds before the movie started.

I was thinking to watch No Strings Attached at first, but I changed my mind due to the following reasons :

1) The movie (IAN4) poster was the first thing that I saw when I got there
2) I remembered having Alex Pettyfer's poster back at home (okay, he's cute)
3) I thought Michael Bay is the director, but it turns out that he's the producer. The real director of IAN4 is D.J Caruso (who the hell is this guy?) But somehow, considering the impact that Transformers gave me, I was kinda expecting the same thing for IAN4
4) I was craving for some popcorn for so long, any movie will do
5) I don't wanna watch Kembar Siang

All seats were full. I was lucky enough to get the very last seat at the top. Well, I don't mind. As long as I can enjoy the movie without having to sit next to a noisy bunch of idiots or an uninvited movie critic, I am all good.

The first 10 minutes of the movie was lame. I'd say the screen was a little bit too dark (it might be Caruso's intention to not revealing too much of action for a start). There was this anonymous creature attacking and killing two guys. One was trying to escape and ran through the forest (I thought it was Pandora - Avatar) but he was killed anyway.

The plot shifted to a bunch of partying teens on the beach. Daniel Jones (Alex Pettyfer) was showing his cool riding on the jet ski with some stunts. Lalalaaa... he's cute lalalaaa then it came to the part when he received a warning sign. He had a blue light coming out from his leg (why on the leg? Why??) He had another scar; of which a sign that Number 3 was dead; and he will be the next. The audience went "oohhh...so, he is Number Four..." and came to the understanding of the whole incident. Daniel ran away. I hate this part. It was when the character started to tell a long history of his being. I call it a lazy story-telling. A good director has to think of some other ways to inform the back story rather than having the character telling it all. Boring.

Okay. So, Number Four is an alien - a handsome one - from planet Lorien. He and Henri (the guardian) came to Earth after their planet was destroyed and they needed to hide away from the Morgadorians who hunt and kill The Garde - consists of nine teenage Loriens with special legacies and power.

Daniel constantly changed his name and also moved from one place to another to keep himself safe from the Morgs. When he moved in Ohio, he was known as John Smith. Trying to make a life like a normal kid, he went to high school and fell in love (woohoo!). He met Sarah Hart (this is no you, Cik Maisarah Atan...hehe!) and instantly liked her. So did she. I like her character (Dianna Agron) whom is calm, sweet, old-fashioned and most importantly, she's a photographer!

John started to develop more of his powers - light coming out from his hands, he became resistance to heat and fire, but unfortunately every time he did, he was in school. The people around him began to feel curious about him including Sam Goode (Callan McAuliffe), the school freak who believed in aliens. This guy reminds me of Kurt Hummel in Glee - but Kurt is way 'pussier' than Sam is. LOL.

The plot came to the peak when the Morgs finally spotted John. There were tonnes of action - boom here and bang there, but I must say John wasn't the ultimate hero because there came Number Six (Teresa Palmer) saving him. She was way cooler than John - she killed all the Morgs in seconds while John is hiding with Sarah behind the wall. Oops...

Okay, too much on the plot already. Long story short, they managed to fight the Morgs and it was all happy ending. John and Number Six together with Sam moved to a safer place because the Morgs will never stop searching for them. John promised Sarah that he'll come back and find her... lalalalaaa kiss... and the end.

Here goes some trivia:

1) After some research, the movie was actually made based on a novel written by Pittacus Lore. But comparing the two, the movie was more compact and not so lengthy.

2) The movie does not portray Emily, Sarah's best friend and the revelation of John's power was spread through the papers - not shown in the movie.

3) The most sad parts were when Henri died and Bernie Kosar, the dog returned to John wounded - he transformed (Transformers too?) into a beast fighting over the unknown deadly creature of the Morgs. I cried, well, just a little. But the dog's transformation reminds me of Milo in The Mask when he tried putting on the cursed mask. The CGI-fx was kinda fake and it made it look hilarious, but, what the heck. Pettyfer looks cuter, and that is all that matters. Haha!

4) The best line ever was when Number Six asked John to re-charge her - she's draining out of energy. When he's done, Number Six smiled and said, "Red Bulls are for pussies." LOL!

5) John still had the time to go to the school (WTF?) with Sarah when the Morgs were so near to get him. I think that was so helpless romantic (PUKE!). The enemy was going to kill you in no time and you could still spare a few minutes with your girlfriend looking at some photos? Amaigadddd...

6) The deadly creature of the Morgs look like a retarded lizard. You know, it is not-so-scary. It gives me the same idea of the monster in Clash of The Titans. Try to think of something deadlier lah, weyh... Think more creatively. (no worries, the director doesn't read my blog)

7) There might be a sequel made after IAN4 since the novel was followed by another book - The Power of Six. For that, we will have to wait and see.

Over all, this movie did not give me much surprise. The plot is very predictable, the Morgs' look (the gills and the bald head) were something I've seen before. Nothing much surprising. Therefore, this movie isn't a four star to me (though, I still think Pettyfer is cute.) Okay, I said that for the third time.

I give it 3 stars out of 5.