I AM NUMBER FOUR

Photos courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures
A rare breed of alien is on the run from his predators in the film I AM NUMBER FOUR.

Number Four is an alien on the run from the Mongadorians, another group of aliens who seek to destroy his kind. In an attempt to avoid extinction, Number Four has come to planet earth, along with his guardian, and has assumed the identity of John Smith, a teenager. The duo skips from town to town, hoping to avoid being detected, and their most recent stop is in a small Ohio town called Paradise.

Henri, John’s guardian played by Timothy Olyphant, wants John to lay low and stay within the confines of a rural house. John feels it would be better to blend in by attending the local high school. John wins this argument, enrolls at the local high school, and experiences many of the same events that a typical teenager would.

Films like I AM NUMBER FOUR bring out the 13-year old boy in me. Although the film is centered around an alien, the alien is always in the skin of John, and Number Four operates as such. He falls for a girl at school, is picked on by the jocks and defends the self-proclaimed science nerd from these same bullies. There’s also a Mongadorian beast that can be heard, but not seen.

I AM NUMBER FOUR has many elements of popular 80’s films that I grew up on. Although the film is centered around an alien, it’s real focus is on various teenagers and how they are trying to find their way in the world.

The theme is well incorporated, but never hits home, due in large part to the stoic performance by Alex Pettyfer as Number Four. Pettyfer is stuck between a rock and hard place, forced to play an alien unaccustomed to earthly pleasures, while still showing a sense of humanity in the skin of a young man. His dry performance doesn’t elicit any sympathy, despite director D-J Caruso’s manipulative tactic of not showing Number Four as anything else but human.

Pettyfer’s female counterparts are the ones which get to have the most fun. Teresa Palmer as Number Six arrives late in the game, but still leaves a lasting impression, while Dianna Argon, of Glee fame, gives a well-rounded performance that may lead to even stronger roles.

I AM NUMBER FOUR was a bit of a nostalgic trip back to alien and teen films from the 80’s for me, but I couldn’t completely check my 37-year old critical thinking mind at the door.

Grade: C+