BLU RAY: I AM NUMBER FOUR
Review By Duncan McLeod
Director: D.J. Caruso
Cast: Alex Pettyfer, Timothy Olyphant, Teresa Palmer, Dianna Agron, Kevin Durand, Callan McAuliffe
Synopsis: Three are dead. Who is Number Four? D.J. Caruso (“Eagle Eye,” “Disturbia”) helms an action-packed thriller about an extraordinary teen, John Smith (Alex Pettyfer), who is a fugitive on the run from ruthless enemies sent to destroy him. Changing his identity, moving from town to town with his guardian Henri (Timothy Olyphant), John is always the new kid with no ties to his past. In the small Ohio town he now calls home, John encounters unexpected, life-changing events–his first love (Dianna Agron), powerful new abilities and a connection to the others who share his incredible destiny.
Review: I AM NUMBER FOUR fills the void that is a good teen action flick. Sure we have the TWILIGHT SAGA but it’s in need of some stiff competition and FOUR is just that. There might be the flimsy love story that runs through it, but it has elements that borrow from DARK CITY, HARRY POTTER and a wild imagination that make it infinitely more appealing. Oh yeah… and no vampires.
Its star power comes in the form of Timothy Olyphant, Diana Argon and Teresa Palmer. These three drive the film in their own subtle way. Argon and Palmer as love interests, with Palmer more on the kick-ass side and Olyphant as guardian to Alex Pettyfer as Number Four.
Pettyfer is a relative newcomer and in this role, handles the blonde heartthrob come superhero well. His chemistry with Argon is evident and the two play off each other well. While they posses chemistry they lack depth. This might seem like a tough ask in a teen film, but it isn’t impossible. There are other teen films such as EASY A, JUNO and MEAN GIRLS who despite being funny have heart and emotion within them.
Olyphant’s is not as large a part as this reviewer might have liked. This is understandable though as the teens were this story’s focal point and the weight of Olyphant was merely employed to join the dots as it were.
Although not as well known, but equally dramatically strong, Kevin Durand as the Mogadorian Commander did an expert job. He was sufficiently creepy and engaging and one of the highlights of the film.
The ensemble cast seemed to gel well together though those mentioned above were the stand outs for this reviewer. Having one solid well-known lead is generally the conventional method for vehicles such as this. A handful of memorable faces though did nothing to detract from the piece.
Director DJ Caroso is adept at the teen genre. He brought us the sleeper hit DISTURBIA and the future-themed EAGLE EYE teaming up with TRANSFORMERS’ Shia LaBeouf. Both of these films were engaging and entertaining and Caruso delivers the same here.
The dialogue is well paced but thinly delivered. The book might offer more substance than is being afforded here though the visual spectacle is nicely handled.
The effects are alright but the feel is very TV series rather than cinematic epic. Whilst the effects demonstrate great intent and imagination, the budget does not match with the creative vision and so the effects look cheap rather than jaw-dropping.
Michael Bay’s producer influence is evident, and LaBeouf is too ‘big’ now to take on a project such as FOUR. Whilst this is a solid film that caters to a niche audience it still requires a lot of imagination to make you believe the impossible rather than just accept it.
Here’s a franchise that didn’t get off the ground.