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Rating: 5.5 stars

Seen 1 time

Seen on: 02/25/2011

View on: IMDb | TMDb

I Am Number Four (2011)

Directed by D.J. Caruso

Action

Most recently watched by sensoria

Overview

A teenage fugitive with an incredible secret races to stay one step ahead of the mysterious forces seeking destroy him in this sci-fi action thriller. With three dead and one on the run, the race to find the elusive Number Four begins. Outwardly normal teen John Smith never gets too comfortable in the same identity, and along with his guardian, Henri, he is constantly moving from town to town. With each passing day, John gains a stronger grasp on his extraordinary new powers, and his bond to the beings that share his fantastic fate grows stronger.

Rated PG-13 | Length 109 minutes

Actors

Brian Howe | Timothy Olyphant | Teresa Palmer | Garrett M. Brown | Bill Laing | Tim Sitarz | Judith Hoag | Megan Follows | Charles Carroll | Alex Pettyfer | Nash Edgerton | Kevin Durand | Jake Abel | Brenna Roth | L. Derek Leonidoff | Beau Mirchoff | Dianna Agron | Cooper Thornton | Jeff Hochendoner | Jon Braver | Emily Wickersham | Patrick Sebes | Callan McAuliffe | Greg Townley | Reuben Langdon | Molly McGinnis | Andy Owen | Carrick O'Quinn | Tucker Albrizzi | Sabrina de Matteo | Jack Walz | Cody Johns | Isabella Robbins | Damien Walters | Kevin Cassidy | Matt Leonard | Steve Upton | Andre' Mason | Morgan Wolk | Sophia Anne Caruso | Jackson Nunn

Viewing Notes

I’ll be honest. I wanted to hate the hell out of this movie. I was prepared to hate it. I went in pre-hating it. I pretty much did everything to bias my opinion about it before buying the tickets for our family movie outing.

I came out thinking “not too bad.” I’m giving this one six stars, which in my world is a solid like. To be sure, I Am Number Four trots out some of the tired teen adolescence to manhood tropes. However, it manages to mostly overcome those (not without struggling) and at least attempt to transcend the genre. It’s not completely successful in that regard, but enough so to raise it above other dreck like the Percy Jackson movie (that not even my kids liked).

I expected the usual amounts of exposition to explain the back story and wrap everything up in a neat bow. There is some exposition, but it doesn’t beat you over the head with it. It also, for the most part, treats its target audience (13-16 year olds) with respect; doesn’t talk down to them much; treats its main protagonist as a complex individual (albeit heavy handed at times) and tries not to trivialize his issues.

Yes, there’s the “new kid trying to fit into school” and “standing up for the little guy” and “problems with the school jock/bully” stuff; and yes, it’s tired and cliched. But the rest of the movie pulls itself above that and makes it watchable.

I hope it does well enough to get a sequel, because, in the right hands, it could be even better.

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