I Am Number Four

9/10 E.M.
5/10 C.E.

  Once this movie gets rolling it is like a giant snowball of awesomeness down the proverbial hill. Unlike The Eagle this movie thankfully isn't dull in the middle or at any part, however at the same time it isn't entirely exciting either. The main reason for this is because the movie is the first of what will obviously be several movies. It takes the time to set the scene and introduce the characters etc sacrificing action for the first half of the movie or so. Think Harry Potter 7 Part One all this is a lead up for the next more awesome part. The fact it's kinda a first part movie now being established I have to say that it is an awesome first part that has some sweet battles and all around goodness especially once it starts cooking, so if you feel at any point disappointed hang in there.

  Alex Pettyfer or more accurately Alex Prettyfer who plays John the main character is exactly what his last name secretly implies just a pretty face (or so I'm told.) The boy sadly as a whole can't act and even worse it's not entirely his fault. Put simply his face just isn't very expressive except for extreme emotion which as a result more often than not leaves him with a stern look on his face. To the director's credit many of the camera shots with him in it are shot in such a way and angle to aid Pettyfer and make it LOOK like he's expressive. His lack of an expressive face aside Pettyfer does a good job trying and isn't so bad that he impedes the movie.

  Timothy Olyphant who plays the over protective Henri on the other hand has a face that can not only express emotion but when combined with his delivery of it gave him one of the best performances in the movie. I really have no complaints when it came to the job he did on this film. Also in the awesome department was Dianna Agron. It is not hard at all to see how the character John falls for Sarah with Agron behind the wheel especially since she can actually act. In the romance between John and Sarah it is sadly easy to see which actor/actress is the one doing the romancing and actually creating the chemistry we see. I honestly wish I could see Agron with a different male lead that could act so that we can really see John's love for Sarah rather than the other way around. Agron's timing and charm certainly combine well to create a wonderful performance that I am looking forward to seeing again in the sequel.

  Teresa Palmer has a minimal role in this movie and even fewer lines so it's really hard to gauge her performance. She did however do a great job as a the bad girl who can kick butt and take names I just look forward to finding out if she is capable of doing more than just create an image in her future performances. The rest of the cast did their jobs however none really shined and Kevin Durand who played the leader of the Mogs was just down right hard to understand.

  The plot to the movie is definitely interesting and will hold the audiences attention and the action scenes are just down right sweet. The movie does however have a huge weak spot at least to anyone who's seen many films in that it draws tons of obvious influence from a variety of films. Two examples being that as far as the love story goes it's pretty much Twilight only with aliens which is well a bit annoying and the scene where the Mogs are feeding the beast things that is VERY much reminiscent of The Sandlot. All this aside it still delivers in the end and it's hard not to be similar to other works out there. The music did it's job well although the soundtrack felt a bit uninspired. Add in the cool special effects and you are left with a very enjoyable movie despite it's obvious influences and poor male lead.