I Am Number Four

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Myself

Another in a long line of popular children's novel series adaptations that probably won't make it past film one because of poor box office returns and thus will never have a conclusion for the people like me that can't be bothered to read them. Everybody wants to make the next Harry Potter. So far the only series that seem to have caught on is Twilight.

It's a pity too because while most of the films don't warrant a sequel, a handful piked my interest enough to make me want to see what happens next. Especially now that the groundwork has been laid, the characters and world established and all the boring exposition is gone so you can just get on with the action.

This one was definitely one of the better ones, but still doesn't quite get there. The last 30 minutes of action is really cool and all the fights are great. The rest is just really average.

They throw some trippy concepts at you hard and fast and don't allow any time to build credibility before they are talking about alien planets and super powers. They must expect you've all read the book or seen the trailer, which pretty much sets up the whole film. In fact most of those scenes in the trailer aren't even in the film. So it's a little hard to get into. They really needed to take more time if anyone that doesn't have that knowledge is going to care about what happens in the next hour and a half.

The bad alien guys are hilarious. English ain't their first language and there are some small hints that they find earth culture very amusing. The rest of the script and acting are all serviceable but nothing special. A few horrid moments too.

It looks great though. And sounds great. The opening shot screams "fuck you Hitchcock, look what I can do with a computer." I actually really liked D.J. Caruso's Disturbia (again a kind of fuck you Hitchcock) and I though Eagle Eye was... not so go, but silly fun. This one is almost at that level, if only it was more fun. I think this just takes itself too seriously. Maybe they shoudl take a hint from the Real Steel trailer that played at the front of it.

Also, No widescreen? Is this because it has to play in IMAX too? I saw anamorphic flares, but they could have just been added later. Either that or they cropped it. Just seems like the kind of film that should be in scope.