I Am Number Four

Review by Anthony Morris

While I Am Number Four contains no original material whatsoever, it's hard to deny that it does manage to be a lot more entertaining than the average teen thriller. 

There is a lot of be said about remix culture, and not a lot of it's good. But occasionally the idea of sticking a whole lot of other ideas into a blender and seeing what comes out the other end pays off.

For starters, our hero "John Smith" (Alex Pettyfer) is a teen on the run from mysterious, deadly forces with only a warrior guardian (Timothy Olyphant) to protect him. 

Of course, not that many people watched Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles on TV, so being a direct rip from that probably doesn't count...

Anyway, the teens (who are aliens) are being killed off in order for no real reason, and Smith is next. Hiding out doesn't work (that's how the last teen was killed), so he demands to go to school in the small US town of Paradise - and if you think that clearly ironic name reeks a little of Buffy's home town Sunnydale, you're not far wrong. 

What follows is a mis-mash of every teen drama cliche going, complete with bullying jocks, UFO fanatics, an arty girl love interest and coming-of-age superpowers, but it moves fast enough that it never gets boring. 

Especially because there are also giant alien monsters and people being killed by having buzzsaw-equipped ball bearings dropped into their mouths. 

Your enjoyment of this will depend largely on how much time you have for these cliches: if you think you're likely to roll your eyes than cheer when, for example, a straight-out Buffy-knock-off heroine (right down to turning monsters to dust by stabbing them with something pointy) was to turn up, then this might not be for you. 

Especially with the acting being pretty wooden across the scale (even Olyphant struggles a little) and most of the action being competent at best. 

But if old-fashioned teen drama / angst / action is your thing, I Am Number Four should go to number one on your must-see list.

2.5 out of 5

I Am Number Four
Australian release: 24th February, 2011
Official Site: I Am Number Four
Cast: Alex Pettyfer, Timothy Olyphant, Teresa Palmer, Dianna Agron, Callan McAuliffe
Director: D.J. Caruso