The perfect damsel in distress the hero is not supposed to be with. Check. The legacy that the hero must live with for the rest of his life. Check. The annoying ex-boyfriend of the girl who just gets in the way throughout the entire movie but eventually turns good. Check. The inability of the hero to control himself when he gets angry. Check. The annoying sidekick who completely understands that an alien that looks like a human is the new kid at his school. Check. The perfect kiss. Check.
I am Number Four is a clear mash-up of Twilight, Harry Potter and a few other recent blockbusters with a plot that hits all of the key points of any young adult action/romance thriller without providing anything unique to make it stand out. The script became eerily similar to the plot of the vampire franchise, Twilight, when the hero, John, aka Number Four (Alex Pettyfer) whispers to his love interest, Sarah (Dianna Agron from Glee), that “we only love one person forever” in a cemetery of all places. In a creepy Edward Cullen way, Pettyfer sweeps the girl off her feet even after she witnessed him throw around a few football players, destroy the high school, and kill a bunch of other, creepier looking aliens (during which she seemed to have absolutely no reaction).
Right after telling the girl how much he loves her, he gets in a car with his side-kick, Sam, played by Callan McAuliffe, who is reminiscent of Ron Weasley except not quite as dumb, with Teresa Palmer as Number 6 leading the way on a motorcycle. Palmer is, in a nutshell, Hermione Granger on a massive amount of Red Bull. Until she arrives, the movie is utterly laughable. She comes in at the end to save the day, tell the boys they are idiots, and finally get them moving in the right direction. The three leave at the end on a quest to find the other numbered heroes so they can save the world, just as the Harry Potter trio left to find the Horcruxes and save their world.
The movie is poorly written with the plot simply combining different past hits in the hope of creating something new. I saw this movie because I heard that the book was amazing and, even though I know that a book is always better than the movie, I am afraid to pick up this one. On the plus side for the movie at least, the actors are quite believable and partially make up for the bad storyline. The angst that Pettyfer goes through and the kick-ass tendencies of Palmer turn what should have been a laugh-out-loud scrap collection of different movies into something that is semi-coherent. Also on the plus side, Pettyfer is more attractive than Robert Pattinson will ever be.
Want to know the only thing that scared me more than the plot? I am Number Four is obviously made for a sequel. Maybe the next movie will be a little more unique.
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