Watching this movie, I thought, I am sure this movie is going to tank. When I mean tank, I mean fail. Horribly. Case in point: two rows behind me, a couple was laughing and carrying on the entire film, obviously bored and enjoying making fun of it. I bet you are thinking to yourself, “Yeah, it doesn’t look that good, I won’t go see it.” I say “Nay.” I enjoyed this movie. Hang in there I’ll explain.
“I am Number Four” is a highly flawed film, mixed with unexplained plot points and awful dialogue. The first hour is pretty boring, and has a terrible setup. There are parts that make no sense, seem really out of place, and are never explained. The only redeeming thing that I can think of about these parts is that they go into more depth in the book. I forgot to mention: this based on a book. The story is more or less a Superman rip off. Alien children come to Earth to hide from an evil force, and they all have special abilities that are never explained. They just have them. I understand that you have to leave things out to make a movie, but I feel this story was missing some much needed explanation.
OK, now that I have the bad stuff on the table, here’s the good. I like the characters, and although the dialogue on the whole was bad, there are genuinely parts of good humor and cleverness. It is almost like there were to many scriptwriters for this film. The last 40 minutes are pure action, special-effects-face-melting, awesomeness. Aside from one scene with a dog (to avoid spoilers I won’t go into detail) I enjoyed all of it. I left the theater wanting to see more and I will probably read the book, hoping to get more plot and character development. I do not think this is what they had in mind when they made this movie, but nonetheless, it’s how I feel.
I am sure they will not make a sequel, and people will tear this movie to pieces. But I am going on the record: I liked it. I hope enough people liked it so that they do make a sequel. I would go see it.
The Rating System
Production (Directing, Editing, Music): 2-5
Story (Plot): 3-5
Characters (Likability, Acting): 3-5
Writing (Dialogue, Cleverness): 2-5
Emotions (Was it; Fun, Scary, Sad, Do I care?): 5-5
Overall Score: 15/25
“I am Number Four” is a highly flawed film, mixed with unexplained plot points and awful dialogue. The first hour is pretty boring, and has a terrible setup. There are parts that make no sense, seem really out of place, and are never explained. The only redeeming thing that I can think of about these parts is that they go into more depth in the book. I forgot to mention: this based on a book. The story is more or less a Superman rip off. Alien children come to Earth to hide from an evil force, and they all have special abilities that are never explained. They just have them. I understand that you have to leave things out to make a movie, but I feel this story was missing some much needed explanation.
OK, now that I have the bad stuff on the table, here’s the good. I like the characters, and although the dialogue on the whole was bad, there are genuinely parts of good humor and cleverness. It is almost like there were to many scriptwriters for this film. The last 40 minutes are pure action, special-effects-face-melting, awesomeness. Aside from one scene with a dog (to avoid spoilers I won’t go into detail) I enjoyed all of it. I left the theater wanting to see more and I will probably read the book, hoping to get more plot and character development. I do not think this is what they had in mind when they made this movie, but nonetheless, it’s how I feel.
I am sure they will not make a sequel, and people will tear this movie to pieces. But I am going on the record: I liked it. I hope enough people liked it so that they do make a sequel. I would go see it.
The Rating System
Production (Directing, Editing, Music): 2-5
Story (Plot): 3-5
Characters (Likability, Acting): 3-5
Writing (Dialogue, Cleverness): 2-5
Emotions (Was it; Fun, Scary, Sad, Do I care?): 5-5
Overall Score: 15/25
I finally saw this yesterday.
ReplyDeleteAnd the beginning was sluggish, yes, and bit choppy. I was thinking "what happened to the awesomeness that is Seth Bullock?" (Timothy Olyphant). As a warrior/protector/dad, he didn't teach Number 4/Daniel/John any skills or how to fight, just how to run from life to life. As John's powers started to show, his warrior, as an afterthought, was like "oh, uh, yeah, I shoulda told you about that, cuz like, being an awkward teenager isn't bad enough, but now you're a freak with glowing hands, too".
I had one nagging question throughout the flick: "where was Number 5?" I understand why Number 6 was involved, she was further down the line and had the time to figure out they had strength in numbers (ha ha, no pun intended). But why didn't she enlist the help of 5 before going to find 4? Unless she thought there was no time to search for 5. I think her little plot line in the story had a ton of holes and I would have liked some background info on her, even a question or two asked by Number 4 as to who she was and why she had an attitude. But whatever, can't have everything you want in life, can you?
Alex Pettyfer isn't the best actor in the world, but he's growing on me, and you can't entirely blame him for this flop - bad dialogue, bad scripting, bad directing, no real chemistry with that Glee chick (her hair bothered me). But I see Alex as having the potential to make a name for himself in Hollywood if he plays his cards right. If there is a sequel to the Hunger Games remake, Catching Fire, I'd like to see him as Finnick, since he is who I pictured for that role as I read the book. He certainly has the bod for it.
But overall, despite my rants and the dog scene, it was a fairly enjoyable movie and I'd see the sequel. Special effects were cool.