Actor Timothy Olyphant, probably wondering why he’s in this movie.

(Photo credit: DreamWorks)

[My review of the book is posted here]

It might have been a less than enjoyable book but I Am Number Four the movie is a far better version of the story it’s based on, something that is rare these days when any adaptation going through the Hollywood wringer is likely to be louder, bloodier, and Imaxed out on special effects. But if your source material is bland oatmeal, spicing it up can only make it better.

The movie does not stray from the main plots. Young moody good-looking stranger moves into town, falls in love with the popular reformed ex-cheerleader, all the while stirring up trouble with local authorities and the local high school bully. Except in this case, the stranger is a teenage alien, on the run from ruthless mercernary aliens intent on destroying planet Earth (Do we expect anything less from bad guy aliens?) John Smith (Alex Pettyfer), our hero, is tired of running, ready to put down roots and live a normal life with the love of his life (played by Pettyfer’s real-life ex Dianna Agron), so it gets annoying (to this movie-goer as well) when his guardian, Henri (Timothy Olyphant) keeps reminding him that John is destined for greater things and the sacrifices his people have made. As a fan of Olyphant, I kept wondering how a talented actor like Olyphant could have ever agreed to play a nag. In the book, we learn more about John’s alien culture through Henri’s back story. Mercifully all the back stories, the weakest parts of the book, have been omitted in the movie (Ebert thought otherwise). The other part where the book lags is the description of the action sequences which is where this movie excels. I suspect the movie’s producer Michael Bay and the movie’s cinematographer Guillermo Navarro had something to do with this. Navarro won an Oscar for Pan’s Labyrinth! If you can sit through some inane dialogue and acting, the climax rewards the patient audience member with some spectacular visual effects sequences normally associated with the big summer blockbusters.

But pretty only gets you so far.

Rating: Good adaptation, just not a good movie. Not recommended unless you’re like nine or that guy in the movie theatre with me that laughed at all the jokes.

Trivia: Marti Noxon, Buffy writer alumni is credited as one of the screenwriters.