By John Delia
Here is a cool film that reminds me of a cross between the television show X-Files and the comic book heroes the X-Men. Now on DVD I Am Number Four plays very nicely on the small screen and especially on Blu-ray. The bonus features bring added value to the DVD/Blu-ray.
The story goes something like this: John Smith (Alex Pettyfer), a high school teen has arrived in small Ohio town having been on the run from a ruthless enemy that has come to earth to destroy him. His guardian Henri (Timothy Olyphant) classified as a warrior on the planet they are from, has been put in charge of protecting John. Following incident involving John emitting special powers at his school, Henri informs him of his purpose on Earth and that he’s the target of relentless killers. When he falls for his classmate Sarah (Dianna Agron), John’s judgment gets clouded and puts him at risk.
Performances by Pettyfer and Olyphant are extremely good making their characters intriguing and suspenseful. The situations they deal with in the script require a big range of emotions and agility and both are up to the challenge. When the fighting begins the choreographers have the warriors working with realistic moves that energize the battle scenes.
In addition being able to rewind and pause the film, which I like to do during the action scenes looking for something I may have missed, the disc provides bonus features that make the Blu-ray an even better purchase. The bonus includes deleted scenes that enhance the film, some bloopers that are actually quite funny and a feature on ‘Becoming Number 6’, which gives a more in-depth look into that character. All the added material is worth a look.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A good film with a probable sequel coming in the future. (B)
The film carries an MPAA rating of PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, and for language.