Review of I Am Number Four (2011) by Oxana — 23 Aug 2014

Being a teenager is hard - especially if you're from another planet, one of the few left, and you plus eight others are gifted with superhuman abilities.

Number Four (Alex Pettyfer) moves with his guardian Henri (Timothy Olyphant) from town to town under new aliases, trying to stay under the radar so that a hostile alien group of Mogadorians won't find them. After all, Mogadorian's have come to Earth to kill the last nine children rescued from Lorien before its demise, and after that they will move to take over Earth.

While the nine surviving kids have grown up and getting to know their powers, three of them have already died, the Mogadorians killing them in order (why, I do not know, but it is not important). Number Four is next.

In a city of Paradise, Ohio, Number Four (currently under the alias of John Smith) finally decides he's done with running. It of course helps that he falls in love, and his people do that for life. Also, the only home he has ever known is Earth, and he wants to fit in. For someone like him, though, it isn't easy, especially when their alien villains keep closing in on him.

This movie mixes teenage drama and sci-fi action perfectly. It doesn't get too broody, too romantic, or too shallow. The special effects were just as good as can be expected, and it was clear all the time what was going on. The acting wasn't the best of the best, but good enough, the characters keeping it real and interesting all the time, and the tempo of the movie was good. I truly enjoyed watching every minute of it, although some questions were left unanswered.