By: debbie lynn elias
With two teenaged nephews I like to keep my pulse not only on the teen film market but the literary world as well. Needless to say, when I AM NUMBER FOUR, the teen sci-fi adventure novel by Pittacus Lore (aka James Frey), was released, I was one of the first in line to read for myself what the excitement was all about. Fortunately from the get go, the movie script and novel were being concurrently developed [the book was released about halfway through shooting and rocketed to the NY Times Bestseller List] with producer Michael Bay calling on some of the finest teen scribes of our time – Marti Noxon of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” fame and Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, writers for “Smallville” – to adapt the novel. And according to Gough, “[author] James Fry was very open about wanting to make sure that the novel and the movie were in sync and very similar.” Toss in the creativity and vision of director DJ Caruso, the sex appeal of Alex Pettyfor and kick ass moves of Teresa Palmer, aliens, explosions, high school and teen angst and we’ve got ourselves a fun and enjoyable thrill ride with some edge-of-your-seat excitement for teens, tweens and adults alike. With an opening scene that leaves you breathless, the WOW factor is set for the entire film and it only takes minutes to realize that I AM NUMBER FOUR will be your number one movie pick this week.
John Smith is your average teen…or not. He likes hijinks and athletics, at which he excels, not to mention girls, beach parties and hanging out with the guys. But John isn’t exactly what he seems. Turns out John is one of the last of 9 survivors from the planet Lorien. He is Number Four. Sent to Earth by his parents, John has been in hiding, living the life of a typical American teen as he and his guardian Henri stay every vigilant and on the run from the Mogadorians, alien enemies set to destroy him. [Key is that the survivors must be killed in sequential order and as we see early on, Number 3 has just met his demise. Which means Number 4 is next.] And always on the run is something akin to being an Army brat; moving from town to town, always being the new kid, and always wanting to belong, but never really being able to, knowing that it’s only a matter of time before he will have to pick and move again. More accepting of his fate and the circumstances it dictates when younger, now 17, John is anything less than enthusiastic about obeying Henri and as with all teens, thinks he knows best and wants what he wants – particularly when he meets Sarah.
But besides experiencing his first love, John also begins to experience unimaginable powers called Legacies that show themselves in Loriens as rites of passage. And keeping those powers – and his identity – secret is getting harder and harder – especially when the Mogadorians track him to this small Ohio town of Paradise he now calls home. Teaming up with his new love Sarah, his new best friend and alien believer Sam, John must come face to face as he battles for life, love and high school. And in the process, gets more than a helping hand from the exceptionally talented and kick ass, Number Six.
This is an extremely cohesive cast of young people. Alex Pettyfer, DiannaAgron, Teresa Palmer and Callan McAuliffe embody true friendship. The last time we’ve seen a group of teens this synergistic was with Marti Noxon’s baby – “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, which explains why the gang in I AM NUMBER FOUR is very much akin to The Scooby Gang in “Buffy.” The qualities that made the Scooby Gang so much fun and so appealing are found in each of the characters in I AM NUMBER FOUR, thus providing a multiplicity of touchstone’s that will connect to the teens seeing this film. And having mentioned “Buffy” and Noxon, let’s just say that her intimate knowledge of portraying high school, high school kids, the topography of a high school and how to destroy one are so obvious here. Her stamp is clearly on this script.
Hand in hand with the cohesiveness of the four “kids” is their individual excellence in portraying their characters – and the fact that the characters aren’t stale. We see growth and change in the short span of the film. Each is believable, likeable and relatable. I was blown away by Pettyfer when he did “Alex Rider” several years back. Describing him then as “a possible poster child for extreme sports”, and “having a charismatic delivery with the polish of a Sean Connery one-liner at its best”, the same applies to this day even moreso. It may have taken Pettyfer a few years to return to an “action role”, but with his performance as Number Four, I believe he has more than fulfilled the observations I made back in 2006. “I think a lot of kids can relate to who [Number Four] is. A guy who struggles with trying to find his identity as we all do at some time or another in our lives. I love the fact that he’s searching for something.” Stand out is the brooding intensity that Pettyfer gives Number Four/John, but then he adds a little twinkle and lightness that rounds out the character. Working only one day with green screen, the majority of action sequences are actually physically acted with Pettyfer and Palmer doing all of their own stunts but for a few.
But beyond Pettyfer is Teresa Palmer. As Number Six, there is only one phrase to describe her performance – kick ass awesome. Palmer’s physicality is astounding and out of everyone, she is the biggest and baddest kick ass of all. But then you go beyond the physical and Palmer has great comedic timing going on with her delivery of sarcastic one-liners. And again, with Noxon writing, it was inevitable that we have a strong kick-ass female taking names and saving the world. And on asking both Pettyfer and Palmer who kicks butt better, Number Four or Number Six, they both agree – it’s Number Six. “[Number Six] has been honing her skills for a really long time, so when she comes in, she’s so experienced in her Legacies and she knows how to use her powers. And Four is only just discovering his now.” For Palmer, the most challenging aspect of Number Six is the physical aspect. Training with the legendary Peng Zheng, she describes the physical training “very intense. He would be on set. We had been training for 6 weeks, so I knew the movements I had to do, but if it wasn’t specific enough or sharp enough, he would yell at me, ‘Energy! Energy! It was really hard.” Palmer learned a bit of everything. “Martial arts; I became a stunt woman; I learned how to fall and how to fight and how to kick and punch people and ride on a Ducati motorbike. It was intense and I was black and blue for most of it. I found it very grueling but at the same time, exhilarating. It’s a nice feeling to know that you can kick some major butt.”
Also making his mark is Callan McAuliffe. I first took note of him in Rob Reiner’s “Flipped” where he more than held his own leading the film with a pack of film veterans. Here, as Sam, he brings this great unbridled enthusiasm to the film that is the perfect balance to the action and seriousness of Pettyfer and Palmer. McAuliffe for one is more than pleased with the adaptation of book to film. “They did a really good job. In terms of the characters and the story, they stayed very faithful.” A real casting coup is Jake Abel as Mark. I have long watched Abel and really appreciate the diversity he brings to each role such as in “Tru Loved” or “Percy Jackson & The Olympians.” As super jock Mark, he excels at presenting a redemptive message that won’t be lost on the youth audience. And Dianna Agron shows she is more than the shallow Quinn Fabray on “Glee” with a beautifully measured performance as John’s first love Sarah [and did I mention that Loriens mate for life and only have one love – their first love?] As usual Timothy Olyphant is intriguing to watch and as Henri gives a measured adult presence.
Written by Gough, Millar and Noxon, the script is strong with characters well defined and action abounding. According to Gough, “90% of the time, [the action] was on the page” and integrated into the story. It never felt as if added to give the film some oomph. Notable is that the characters each have depth to them and are flawed, feeling their way in life just like every other teen out there today. The story unfolds at an even pace, although I would have liked more backstory on Lorien and the Mogadorians.
DJ Caruso has really upped his game here. With his first film, “The Salton Sea”, he gave us this dark, inventive and energetic visual boldness that when combined with story, kept us on our toes, taunting and teasing and never letting the audience get to comfortable with the plot. He continued that to an even greater degree in “Disturbia” and “Eagle Eye.” But now, Caruso takes his direction to new levels of energy and excitement with the new element of sci-fi fun. Key to Caruso is finding a balance between “character versus plot and pace. If you can build and spend the time with the characters and learn about them, then ultimately what’s going to happen in the end in the action is going to mean so much more. You hopefully try to put the audience in there. I make genre movies that are kind of elevated, I hope. And I think that the elevation is the time that I try to spend with the characters.” And adding to that character development in front of the camera is the what goes on behind the camera. According to McAuliffe, “He makes this atmosphere on set where as soon as he calls ‘action’ everyone will shut the hell up, do their job and do it professionally. As soon as he calls ‘cut’, everyone will be having fun.”
The visual effects are amazing and thanks to Peter Chesney and cinematographer Guillermo Navarro, are not just “action”, but emotion. Lighting is used in some inventive ways with light effects layered on top of basic light elements, leading to moments where you catch your breathe, other moments where you are amazed with wide-eyed wonder and still others that are so delicately lit and framed that you feel a sense of beauty and awe. An extremely appealing visual film. And of course, then you have the Michael Bay trademark explosions, ammo and cool looking alien weapons galore that amp up the excitement and thrill.
Kudos to costumer Marie-Sylvia Deveau and Special Effects Make-Up artisans, Howard Berger and Gregory Nicotero who give us the fantastical look of the Mogadorians. Topping it off is the actual creation of a Mogadorian language a la Star Trek Klingon, upping the cool factor for this generation.
But now I want to know – Who is #5???? After all, the Mogs have to kill in order. We’ve got #4 and #6. According to Teresa Palmer, “Hopefully, enough people will watch the movie and embrace the film and then we can have a sequel.”
Number Four/John Smith – Alex Pettyfer
Number Six – Teresa Palmer
Sarah – Dianna Agron
Sam – Callan McAuliffe
Directed by DJ Caruso. Written by Alfred Gough, Miles Millar and Marti Noxon based on the novel by Pittacus Lore.
