I Am Number Four - Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD - Movie Download

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I Am Number Four - Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD - Movie Download
By Hervé St-Louis
May 25, 2011 - 00:04

Studios: DreamWorks Studios
$39.99 US, $44.99 CAN
Starring: Alex Pettyfer, Timothy Olyphant, Teresa Palmer, Dianna Agron, Callan McAuliffe
Directed by: D.J. Caruso
Produced by: Michael Bay
Running Time: 110 minutes
Release Date: May 24 2011
Rating: PG13
Distributors: DreamWorks Distribution

I Am Number Four is the story of high school student – “John Smith” whose powers are reactivated while with a friend after he sensed the death of one of his fellow alien brother, known as Number Three. Trying to escape from the Mogadorians, a rival alien people that want to destroy Number Four and his guardian, Smith escape to a small town in Ohio. But the Mogadorians follow him and Smith has to choose between running away, or staying put while fighting for his life and that of the of the girl he loves.

My first reaction while watching this film was that it was similar to the Twilight formula, but with aliens instead of vampires. There’s no wonder why the book which was release less than a year ago was quickly optioned and why a sequel to I am number four is scheduled for August 2011. The movie follows a typical formula made popular in horror movies. The heroes or victims, will do anything unreasonable that can put their lives and that of others in danger because of some sense of heroism or in John’s case, love. So watching this movie, if you’re a logical person will aggravate you beyond despair. Instead of listening to his mentor and getting the hell out of the way and public view, John takes risk after risk to prove some kind of point.

But then, this movie was not made for a viewer like me. It was made for people who enjoy Twilight where fuzzy stuff like love gets in the way of an interplanetary war waged all over the galaxy because that’s what heroes do. And you know what, it works in that context. However, what doesn’t work and which ultimately doomed this film is the lack of a real moral an ambiguous dilemma similar to Twilight. In Twilight, the human girl wants to be turned into a vampire and live the rest of her life with her vampire boyfriend. That becomes an important source of tension between the entire Twilight series. It’s the classic should I or should I not. That appeals to girls and teens. But there’s none of that stuff in I am number four. The struggle of whether to stay and defend the girl he loves is not an important theme and is resolved rather quickly by the end of the movie.

Instead, viewers are threaded to scenes similar to the 2002 Spider-man movie where Peter Parker learns about his powers. It’s more an adventure and sense of journey than a an inner conflict about important moral decisions. It’s clear that John will fight the Mogadorians. He won’t give up on that, especially after the end of the movie. Moreover, the next film will focus on another character. I’m not sure if John will die a quick death in the next one, similar to many horror movies where the heroes of the previous movie do not survive the sequel. All I know is that the emotional investment that viewers have in him in the first will not be built upon much in the next film in the series. And that’s probably where I am number four fails to draw a cult following. We know the hero in the first movie is not as important or central to the story and that he may not lead it to the end of the series.

The collected edition contains both a DVD and a Blu-Ray version which is great. However, only the Blu-Ray contains deleted scenes.

Bonus Features:

DVD:

·       “Becoming Number 6” Featurette

·       Bloopers

Blu-ray:

Everything on the DVD plus…

·       6 Deleted Scenes with Introductions by Director D.J. Caruso

o   “Strangers in Paradise” (Extended)

o   “Sam’s Mom”

o   “Worth Mentioning”

o   “Power Prank”

o   “Trying to Connect”

o   “Extended Warsaw Basement”

Movie Download:

Everything on the DVD plus…

·       1 Deleted Scene: “Power Prank”

Rating: 8/10