I Am Number Four (Te Puke Capitol Cinemas)
Directed: D. J Caruso
Starring: Alex Pettyfer, Timothy Olyphant, and Teresa Palmer.

The best way to describe this film is to say ‘it was like a teenager hitting puberty'. Things are awkward, uncomfortable, cringe worthy and down-right confusing for all.

I Am Number Four gave me the promise of action, sci-fi and a 20-something-year old hottie playing a teenager. What more could I ask for? But it delivered something like The Hills crossed with The X-Files.

‘John' (Pettyfer) is something from another world. He and his genetically superior friends are dispersed around the world, hiding from their alien enemies, the Mogadorians, who plan on hunting them down and making them extinct. Relocating from town to town, John and his guardian (Olyphant) keep on the move to avoid detection. Until John decides he can't run anymore and needs to defend those he loves.

The story is adapted from the teen-fiction novel by the same name and is the first in a proposed six book series. It has a real ‘bookish' feel about it with the simplistic yet ridiculous plot lines that a book of this genre all seem to have – the cliché love tale, the angsty teen confusion, the old bully-nerd dichotomy. The open ending is also a dead give away that as they ride off into the sunset there will be more sequels to come. The problem is substance. Nothing is really explained. They give brief explanations of who these people are and why they are being hunted, but not in such depth that you can make any kind of real connection at all. That is the biggest downfall, the scripting is cliché, with no depth that holds the sci-fi side back from reaching a great sci-fi flick.

But I guess sci-fi films just aren't cool anymore, and it is cooler to pitch the film as a love story instead. Not for me though. Honestly, as soon as Number Four and his interest Sarah (Dianna Argon from Glee) locked eyes I switched off. Yes, Alex Pettyfer of Alex Rider: Stormbreaker fame is attractive and makes for some excellent eye candy (and is also a half decent actor), but the dialogue he had to work with was offensive to my ears and good-taste radar.

On the flip side, at least a third of the film was dominated by kick-arse, excellent fight scenes. Fast-paced, low on CGI and high on butt-kicking the old fashioned way of fist and elbows, it was fun especially when Number Six (Palmer) shows up and does some damage with her gun.

I hope this has been an eye opener and you won't be deceived by the cool poster art and high-tech trailer as I was. Maybe I wasn't the target audience, or maybe I was too old for teenage romance, but I'll admit the people in the audience were my age or older. It has good parts where there is some serious fighting going down, but overall it is a just a trumped up tale of teenage struggles and romance.