Totally Rad for Jet Ski Back Flips Though
Whether the I-was-a-teenage-alien bombastic action flick “I Am Number Four” looks “Twilight“-esque to you or not, there’s no denying the adherence to formula. Take an impossibly beautiful and broody outsider, equip with special talents otherworldly or otherwise, add a dash of tummy-fluttering flirtation with another impossibly beautiful (BUT HUMAN) kindred spirit and some baddies in swirling leather trench coats, and stir.
We’ve seen the teaser and the feature trailers, showcasing both the romance and the thrills, the action pieces and effects looking decidedly better than the tepid cheese-factory that is “Twilight,” but the lens flare lovin’ Michael Bay is the producer, so of course the crashy-crashy ‘splosions are going to be stepped up a notch or a billion. The extended trailer has now arrived in advance of its February release, and curiously begins with a teen movie style Spring Break scene, replete with a WTF-inducing jet ski back flip. It’s a lot of the same material from the other two trailers but frames the story a bit differently, as it shows Number Four being ripped from his average, everyday jet ski-back flipping life before encountering bearded vagrant Timothy Olyphant in the woods, who tells him why a mysterious alien dragged him underwater and branded him. Or so we think.
Based on the young adult novel by controversial “memoirist” James Frey and co-writer Jobie Hughes, “I Am Number Four” is directed by D.J. Caruso (“Disturbia,” “Eagle Eye“) and stars somewhat unknown Alex Pettyfer as the titular alien on the run, and “Glee” actress Dianna Agron as his high school love interest. Teresa Palmer pops up as a badass, knife-wielding, motorcycle-riding fellow alien, as well as the aforementioned Olyphant as a mentor of sorts for Number Four (replacing Sharlto Copley, who dropped out of the project). Perhaps Caruso can do for Pettyfer what he did for Shia LaBoeuf, who got his leading man ticket punched in the “Rear Window“-inspired taut little thriller, ‘Disturbia.” At any rate, R-Patz, move over, there’s a new pretty Brit with chiseled cheekbones and an unruly mop in town. Brace yourself for the tween onslaught. The film is also getting an IMAX release because duh. The fact that it’s not in 3D is practically shocking. Grab your closest teenager and check it out on February 18th.
