I am Number Four | C

I Am Number Four is the highly anticipated film adaptation of the young adult novel by Pittacus Lore. Directed by D.J. Caruso, the film confirms what we should come to expect of movies in this new digital age.

John (Alex Pettyfer, Stormbreaker) is an alien from a little known planet who lives under the guise of a normal high school student. He lives with Henri (Timothy Olyphant, Hitman), who pretends to be his father but actually takes on the role of guardian, protector and mentor. John is one of six people from his planet being pursued by the Mogandorians, evil beings from his world who want to kill John along with the rest of these six unique individuals.

In the midst of all this, John befriends Sam (Callan McAuliffe, Flipped), the kid who is incessantly bullied by high school hitman, Mark (Jake Abel, The Lovely Bones). John also finds a love interest in Sarah (Dianna Agron, Glee), a girl who is completely taken by his mysterious demeanor and wishes desperately to understand him. Of course, she eventually gets sucked into his world of super-human strength and intensely epic battle scenes so much so that she adds unnecessary baggage to the storyline

Do these character types sound familiar? They should, as they echo the characters of many other super-teen comedies such as Spider-Man and Transformers. Unfortunately, each scene in the film is so disconnected from the next that it's difficult to understand Caruso's vision for the movie. The characters lack a great amount of development so that throughout the film some friendships are torn apart while others are created without any real explanation or back story. The verbal banter between the kids is often clichéd and lacks the punch that the director and screenwriters were most likely aiming for. The screenwriters try to keep the wordplay fresh by adding racy lines but the end result is more unsettling and unnatural than it is a realistic representation of American adolescence.

Don't go into this viewing with high hopes of being blown away by the storyline. Go to this movie with the intention of seeing some mind-numbing action scenes, superb special effects and some pretty good looking people — but that's about it.