John Smith (Alex Pettyfer) is a fugitive on the run from evil alien bounty hunters sent to destroy him after his race called the Lorien, is getting bumped off by the number. Numbers One, Two and Three have already been killed and John has no intention of being Number Four, so he and some others were sent to earth to live.

That’s all we know about his home as we were alienated from details that hopefully will be explained in a possible sequel, and you know there will be a couple. That’s what Hollywood does.
John and his guardian Dad Henri (Timothy Olyphant), move from town to town constantly being on the lookout for shadows before settling down in Paradise, Ohio and changing their names. This movie is much of a teen romance and a melodrama more than a sci-fi story, but still it never quite achieves that either.

Adapted from the novel of the same name, I Am Number Four has more questions than answers but still the teen audiences will like the new and upcoming Alex Pettyfer, who being from England, dons an American accent as well as Hugh Laure on “House” does.

The only aliens in this movie are the enemies tracking down John with their powerful ray guns. Even though John has super Spiderman-like powers and can be there to catch a person before they hit the ground after falling off a roof, doesn’t make this a real special science fiction movie.

What we do have is a romantic story line involving John and his somewhat love interest Sarah (Dianne Agron from “Glee” and “Burlesque”). A lot of the movie takes place at the high school where John and Sarah attend. And like a lot of schools, there will always be bullies and John has to show them some manners with out blowing his cover.

This is where he meets another UFO nut, Sam (Callan McAuliffe from “Flipped”) who has stories of his own and who joins forces with John to fight the piranha toothed, scared, alien freaks. All this time John is trying to keep a low profile but eventually the best will come out, special effects kick in, then the Mogadorian battle is on.

But wait, it gets better. Austrailian actress Theresa Palmer arrives live on the scene on a supped up motorcycle. She introduces herself as Number 6 and the Mogs have a real battle on their hands. Did I mention Number 6 also acts as a fire proof shield? Well, she is all that and more. Kevin Durand as the Mog Commander does well here, mostly grunts and picks up a scent like a blood hound after a fox but is fun to watch.

The grand finally leaves room for more but again why are they being hunted? There is is no direct answer, although there is a hint at a legacy that the remaining can together posses the power to expel the aliens or until Hollywood runs out of ideas. Oh, and in the deep dark woods, weird things happen. It’s like a haunted hay ride.

And if you teens didn’t get enough of your heart throb here, you can catch Alex Pettyfer in the upcoming “Beastly” that hits theaters March 4th. I will have my review for that movie posted on that day.

“I Am Number Four” opens in theaters on Febuary 18. It is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, and for language. It’s directed by D.J. Caruso (“Disturbia”), written by Alfred Gough and Mike Millar. The running time is 110 minutes. The music score is by Trevor Rabin and the soundtrack, that can be found on Lakeshore Records, is worth giving a listen to. The film is distributed by Touchstone/Dreamworks pictures, so enjoy.

by Hustlin Bob Higgins 2 1/2 stars