Pettyfer plays John, a mysterious teenager who is smart, brooding, handsome and athletic but doesn’t fit in at his new school. He and Henri (Timothy Olyphant), who poses as his father but is in reality his alien warrior/ protector, have just landed in Paradise, Ohio. It is a small town where they hope to exist under the radar and evade their enemies, Mogadorians, a group of space assassins in long black coats and deeply scarred and tattooed heads.
John and Henri constantly change their identities; that’s life on the run. They do their best to appear normal, a tough gig considering that they look perpetually freaked out and behave in a hyper vigilant manner.
Three other beings like John have been killed and John is Number Four, and will be the next to go in the mythic order of things. Pettyfer and Olyphant carry it off well.
Back at school, John is bullied, and despite his spectacular physique and mad fighting skills, allows it. I don’t know I’m buying what they’re selling, but nonetheless this is the position in which he finds himself. John befriends the perpetual bullying victim Sam (Callan McAuliffe, an Australian who also scores with a Yankee accent) who becomes his warrior in the soon-to come epic battle against the Mogadorians.
John meets and falls for Sarah, played by Glee’s Dianna Agron who also doubles as Pettyfer’s real life girlfriend. Sarah is a loner who obsessively photographs her environment and the people in it. But his opening up to her seems to give him special powers. He can manipulate matter with his powerful, glowing hands.
Sarah puts John in a difficult spot by taking his picture and posting it online. The Mogadorians are tech savvy and John knows that if they find his pic online, they’ll be able to locate and kill him. BTW there is enough texting and internet surfing here to satisfy the most hardened screenager.
Australian actor Theresa Palmer (an Australian who lets her accent fly) arrives on the scene, a sexy super-powered motorcycle mama who reveals herself as Number 6 and a capable fighter. The battle with the Mogadorians is on.
This is a likeable teen oriented film that’s contemporary enough to be interesting to the kids, whether they’ve read the book or not. There is a strong Twilight vibe throughout with brooding, good looking leads, deep, dark woods where weird stuff happens, nice, lower middle class lifestyles, and morally questionable adults. It’s no classic, but it’s fun and an eyeful.
Written by Alfred Gough, Miles Millar et al
Directed by D.J. Caruso
Runtime: 110 minutes
Stars: Alex Pettyfer, Timothy Olyphant and Dianna Agron
Source: M&C