theparallaxreview's video: I am Number Four 2011 Trailer

Needless to say, this is a ton of plot to shove into a movie that runs less than two hours. I would take the film to task for not cutting some of the more extraneous plot details, but director D.J. Caruso has his hands tied by the fact that the film is supposed to be the first in a series. When taking that into account, it's actually surprising how well I Am Number Four turned out. This could have been a dispiriting failure along the lines of The Vampire's Assistant--a film that felt like one long first act setting up all the fun for films down the road. But Caruso is able to make John just an interesting enough protagonist and capitalize on a great performance by Olyphant, that I was willing to sit through the explanations and plot setups until the overblown, but rousing third act finally rewarded my patience. http://www.theparallaxreview.com/in_theatres/i_am_number_four.html