REVIEW: I Am Number Four (Book+Movie)

Hello! This review is going to be pretty special because Nicole and I both participated in it. I have already read the book and Nicole has partially read it. We have also watched the movie and we'll be comparing it to the book and also rating it as well. We both hope you enjoy this special review!

Book:

Book: I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
Release Date: August 3rd, 2010 by HarperCollins
Pages: 440 Pages
Source: Library

Nine of us came here. We look like you. We talk like you. We live among you. But we are not you. We can do things you dream of doing. We have powers you dream of having. We are stronger and faster than anything you have ever seen. We are the superheroes you worship in movies and comic books - but we are real.

Our plan was to grow, and train, and become strong, and become one, and fight them. But they found us and started hunting us first. Now all of us are running. Spending our lives in shadows, in places where no one would look, blending in. We have lived among you without you knowing.

But they know.

They caught Number One in Malaysia.
Number Two in England.
And Number Three in Kenya.
They killed them all.

I am Number Four.

I am next.

This is Sarah. If you read the previous, you would know that Nicole and I are both participating in this review. I'm going to be the one writing the reviews and they will mostly be my thoughts but keep in mind that Nicole's opinions are being blended with mine. Now for the book review...

Let's start with a simple list of things to compare.

Thoughts before I read the book:
• This book looked interesting
• I'll give it a chance
• Oh! There's also a movie too!
• Cover looks cool
• It's getting pretty good reviews on Goodreads;can't be that bad

Thoughts afterwards:
• I'M SO DISAPPOINTED! (T_T)

There were many, many different reasons why I was disappointed with the book. The characters are wayyyy too overpowered. I mean, having one gift like controlling water or fire is good enough. But Four/John is like NOPE and he gets the power of telekinesis and animal talking and light making and fire resistance. If the all the Gardes (people who have powers) each had powers like Four, I think it would be impossible for the Mogadorians to take over, no matter the quantity.

Considering this is an action/adventure/alien conquest book, it's missing some important pieces. Like, oh I don't know... THE ACTUAL ACTION. Out of the 440 pages in the hardcover book, the real action comes around page 360. Most of the book was basically just Four and Sarah Hart making lovey dovey faces at each other. It gets pretty annoying. The plot (the war between 2 alien races on earth) wasn't included. It made most of the book, really unnecessary. It wasn't bad or anything, just very very unnecessary.

Also, there is some action throughout the book (enough to keep me from giving up on the book), but mostly it was just some annoying problems like (and I say this in the silliest voice possible) "Oh noes~ My girlfriend who I have barely know got kidnapped by a person who will later become my friend~ And now he took her 'away' and she'll have to watch me getting beat up~ But no worries! I shall just kick some guys in the soft spots and everything will be okay~". Yeah, I found one of those scenes really annoying, if you couldn't tell.

That was my rant about the lack of action. But see here, now that the unnecessary part is over and the much anticipated action is starting, there is too much action. Or to put it more specifically, too much of one scene. The battle is almost 70 pages long. And I get that there are a lot of details that are important but couldn't those have been spread out along the book? The battle scene is very overwhelming in my opinion. 

But! Other than those three really important problems that need to be fixed, I have to say it's a good book! I also really like Sam. He's my favorite character even though he's on the weird side. I Am Number Four, in conclusion, is not a bad book. It's good with a lot of major problems in it, which drags the rating down.

And the ending was actually pretty good. It caught me a bit off guard but I was expecting something like that to happen. It's also sad too...

 Final Rank:

1     2   2.5  3     4     5 

   

Movie:

Movie: I Am Number Four
Release Year: 2011
Time: 109 min
Source: Library

Aliens and their Guardians are hiding on Earth from intergalactic bounty hunters. They can only be killed in numerical order, and Number Four is next on the list. This is his story. 

Okay, so I have just finished watching the movie. 

Nicole's reaction: Actually it's not that bad.. I'll excuse the mistakes because Four is so good looking in the movie. 

My reaction: GOSH WHY IS IT SO FRICKEN CHEESY?

I could do a RANT just on the actor/character of Four. And just to get this off of my mind:

Four is an arrogant idiot. 

I have many, many reasons why I dislike him. Here are some reasons why:

• Four likes to stare at people's houses (and I'm not kidding).
• Alex Pettyfer is way too old to be playing the role of a fourteen year-old like in the book. This takes place in high school (senior year) but the actor is 21-22 when he filmed this.
• Four likes to invade other people's privacy.
• The actor (Alex Pettyfer) FAILS at delivering emotion. Except for that one part where he cries when someone dies, he has a poker face the entire movie.
• In the movie, John/Four is a VERY BAD FRIEND. He doesn't even care when Sam (his only friend) finds out that his life's goal/dream was coming true.
• This one is about the character of Four. He's just so selfish. If you watched the movie, you will understand.
• He takes his crush on Sarah waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too seriously. Seriously, she is just one person!
• He has some serious anger issues.
• Four sucks at staying incognito. He's supposed to say "under the radar" but I don't think having videos of him glowing on Youtube is what you call "hiding".

Those are just a few reasons. Also, the effects of the movie wasn't good as I hoped. The one thing that makes my OCD cringe the most is that the hair color changes. Alex's hair first in the movie is brown. And then it turns blond.  Sarah's hair in the movie is blonde but in the DVD cover (above) it looks brown. :(

Things I liked:

• Sam. He was my favorite character throughout the entire movie. Honestly, I think he would have made a better Four and would actually have some emotions in the movie. Plus, he has the funny lines in the movie.
• Henri. He is so epically awesome. My opinion is that he fits his role perfectly. I just wish he would have a French accent like he does in the book.
• Six. I think her acting skills matches perfectly with the character. What I dislike though is how she is way too over-powered. There is this one scene where she blows up a house (I dunno why...) but it was still epic.

This is a comparison of the book and movie.

 Final Rank:

1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10