I AM NUMBER FOUR

(12A) 109mins

Director: D.J. Caruso

Starring: Alex Pettyfer, Timothy Olyphant, Dianna Agron, Callan McAuliffe

IT’S always a happy event when you go to watch a movie thinking it might be terrible, but come out pleasantly surprised.

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At first sight, a teen romance, sci-fi action thriller might not be everyone’s choice, but thanks to some decent CGI, reasonable plot and half-decent acting this isn’t bad at all.

However, you might be left wondering why this film wasn’t actually made into a TV series. The storyline lends itself to one - or a sequel.

Pettyfer plays alien John (who happens to look human), brought to Earth along with eight other young people from a planet ravaged by the Mogodorians (who don’t look too human).

These Mogodorians are tracking down John and his mates in numerical order - yes, you guessed it, John is number four.

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The young aliens are accompanied by guardians who are supposed to look after them (however, you get the feeling they’re not too good at it).

Hoping to find refuge in the latest town they visit, John goes to the local school and instantly falls for student Sarah (Agron).

Add to the mix some very powerful alien weapons and a couple of flying, snarling alien beasties with long toenails and the scene is set for plenty of punch-ups. Oh yes by the way, John discover he has some pretty cool powers to even things up.

The soundtrack is very good if you happen to get bored.

But you shouldn’t as the director keeps the action ticking over and once you get over the fact that everyone in the movie would fit easily into a fashion catalogue it’s time to put your brain in neutral, sit back and be entertained.

three out of five stars

Steve Payne