I Am Number Four Reviews

I An Number Four reviews from critics are indicative of a film headed for a disaster at the box office. The screening I attended and audience reaction from review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes paints an entirely different picture. Critics reporting into Rotten Tomatoes scored I Am Number Four starring Alex Pettyfer and Diana Argon an abysmal 27% fresh based on 95 reviews. Of all the critics whose reviews were counted, 69 were negative while 26 were deemed fresh.

Stephen Whitty of the Neward Star-Ledger called star Alex Pettyfer nothing more than "good hair and cheekbones" as the film's hero, not exactly a ringing endorsement for a film constructed to be the foundation of a franchise. In fact many of the negative reviews blasted the performances for being wooden and cheesy, especially those of the film's two young leads.
Another gripe from critics was the "kid with powers" in hiding at high school. Jayne Nelson of SFX Magazine said because of this setting the film is no different than Roswell, Smallville, Twilight or many others before them. She definitely has a point.
Audiences, meanwhile, were far more entertained than critics. I Am Number Four ranks 74% fresh based on nearly 23,000 user reviews at Rotten Tomatoes, a very respectable score given the sheer number of votes.
If the screening I went to was any indication then the majority of thumbs up were the result of audiences loving the dog/protector Bernie Kosar and Teresa Palmer acting way over-the-top as Aussie-accented Number Six. At least half the audience applauded once the credits rolled following an obvious set-up for a sequel.
I Am Number Four will need some of that positive word-of-mouth to spread if that sequel is to ever materialize. Through Friday it was running behind Unknown at the box office and bringing back Pettyfer for another turn as an alien hunk will likely require a lot more upfront cash given his reportred salary demands to appear in similar projects like the Mortal Instruments movies.