The books go back and forth between the different characters POVs, each book focuses on a different character, the pacing of the books literally feels like a show. Making it into a movie was dumb AF.
I agree. Its could've been made into a film if it ran longer than 2 hours but it will overcomplicate things. I just feel like they should turn it into a series and cast people that look like the book description
Unfortunately, the movie suffered because the book was also weak. It was a poorly constructed teen romance that felt like it was written by a 13yo, and then the action scenes were just boring.
Funny you mention that Alex Pettyfer looks like he's 27, because he was 21 when filming this when the love interest played by Dianna Agron was four years older than him.
Through not fault of his own, Alex Pettyfer basically became the poster child of the YA Failed Franchise wave, as in addition to I AM NUMBER FOUR he was also the lead actor in STORMBREAKER, the unsuccessful attempt to launch a movie series adapting the Alex Ryder spy novels.
Author James Frey is a pretty controversial person as well. He's known for telling tall tales, writing a fake memoir, and using MFA students as cheap, easily exploitable ghost writers. I Am Number Four is quite possibly not even written by him. It's possible some executives figued he was much more trouble than he was worth, and that also attributed to dumping the series.
I was in journalism school when Frey was exposed for A Million Little Pieces and in an MFA program when the story about his exploitative publishing operation broke. Watching him get handed a pile of money for something so derivative that was as shrouded in deception as everything else he'd ever done, even as my classmates and I struggled to get the attention of editors for original work, was particularly galling. I had professors handing me checklists of things I needed to change about myself (lose weight, dye my hair, get eye surgery, replace my wardrobe) to be "jacket-ready" while Frey got handed zillion-dollar contracts for work he didn't even have to write himself. And of course, he's still getting deals and will probably never not be stupidly wealthy. I loathe James Frey as I loathe few other public figures.
@onbearfeet I still remember his appearance on Oprah! Talk about hitting the fraud lottery. Sorry he made writers look bad. I know how hard you guys work.
I don’t understand how you do an autopsy on this movie and you miss that - Frey wasn’t just exposed, he was publicly shamed by Oprah on her show. That may not have meant anything to a preteen audience but it definitely meant something to people in the industry
Crying shame that this flopped. Because the books are pretty good from what I remember. I read the first 3 books of memory serves correct and loved them
Yeah sophomore year of HS in 2018 I flew through the series. They’re very entertaining books and have overall have a plot that shouldn’t be difficult to adapt to film.
I always thought the books would make a better series, perhaps even animated because they'll need a lot of budget for the last couple of movies to accurately portray them
THE WAY I *IMMEDIATELY* CLICKED!!! This was one of my favorite movies cause of my Dianna Agron obsession and I loved Teresa Palmer too. So sad this one died on arrival
Push is incomparable to this. Push is an great movie with an incredible cast, probably one of the movies I have watched the most. I wish it had got more exposure at the time.
I saw a tiktok today saying that kids deserve good movies too and that a movie shouldn’t be excused by saying “oh but it’s intended for kids.” I feel like the same goes for teenage girls. They deserve high quality media as well. That’s why Hungers games worked so well. Also they will find a way to thirst over the main characters, doesn’t matter how the movie portrays them So the whole “oh look this male character is attractive, go watch the movie” marketing is kinda pointless. I was a teenage girl when Hannibal was big. I know what I am talking about
well that is said more about kids because the brain is developing and they can absorb a lot. teenage girls do have a degree of social awareness and can make their own choices and a lot of the time they like movies that have questionable writing like Twilight, Divergent etc there is a market and place for bad shows and that is fine not everything has to be philosophical and fine art
@@deusexmachina9776 Not sure if this was your intention, but your comment is not an argument against OP's perspective. Saying that "teenage girls deserve high quality writing" is not the same as saying "teenage girls *only* desrve high quality writing." You're right that there is a market for such movies as Twilight and what not, but the phrase "made for teenage girls" is often used in a derogatory tone as a way to brush off certain movies or books that lack quality.
I personally enjoy this movie more than most but I can also see why it flopped and failed to start a franchise. My point of view is not just that it tried to be alien Twilight, but also that the whole script just screams GENERIC. There's nothing unique about any character except the way they look. The handsome, troubled protagonist trying to find himself. The pretty photographer who (of course) has a history with the main bully. The nerd who gets picked on and befriends the main character. The older mentor figure. The badass chick who likes kicking ass. Nothing sets them apart from anything we've seen before and in better stuff. There was SOOO much potential for this to be good. His powers are pretty badass and the world building seemed intriguing. I would have liked to have seen where it would have gone if they continued and left it in more capable hands.
Hunger Games was probably the only good series that chased the Twilight YA trend. So many other movies tried and flopped. I am Number 4 looked so generic to me from the trailers.
@@amendezcastro ar least it didn't end like the Divergent series. The aligent book was already full of retcons and hard to follow at times but the fact we never got the final movie was just icing on the cake.
@@vicentemariani8730I hate to break it to you bud, but that just means that you have bad taste.😂 The movies aren't good and the books are ALSO not good. What about the story was compelling to you?
The Maze Runner **trilogy** deserves more recognition. I kinda wish they got a resurgence in popularity after The Last of Us. They're a pretty damn decent zombie action binge
They ruined the films by giving the characters almost no depth and not following the books at all. They had good action sequences but as for the story, it was very flimsy and contradictory. They are a book series that that totally deserved a second chance to tell the story right.
@@the-berries-and-cream-dude like didnt Thomas and Theresa have this weird telepathy thing in the books that’s never even brought up in the movies I haven’t read the books for 10 years or so but I remember being upset about that watching the movies
I liked the first movie but they kinda lost me when they turned into zombie apocalypse movies. There was a certain charme and just that YA vibe in the first movie when it was just teens in a maze and for me it lost that when they make it out of the facility into the zombie ridden world.
@@gilbertoflores7397 Oh I don't think it makes any sense to mix them up. Pretty sure they're not even similar aside from being YA and super powers. I just found it funny that, for whatever reason, Push occupies the space in my memory that I Am Number 4 should and that other people do too.
@@ladyreverie7027 Ah damn, I messed up. It’s supposed to be thirty seven. As in Clerks. I’m so old I can’t even get my cultural references right. I suck 🤔 Poor choice of words
I literally just watched I Am Number Four with my brother for some nostalgia, we thought it was the coolest thing we'd ever seen as kids and man it's a rough watch without those tween rose tinted glasses. I'm also surprised to know Alex Pettyfer was only TWENTY throughout filming, which in hindsight really isn't that bad of an age to be playing a teenager. I'm just absolutely gobsmacked because even as a kid I could've swore he must've been 27-28.
@@Want300 Bro don't you just get annoyed at how much potentially dope shows Hollywood could make...especially when you see what they actually give us instead? So frustrating.
@@kendallmack8853 I can't even fathom aye, it'll literally take 1 year worth of extra time & effort. I'm indifferent to all the franchises I loved as a kid now. Just a shame really.
For what it's worth: I read the books way before the movie came out. It is listed as Young Adult fiction (teenagers 15+ years old), but in all honesty the writing, pacing, and even character's personalities felt more like it was made for pre-teens (9-12 years old). So when I heard the movie bombed I wasn't surprised. NOT because it wasn't good, but because it was targeted at the wrong age demographic! Studios wanted it to be a sci-fi version of "Twilight" but it wasn't. Mainly because (again) it was aimed at the wrong demographic; but this time instead of the wrong age it was the wrong sex. The romance in the book was clearly made for the perspective of pre-teen boys. Yet, it was teenage GIRLS that fueled the popularity of "Twilight." In "I Am Number 4" the romance is a subplot NOT the main plot. The main theme of the books was action (again this was made for 9~12 years old boys) not romance with action sprinkled in like "Twilight." Studios didn't know or care about any of this (honesty I doubt they even read the book), they just wanted that "Twilight" money. Which was the thing back in the 2000's. Everything was to recapture the "Twilight" and "Harry Potter" craze that made everyone so rich and famous. From the clips I've seen of the movie it's clear to see that the studios changed the script drastically from the books to focus almost entirely on the romance. Something that literary took several books to develop unlike "Twilight." And the world building in the movie was rushed unlike the world of "Harry Potter."
I remember liking the film, it was more focused on the guy just wanting to be a guy, and the romance being a bit more secondary. The Lore was also okay and I liked the girl badass character the most, because she was that sort of character. It would have been more interesting if they did learn into the Lore more, however, the romance wasn't off-putting to me.
I agree with the perspectives being kind of off but the books really don't pick up until the end of the 2nd book. They really should've paced it like the star wars franchise did with its 'episodes'. The potential lore in the series is amazing ,but unfortunately they blew it
There was a point in my life where I realised that a lot of movies are based on books. And the first movie I looked up after I discovered that little fact, was I am number 4. I loved the books, and once I had read them, I was SO disappointed in the movie...😢
Yeah the movie was so disappointing, I remember I read the first book after watching the movie and my school library and public library didn't have any of the books only the first one and the only way I could get the other books was to buy them but I didn't have any money and I mistakenly thought my parents wouldn't buy me the books so for years the only book I had read was the first one until a couple years ago when I finally started listening to audible and I saw the I Am Number Four books on there and I finally listened to all of them and I loved them
I never saw this movie, but thank You so much!!! I've had the ending of Push pop into my head every now and then for what feels like years and I couldn't for the life of me remember the name.
This book is one I could see being interesting in live action, but I could also see a ton of problems making it work as a movie series, but it also doesn't really have the content for a TV show. Which does feel like a recipe for those shorter length streaming shows, but I don't have all that much faith in those to be completely honest. As someone who read and enjoyed all the books(including the ones after the main series), I'd honestly say they'd feel more at home as a CW show than a blockbuster movie. Obviously, as a fan I'd rather a crew with any idea how to write and direct a good story pick it up, but it still gives me those vibes.
See, it's interesting, because the first Twilight movie itself was an anomaly. They gave it to a Catherine Hardwicke, a director with a lot of indie experience and a point of view that shows in the movie itself. Then when her movie was an unexpected smash, the studio went ham trying to push the next one out as quickly as possible. She looked at the timeline and said "no". and the rest of the series was handled by other people.
a shame tbh. as awful as twilight is, I do like it. the first movie was my favorite by far, because of how it was directed. the next movies just did not capture the same vibe in my opinion.
This one hit home, as a boy I was so down to obssed with this you wouldn't believe, Young good looking teenager, Alien, cool monsters, cool powers, neat world building, I was hooked!! I watched the trailer so many times, bugged my mum for weeks ahead of time to take me to the movie....only to be disappointed and sad :(
I think this couldve worked better as TV or streaming series. Shadowhunters did the same after that first movie adaptation, and found a better fanbase with it. It might be better if the story is told by episodes than just a single movie. Would love to audition for any role if they decide to do it.
I remember watching this movie on my family's old boat with my dad, and I remember this movie ruled, I wish it became a franchise. One of my favorite movies from when I was younger, and it still holds as a good movie to me. I think part of it was that the action felt better and less generic than a lot of movies of the era, as much as it would need a conceptual playing with, and better acting, I enjoy the flick.
Push was a weird movie, but a pretty fun watch. Back when Chris Evans' Tvtropes page started with, "Chris Evans is probably the best thing about that otherwise lackluster movie you just watched." Am I a Chris Evans hyperfan? No. I just love Tvtropes THAT MUCH. 😆
My daughter was a teenager when this movie came out. And let me tell you, the marketing WORKED! She was so excited for this movie, and got to meet the actor at a fan event.
When it comes to YA, i would say The maze runner series gets often underlook, cause at least that one started and ended, maeby not on a high note, but its more than what i can i say for this movie atempt of a franchise
Nah it deserved failure they speed ran the books saphira flies names herself and they move forward. Should've had him spending time raising her in secret learning of the dragon she's named after and building his connection to brom.
If/when you get around to doing a video on the Divergent series, just to let you know, regardless of what you think about them, the second movie, insurgent literally saved my life; I was at a low point in my life where it was truly looking like things would not ever get any better on the work out well for me, and I truly felt like it was the end, and then I saw insurgent, after already loving the first one, The way that they did things in the second one truly moved, inspired and reminded me of what truly matters, and above all else, that you can forgive yourself and look past the things that you did it as long as your truly remain connected to the core of who you truly are. Not to mention that the movie also truly feel so engaging that it literally feels like you’re having a work out and you can feel it EVERY single time you watch it, even nearly a decade later. Trust me, I know that a lot of people to say the least did not like it, but if it wasn’t for that movie, I would still not be here, let alone having a true overall satisfaction in my life that I truly do. Just please keep this in mind whenever you’re talking about that series as regardless of anything, I will never ever ever ever ever forget the experience of insurgent and what it truly did for me in my life. Also, as you may have noticed, insurgent does bear a strong resemblance to deathly hallows part 2. Now, I am a major Harry Potter fan, and I can happily say that insurgent with it similarities did it way better to say the least than DH2. Not only can you actually see everything that’s going on, but everything felt way more engaging and Waymore emotionally satisfying and moving, and despite my love of the divergent series overall, I’m not really a big fan of the books, and again I’m a major Harry Potter fan and loves pretty much everything about it, And yet insurgenr truly means so much to me, and is in my top seven favourite movies of all time, way higher than literally all of the Harry Potter and wizard world movies overall except for the first fantastic beasts which is my favourite live action and my third favourite movie of all time! :-)
Feels like the divergent series should have gotten 1-2 more movies feels like they kinda rushed the storyline after the first movie honestly, last movies conclusion felt really abrupt.
I remember liking this movie so much when I was a kid that I read the second book, a thing I would never usually do. That said, looking back at it, it's kind of impressive how absolutely nothing happened in an entire book.
This is one of those rare movies where I think a sequel would have made much more money than the first, I think the first being such an unknown franchise had people on the fence, but if the majority saw that it warranted a sequel, they would probably have watched the first and hopped on for the second, because marvel at the time was popping off and any cinematic universe would have raked in cash
as a former teenage girl and current twilight/hunger games fan, i am number four was a flop bc it wasnt trying and it didnt do anything interesting and it didnt care. trying to capture the teenage girl audience with a team that male is usually gonna flop...even the book was just something you read after you got bored of re-reading the hunger games.
The part where he runs through the woods and jumps off a waterfall was filmed near where I’m from, there are hooks in the rock where they clipped in the wires and stuff. That was very exciting for me as a kid
As an 11 year old boy back in the day I remember seeing this movie and being “Well that was neat” cool fights caught my attention but I remember feeling lost. Feeling like there was lore & info we were missing. And even as a kid I was like “Oh they were setting up for a sequel I guess there will be another movie”
Since you're starting to tackle YA adaptations, can you talk about the Divergent series? I watched the movies years after they ended and was shocked to learn that the last film was straight up cancelled. They did the thing where the last book is split into two movies but DIDN'T specify the third movie as "Part 1" so most likely a lot of people went in unprepared for it to be slower paced and resulted in a worse box office performance. After finding out that Movie 4 was never happening, I went out of my way to get the last book & read it just so I could know how it ended...and there were cool action scenes that would've been awesome to see on screen! 😭 They weren't the best movies ever but man it sucks that they were left on a cliffhanger, like there was even an attempt to get it a direct-to-home release but that got scrapped too so it was probably never finished.
Twilight's negative reception became worst outcome for most YA set in highschool. Most of start up franchise immediately ended like I am Number 4, Beautiful Creatures, Vampire Academy & Immortal Intruments But 3/4 of these found new home in tv except Beautiful Creatures
I loved these books as a teen and still get a kick of nostalgia from this movie. I know it’s not good but it’s a fun watch for me. Same goes for Push lol
I had hoped this movie would get a sequel or the shadowhunters treatment but as for percy jackson I prefer the movies of the tv series as while I have no problem with the actors but all the dialog has the feeling enough already - summarise it & GET ON WITH IT
They definitely had the wrong target demographic in mind when making this. The books were written from a teenage boy's perspective, with mostly action some romance thrown in here and there. The movie focused way too much on the fleeting B plot, amped all the generic factors, and left out pretty much everything else that made the franchise unique in the first place, so that's a real shame. Trying to turn it into Twilight when those two reading spaces don't even overlap much completely doomed the franchise before it even had a chance.
When I heard that the love interest in Divergent was named Four (I think), I was so certain that this book/movie was a spin-off of Divergent, which was wild to me given how lackluster the reception to the Divergent films were. Today I learned that there are at least two YA dystopias with a dude designated by the number Four. If I had a nickel, yadda yadda, twice is weird.
I watched this movie in the cinemas as a kid and loved it. I was actually anticipating the next release. Also grew up watching twilight cuz my parents and their friends liked it for some reason
I didn’t realize James Frey wrote the books! I recognized the name since he also wrote Endgame. I loved the concept and hoped some sort of adaptation would come from it, but at this point it probably won’t happen
I just checked the rest of the series...don´t know how they were going to sell the sequels: The Power of Six, The Rise of Nine, The Fall of Five, The Revenge of Seven, The Fate of Ten, United as One, Generation One, Fugitive Six, Return to Zero.
I'm surprised you didn't mention the "writing factory" that Frey started specifically to make books with the success of Hunger Games. (Then again I was listening while doing chores, I might've just missed it).
Oh remember this? I remember at the time this movie had ridiculous marketing behind it. It was one of those movies I remembered going to watch with my friends because they made it look so good in the trailers.
Ok, I read the book a decade ago, but I really don’t remember it being a romance story? Wasn’t it like a sci-fi, the guy having to run away from [aliens?] after they killed the other numbers? I remember 0 romance from the plot. But then films from that time used to put a lot of romance in stories that didn’t have them, in general. I was pissed about the romance subplot they added to The Giver
He was attracted to this popular girl and they do that thing where he has to deal with her crazy jock ex boyfriend and he gets his powers and beats the ex up and then he and the girl have a romance right as the evil aliens start locating him. It was pretty significant, but I think most of the focus of the book was about 4 and his friend trying to find out more information about the aliens
Yeah romance existed because Yeah his people fall in love for life but the film leaned hard into it which is unfortunate as showing us numbers 1-3 dying would've sold us a the stakes being high.
UA-cam suddenly recommended this video to me, and it reminded me that I actually saw this movie in theaters with my cousins, then completely forgot its existence. I actually was its targeted demographic back then, but still found it so lackluster.
I liked the book series, which is called the Lorien Legacies. There are about 18 books with serveral of those books being compediums. There is a lot of world building in this series. I think this would work very well as a streaming series on a platform like Amazon.
I remember I was obsessed with these books/movie when I was a teen. Letting aside that Dreamworks dropped the project and and no other studio is willing to buy the license to reboot it, the writing of the source material alone is way too long and inconsistent (they're actually 7 main books with around 30 side spin offs written by several differet authors over the course of a decade) I doubt we'll ever get a decent adaptation
Loved the books mainly because they focused on the progress and other characters as well plus the action scenes in the book vs the movie were night and day. Can you do JUMPER if you haven’t done it already
I have read 31 books of this series, I hope someone makes a series or something more close to the original material, there's good stuff there to explore
The books go back and forth between the different characters POVs, each book focuses on a different character, the pacing of the books literally feels like a show. Making it into a movie was dumb AF.
I agree. Its could've been made into a film if it ran longer than 2 hours but it will overcomplicate things. I just feel like they should turn it into a series and cast people that look like the book description
Who knows maybe one day they’ll make it into a TV show. They seem to be doing that with a lot of 2000 books these days.
It really was meant to be a show
Unfortunately, the movie suffered because the book was also weak. It was a poorly constructed teen romance that felt like it was written by a 13yo, and then the action scenes were just boring.
Yeah books were good
Funny you mention that Alex Pettyfer looks like he's 27, because he was 21 when filming this when the love interest played by Dianna Agron was four years older than him.
Through not fault of his own, Alex Pettyfer basically became the poster child of the YA Failed Franchise wave, as in addition to I AM NUMBER FOUR he was also the lead actor in STORMBREAKER, the unsuccessful attempt to launch a movie series adapting the Alex Ryder spy novels.
@@glenharrison983 And BEASTLY too lmao
I like how you went from your Disney next big thing era to YA book to movie flop era
I think he should do the vampire craze in the early 2000s next. Interview with the Vampire, Blade, Twilight, Vampire Diaries.
@@One.Zero.One101dont forget underworld!!!!
Author James Frey is a pretty controversial person as well. He's known for telling tall tales, writing a fake memoir, and using MFA students as cheap, easily exploitable ghost writers. I Am Number Four is quite possibly not even written by him. It's possible some executives figued he was much more trouble than he was worth, and that also attributed to dumping the series.
I was in journalism school when Frey was exposed for A Million Little Pieces and in an MFA program when the story about his exploitative publishing operation broke. Watching him get handed a pile of money for something so derivative that was as shrouded in deception as everything else he'd ever done, even as my classmates and I struggled to get the attention of editors for original work, was particularly galling. I had professors handing me checklists of things I needed to change about myself (lose weight, dye my hair, get eye surgery, replace my wardrobe) to be "jacket-ready" while Frey got handed zillion-dollar contracts for work he didn't even have to write himself.
And of course, he's still getting deals and will probably never not be stupidly wealthy. I loathe James Frey as I loathe few other public figures.
@onbearfeet I still remember his appearance on Oprah! Talk about hitting the fraud lottery.
Sorry he made writers look bad. I know how hard you guys work.
@@onbearfeet I think your professor just really didn't like you
the guy behind the "little pieces" debacle????????????????? 🤯
I don’t understand how you do an autopsy on this movie and you miss that - Frey wasn’t just exposed, he was publicly shamed by Oprah on her show. That may not have meant anything to a preteen audience but it definitely meant something to people in the industry
The main lesson from this video: The Fifth Wave was meant to be a franchise (?)
It was. The first movie ends really bad for a solo movie.
😂😂 I thought the same thing
Well all those books are series
Right??? Lol
There's multiple books.
Yup, I am number 4, Push, and Jumper ALL blend together in my head…I liked them all though
Same
Same lol.
Jumper...wow that takes me back
all this movies are great good memories
Wow I watched jumper so many times when I was younger. Haven't seen it in years
Crying shame that this flopped. Because the books are pretty good from what I remember. I read the first 3 books of memory serves correct and loved them
Yeah sophomore year of HS in 2018 I flew through the series. They’re very entertaining books and have overall have a plot that shouldn’t be difficult to adapt to film.
I always thought the books would make a better series, perhaps even animated because they'll need a lot of budget for the last couple of movies to accurately portray them
Oh please finish the books they got even better!! And the sequel series is great too!!
Nah, in the middle, they got really bad, I stopped on the third one, I guess.
@@pontoancora you’re missing out on some good shit I promise the last two books are probably the best ones
some random YA movie made $150 million on a $50 million dollar budget, opening at #2, WITH A FEBRUARY RELEASE, is nothing to scoff at.
true
And yet! Not a whisper since.....
THE WAY I *IMMEDIATELY* CLICKED!!! This was one of my favorite movies cause of my Dianna Agron obsession and I loved Teresa Palmer too. So sad this one died on arrival
teresa palmer was so good in this, very tragic ! 😮💨
I enjoyed the movie as well and Palmer was great!
Fr! Teresa has been my crush since forever. Loved her portrayal as 6 even tho she looked different in the novel lol
I liked this movie until I read the book lol I mean it's still not a bad movie but they messed up on the lore and other things from the book
You're so valid. I watched this cause of my Dianna Agron obsession too.
The scene where Number 6 burns down the beach house, while Adele was playing was seriously cool though.
yesss
Push is incomparable to this. Push is an great movie with an incredible cast, probably one of the movies I have watched the most. I wish it had got more exposure at the time.
I saw a tiktok today saying that kids deserve good movies too and that a movie shouldn’t be excused by saying “oh but it’s intended for kids.”
I feel like the same goes for teenage girls. They deserve high quality media as well. That’s why Hungers games worked so well. Also they will find a way to thirst over the main characters, doesn’t matter how the movie portrays them So the whole “oh look this male character is attractive, go watch the movie” marketing is kinda pointless.
I was a teenage girl when Hannibal was big. I know what I am talking about
yess ur so right!!
well that is said more about kids because the brain is developing and they can absorb a lot. teenage girls do have a degree of social awareness and can make their own choices and a lot of the time they like movies that have questionable writing like Twilight, Divergent etc there is a market and place for bad shows and that is fine not everything has to be philosophical and fine art
I remember there was a decent size amount of YA Dystopia post Hunger Games, ala Divergent
High quality like Twilight, right?
@@deusexmachina9776 Not sure if this was your intention, but your comment is not an argument against OP's perspective. Saying that "teenage girls deserve high quality writing" is not the same as saying "teenage girls *only* desrve high quality writing." You're right that there is a market for such movies as Twilight and what not, but the phrase "made for teenage girls" is often used in a derogatory tone as a way to brush off certain movies or books that lack quality.
I personally enjoy this movie more than most but I can also see why it flopped and failed to start a franchise. My point of view is not just that it tried to be alien Twilight, but also that the whole script just screams GENERIC. There's nothing unique about any character except the way they look. The handsome, troubled protagonist trying to find himself. The pretty photographer who (of course) has a history with the main bully. The nerd who gets picked on and befriends the main character. The older mentor figure. The badass chick who likes kicking ass. Nothing sets them apart from anything we've seen before and in better stuff. There was SOOO much potential for this to be good. His powers are pretty badass and the world building seemed intriguing. I would have liked to have seen where it would have gone if they continued and left it in more capable hands.
read the books they are well done
Yeah you need to read the books they're really good
Hunger Games was probably the only good series that chased the Twilight YA trend. So many other movies tried and flopped.
I am Number 4 looked so generic to me from the trailers.
Maze runner was also close enough to it, maeby it wasnt the same success, but it got close and at least it finished its trilogy
@@amendezcastro ar least it didn't end like the Divergent series. The aligent book was already full of retcons and hard to follow at times but the fact we never got the final movie was just icing on the cake.
Divergent series were good actually they just flopped financially but I enjoyed the movies.
@@vicentemariani8730I hate to break it to you bud, but that just means that you have bad taste.😂 The movies aren't good and the books are ALSO not good. What about the story was compelling to you?
@Majin_Koolaid they shouldn't have done part 2 and 3. Part 1 was okay already and ended on a good note
The Maze Runner **trilogy** deserves more recognition. I kinda wish they got a resurgence in popularity after The Last of Us. They're a pretty damn decent zombie action binge
They ruined the films by giving the characters almost no depth and not following the books at all. They had good action sequences but as for the story, it was very flimsy and contradictory. They are a book series that that totally deserved a second chance to tell the story right.
@@the-berries-and-cream-dude3rd movie I felt gave them far more depth. It's my favorite of the trilogy
@@the-berries-and-cream-dude like didnt Thomas and Theresa have this weird telepathy thing in the books that’s never even brought up in the movies
I haven’t read the books for 10 years or so but I remember being upset about that watching the movies
I liked the first movie but they kinda lost me when they turned into zombie apocalypse movies. There was a certain charme and just that YA vibe in the first movie when it was just teens in a maze and for me it lost that when they make it out of the facility into the zombie ridden world.
Umm did you watch parts 2 and 3? 😂😂
No joke, when I started this video I tried to remember parts of this movie, but all I could remember was scenes from Push.
Isn't push set in China though? Would be really hard to get them mixed up
@@gilbertoflores7397 Oh I don't think it makes any sense to mix them up. Pretty sure they're not even similar aside from being YA and super powers. I just found it funny that, for whatever reason, Push occupies the space in my memory that I Am Number 4 should and that other people do too.
@@Jaghit's okay I know that makes you feel comfortable you don't have to worry
I Am Number Four? Better than being Number Seven.
Goodness, that's a reference that singles me out as being old af
Nah bro this series is literally everything to me and im not even 20 😂 Seven really had it rough, especially with Hector
Is that a BSG reference?
@@ladyreverie7027 Ah damn, I messed up. It’s supposed to be thirty seven. As in Clerks. I’m so old I can’t even get my cultural references right.
I suck
🤔
Poor choice of words
Great movie Timothy Olyphant is a great underrated actor
I literally just watched I Am Number Four with my brother for some nostalgia, we thought it was the coolest thing we'd ever seen as kids and man it's a rough watch without those tween rose tinted glasses. I'm also surprised to know Alex Pettyfer was only TWENTY throughout filming, which in hindsight really isn't that bad of an age to be playing a teenager. I'm just absolutely gobsmacked because even as a kid I could've swore he must've been 27-28.
Also got BEAUTIFUL CREATURES (2013)
i loved this film and rewatched to at least twice .... loved then ending and wanted a sequel for yrs
Thinking of Bella swan as a manic pixies dream girl is hilarious
They did the series so f***ing dirty. Which sucks because I fw the books. John Smith is an absolute beast by the end of them.
Do you reckon it'd do alright as a mature/animated kinda project? I thought the powers would translate pretty cool to that concept
@@KNWBDY.important Mature Anime style for sure would be best suited for this. Especially as the power levels ramp up in the later books.
@@Want300 Bro don't you just get annoyed at how much potentially dope shows Hollywood could make...especially when you see what they actually give us instead? So frustrating.
@@KNWBDY.importantyes it’s like they’re money hungry but won’t put in the work to receive that money
@@kendallmack8853 I can't even fathom aye, it'll literally take 1 year worth of extra time & effort. I'm indifferent to all the franchises I loved as a kid now. Just a shame really.
I think that books should always be adapted into a series that way the writers have time to explore either all or some of the plot points in the books
You don't have to do a 1:1 adaptation. That's way too limiting
@@stonalisa3729 true but TV series are better for books to be adapted to
How about a video on Jumper?
I actually enjoyed the I Am Number Four movie. It got me interested in reading the books
Sameeeee. Could be better as a show
@@decarvalh0 Couldn’t agree more
@@decarvalh0 it definitely needs to be turned into a show
This is the first movie you’ve covered that I don’t even remember an advertisement for. Wild.
The marketing was great, it used the Adele song, super catchy and I wouldn't mind watching it.
it’s such a good book series imo at least for teenage girls. not complex but interesting
This was one of the better YA adaptations I remember reading in highschool. The use of Letters From The Sky is sensational. 👌
Excellent soundtrack in this movie! Some of the best alt rock songs/bands of the time
For what it's worth: I read the books way before the movie came out. It is listed as Young Adult fiction (teenagers 15+ years old), but in all honesty the writing, pacing, and even character's personalities felt more like it was made for pre-teens (9-12 years old).
So when I heard the movie bombed I wasn't surprised. NOT because it wasn't good, but because it was targeted at the wrong age demographic! Studios wanted it to be a sci-fi version of "Twilight" but it wasn't. Mainly because (again) it was aimed at the wrong demographic; but this time instead of the wrong age it was the wrong sex. The romance in the book was clearly made for the perspective of pre-teen boys. Yet, it was teenage GIRLS that fueled the popularity of "Twilight." In "I Am Number 4" the romance is a subplot NOT the main plot. The main theme of the books was action (again this was made for 9~12 years old boys) not romance with action sprinkled in like "Twilight."
Studios didn't know or care about any of this (honesty I doubt they even read the book), they just wanted that "Twilight" money. Which was the thing back in the 2000's. Everything was to recapture the "Twilight" and "Harry Potter" craze that made everyone so rich and famous. From the clips I've seen of the movie it's clear to see that the studios changed the script drastically from the books to focus almost entirely on the romance. Something that literary took several books to develop unlike "Twilight." And the world building in the movie was rushed unlike the world of "Harry Potter."
I agree with your overall sentiment except that book series was definitely made for teenagers, not preteens(9-12 year olds) lol
I remember liking the film, it was more focused on the guy just wanting to be a guy, and the romance being a bit more secondary. The Lore was also okay and I liked the girl badass character the most, because she was that sort of character. It would have been more interesting if they did learn into the Lore more, however, the romance wasn't off-putting to me.
I agree with the perspectives being kind of off but the books really don't pick up until the end of the 2nd book. They really should've paced it like the star wars franchise did with its 'episodes'. The potential lore in the series is amazing ,but unfortunately they blew it
The movie was bad as well though. Watched it recently and had to drop it halfway through. Everything about it is generic and bland.
This was the one I was most disappointed in that didn’t get more movies. I love the cast and the movie.
Push was amazing and it needs to be continued.
Hay, I loved this movie, and I was hoping for its sequel
There was a point in my life where I realised that a lot of movies are based on books. And the first movie I looked up after I discovered that little fact, was I am number 4. I loved the books, and once I had read them, I was SO disappointed in the movie...😢
Yeah the movie was so disappointing, I remember I read the first book after watching the movie and my school library and public library didn't have any of the books only the first one and the only way I could get the other books was to buy them but I didn't have any money and I mistakenly thought my parents wouldn't buy me the books so for years the only book I had read was the first one until a couple years ago when I finally started listening to audible and I saw the I Am Number Four books on there and I finally listened to all of them and I loved them
I really liked this movie when I was a kid
3:26 I absolutely thought the same thing, I was wondering where Chris Evans was for the last 3 minutes lol.
I never saw this movie, but thank You so much!!! I've had the ending of Push pop into my head every now and then for what feels like years and I couldn't for the life of me remember the name.
This book is one I could see being interesting in live action, but I could also see a ton of problems making it work as a movie series, but it also doesn't really have the content for a TV show. Which does feel like a recipe for those shorter length streaming shows, but I don't have all that much faith in those to be completely honest.
As someone who read and enjoyed all the books(including the ones after the main series), I'd honestly say they'd feel more at home as a CW show than a blockbuster movie.
Obviously, as a fan I'd rather a crew with any idea how to write and direct a good story pick it up, but it still gives me those vibes.
I loved I am number 4
See, it's interesting, because the first Twilight movie itself was an anomaly. They gave it to a Catherine Hardwicke, a director with a lot of indie experience and a point of view that shows in the movie itself. Then when her movie was an unexpected smash, the studio went ham trying to push the next one out as quickly as possible. She looked at the timeline and said "no". and the rest of the series was handled by other people.
a shame tbh. as awful as twilight is, I do like it. the first movie was my favorite by far, because of how it was directed. the next movies just did not capture the same vibe in my opinion.
This one hit home, as a boy I was so down to obssed with this you wouldn't believe, Young good looking teenager, Alien, cool monsters, cool powers, neat world building, I was hooked!! I watched the trailer so many times, bugged my mum for weeks ahead of time to take me to the movie....only to be disappointed and sad :(
You should of read the books, they were really good
9:55 Are you sure ?
I think this couldve worked better as TV or streaming series. Shadowhunters did the same after that first movie adaptation, and found a better fanbase with it. It might be better if the story is told by episodes than just a single movie. Would love to audition for any role if they decide to do it.
I remember watching this movie on my family's old boat with my dad, and I remember this movie ruled, I wish it became a franchise. One of my favorite movies from when I was younger, and it still holds as a good movie to me. I think part of it was that the action felt better and less generic than a lot of movies of the era, as much as it would need a conceptual playing with, and better acting, I enjoy the flick.
I love how you cover movies that I recall seeing a trailer on tv for, but never actually watched the films themselves haha
This movie was shot by my house. Actually when she jumps off the roof you can see my house in the background
Wow what is this like when the movie is being shot just behind your door?
I don’t see your house bro
@@ihatespringsnark1287it was fun. At one point we couldn't turn on our lights because they were shooting
@@kennethdzengedza8978lol bro did you see her jump?
@@roypalmer69 lol that was the joke bro
I don’t know why I’m so peeved by the fact that you didn’t so much as acknowledge Timothy Olyphant ??
any way good commentary
Yeah, I should have acknowledged him. He was one of the highlights of the film
@@isenhartproductions2677 😎
Just watching your Percy Jackson video while commenting, seriously, keep up the good work 👍
@isenhartproductions2677 was a big part of it
When Timothy Oliphants character died, I completely checked out of the movie
His character died in the book too
Yeah I get it
Just found your channel
And it’s been so great watching all the why it failed videos
Push was a weird movie, but a pretty fun watch. Back when Chris Evans' Tvtropes page started with, "Chris Evans is probably the best thing about that otherwise lackluster movie you just watched."
Am I a Chris Evans hyperfan? No. I just love Tvtropes THAT MUCH. 😆
My daughter was a teenager when this movie came out. And let me tell you, the marketing WORKED! She was so excited for this movie, and got to meet the actor at a fan event.
When it comes to YA, i would say The maze runner series gets often underlook, cause at least that one started and ended, maeby not on a high note, but its more than what i can i say for this movie atempt of a franchise
I could definitely see this reboot as a streaming series.
I'm much more disappointed by Eragon (2006) not being picked up.
Nah it deserved failure they speed ran the books saphira flies names herself and they move forward. Should've had him spending time raising her in secret learning of the dragon she's named after and building his connection to brom.
@@Sercumference They're trying to say that they are sad that it doesn't gets a second chance, which I agree with.
I watched this in a cinema and loved it. Was looking forward the sequel.
Great job on the video could you please do one on the movie jumper
I haven't seen it since it was in theatres but I remember liking the movie at the time.
If/when you get around to doing a video on the Divergent series, just to let you know, regardless of what you think about them, the second movie, insurgent literally saved my life; I was at a low point in my life where it was truly looking like things would not ever get any better on the work out well for me, and I truly felt like it was the end, and then I saw insurgent, after already loving the first one, The way that they did things in the second one truly moved, inspired and reminded me of what truly matters, and above all else, that you can forgive yourself and look past the things that you did it as long as your truly remain connected to the core of who you truly are. Not to mention that the movie also truly feel so engaging that it literally feels like you’re having a work out and you can feel it EVERY single time you watch it, even nearly a decade later. Trust me, I know that a lot of people to say the least did not like it, but if it wasn’t for that movie, I would still not be here, let alone having a true overall satisfaction in my life that I truly do. Just please keep this in mind whenever you’re talking about that series as regardless of anything, I will never ever ever ever ever forget the experience of insurgent and what it truly did for me in my life.
Also, as you may have noticed, insurgent does bear a strong resemblance to deathly hallows part 2. Now, I am a major Harry Potter fan, and I can happily say that insurgent with it similarities did it way better to say the least than DH2. Not only can you actually see everything that’s going on, but everything felt way more engaging and Waymore emotionally satisfying and moving, and despite my love of the divergent series overall, I’m not really a big fan of the books, and again I’m a major Harry Potter fan and loves pretty much everything about it, And yet insurgenr truly means so much to me, and is in my top seven favourite movies of all time, way higher than literally all of the Harry Potter and wizard world movies overall except for the first fantastic beasts which is my favourite live action and my third favourite movie of all time! :-)
Feels like the divergent series should have gotten 1-2 more movies feels like they kinda rushed the storyline after the first movie honestly, last movies conclusion felt really abrupt.
I remember liking this movie so much when I was a kid that I read the second book, a thing I would never usually do. That said, looking back at it, it's kind of impressive how absolutely nothing happened in an entire book.
Don't follow trends! Stand out from them!
I honestly think if this movie were to release today it'd be huge and we could get the rest of the books adaptations
I wasn't big fan of the first movie but I was HYPED to see a movie where Six appear again. Thats was the best character for me.
i actually quite enjoyed this one! probably my favorite of these failed one-hit young adult novel movies, next to chaos walking
It reminds me of the 80's TV show 'The Powers of Matthew Star'
This is one of those rare movies where I think a sequel would have made much more money than the first, I think the first being such an unknown franchise had people on the fence, but if the majority saw that it warranted a sequel, they would probably have watched the first and hopped on for the second, because marvel at the time was popping off and any cinematic universe would have raked in cash
I actually liked this movie. I was sad when the power of 6 never got released 😭
as a former teenage girl and current twilight/hunger games fan, i am number four was a flop bc it wasnt trying and it didnt do anything interesting and it didnt care. trying to capture the teenage girl audience with a team that male is usually gonna flop...even the book was just something you read after you got bored of re-reading the hunger games.
I never read the book, but I did watch this movie and I can't say I was impressed by it.
The books were amazing, John Smith was a beast and everything was brutal in the books, it was a lot better series than the weird twilight shit lol
The books slapped tho...
Watching this for the first time today, I liked it. I was surprised there wasn't a sequel. Come on Netflixs re-do this series❤
The part where he runs through the woods and jumps off a waterfall was filmed near where I’m from, there are hooks in the rock where they clipped in the wires and stuff. That was very exciting for me as a kid
As an 11 year old boy back in the day I remember seeing this movie and being “Well that was neat” cool fights caught my attention but I remember feeling lost. Feeling like there was lore & info we were missing. And even as a kid I was like “Oh they were setting up for a sequel I guess there will be another movie”
The movie left out and changed a lot of lore and world building that the books had set up, the books were 10 times better than the movie
Since you're starting to tackle YA adaptations, can you talk about the Divergent series? I watched the movies years after they ended and was shocked to learn that the last film was straight up cancelled. They did the thing where the last book is split into two movies but DIDN'T specify the third movie as "Part 1" so most likely a lot of people went in unprepared for it to be slower paced and resulted in a worse box office performance.
After finding out that Movie 4 was never happening, I went out of my way to get the last book & read it just so I could know how it ended...and there were cool action scenes that would've been awesome to see on screen! 😭
They weren't the best movies ever but man it sucks that they were left on a cliffhanger, like there was even an attempt to get it a direct-to-home release but that got scrapped too so it was probably never finished.
You should do Chronicle next, kinda brings me back to the Push and I Am Number Four era
I LOVED "Push"! I think I know what movie I'm re-watching the weekend now.
Twilight's negative reception became worst outcome for most YA set in highschool. Most of start up franchise immediately ended like I am Number 4, Beautiful Creatures, Vampire Academy & Immortal Intruments
But 3/4 of these found new home in tv except Beautiful Creatures
I remember seeing I am number 4 in theatre’s as a kid and couldn’t wait for a sequel sad it never came out
I loved these books as a teen and still get a kick of nostalgia from this movie. I know it’s not good but it’s a fun watch for me. Same goes for Push lol
I had hoped this movie would get a sequel or the shadowhunters treatment but as for percy jackson I prefer the movies of the tv series as while I have no problem with the actors but all the dialog has the feeling enough already - summarise it & GET ON WITH IT
They definitely had the wrong target demographic in mind when making this. The books were written from a teenage boy's perspective, with mostly action some romance thrown in here and there. The movie focused way too much on the fleeting B plot, amped all the generic factors, and left out pretty much everything else that made the franchise unique in the first place, so that's a real shame. Trying to turn it into Twilight when those two reading spaces don't even overlap much completely doomed the franchise before it even had a chance.
Love your videos bro!!
I remember I had to watch this when I worked at a theater back in the day and did not like but can't remember why i didn't.
When I heard that the love interest in Divergent was named Four (I think), I was so certain that this book/movie was a spin-off of Divergent, which was wild to me given how lackluster the reception to the Divergent films were. Today I learned that there are at least two YA dystopias with a dude designated by the number Four. If I had a nickel, yadda yadda, twice is weird.
I didn't see it because I hadn't seen the first three "I Am" movies. But seriously, I've never heard of this movie before.
Ah Push and its sister film, Jumper.
I watched this movie so many times when I was in college, I loved the fashion and tried to copy Diana’s outfits in it
I watched this movie in the cinemas as a kid and loved it. I was actually anticipating the next release. Also grew up watching twilight cuz my parents and their friends liked it for some reason
I didn’t realize James Frey wrote the books! I recognized the name since he also wrote Endgame. I loved the concept and hoped some sort of adaptation would come from it, but at this point it probably won’t happen
I pray everyday this series gets a Disney+ show of its own that actually follows the books.
I just checked the rest of the series...don´t know how they were going to sell the sequels: The Power of Six, The Rise of Nine, The Fall of Five, The Revenge of Seven, The Fate of Ten, United as One, Generation One, Fugitive Six, Return to Zero.
The rise of Nine was amazing tho!!!
I'm surprised you didn't mention the "writing factory" that Frey started specifically to make books with the success of Hunger Games. (Then again I was listening while doing chores, I might've just missed it).
Oh remember this? I remember at the time this movie had ridiculous marketing behind it. It was one of those movies I remembered going to watch with my friends because they made it look so good in the trailers.
love this channel
thank you!
Ok, I read the book a decade ago, but I really don’t remember it being a romance story? Wasn’t it like a sci-fi, the guy having to run away from [aliens?] after they killed the other numbers? I remember 0 romance from the plot. But then films from that time used to put a lot of romance in stories that didn’t have them, in general. I was pissed about the romance subplot they added to The Giver
He was attracted to this popular girl and they do that thing where he has to deal with her crazy jock ex boyfriend and he gets his powers and beats the ex up and then he and the girl have a romance right as the evil aliens start locating him. It was pretty significant, but I think most of the focus of the book was about 4 and his friend trying to find out more information about the aliens
Yeah romance existed because Yeah his people fall in love for life but the film leaned hard into it which is unfortunate as showing us numbers 1-3 dying would've sold us a the stakes being high.
This movie and "Jumper" are the same in my mind? Not sure why. I saw "Jumper," don't think I ever saw this one... Def didn't read the books.
UA-cam suddenly recommended this video to me, and it reminded me that I actually saw this movie in theaters with my cousins, then completely forgot its existence. I actually was its targeted demographic back then, but still found it so lackluster.
I liked the book series, which is called the Lorien Legacies. There are about 18 books with serveral of those books being compediums. There is a lot of world building in this series. I think this would work very well as a streaming series on a platform like Amazon.
I too was expecting to see a young Chris Evans in this video essay 😂
I have never watched this movie. I did watch Push, though. I thought it was alright.
I remember I was obsessed with these books/movie when I was a teen. Letting aside that Dreamworks dropped the project and and no other studio is willing to buy the license to reboot it, the writing of the source material alone is way too long and inconsistent (they're actually 7 main books with around 30 side spin offs written by several differet authors over the course of a decade) I doubt we'll ever get a decent adaptation
Loved the books mainly because they focused on the progress and other characters as well plus the action scenes in the book vs the movie were night and day. Can you do JUMPER if you haven’t done it already
I have read 31 books of this series, I hope someone makes a series or something more close to the original material, there's good stuff there to explore