I Am Number Four and The Eagle Double Feature

The other day my friend Heather and I wanted to go see I Am Number Four and since we were already there we decided to go see The Eagle as well.




I Am Number Four

I was expecting this movie to be sort of like the TV show Heroes and I won't ruin it for you but it has a different sort of twist to it. The pacing of the movie was perfect and there was plenty of action. There was romance, but I don't think it was too much. The downside is that I was wondering when some attractive people would show up and finally we get to meet the love interest who is pretty decent-looking. The plot unfolding in a logical and well-timed manner and although I wasn't particularly invested in the characters at the beginning, by the end of the movie there are several characters that I like. The major disappointment of this film for me was the fact that it felt like an extended pilot episode of a new TV show, not a movie. At the end of the movie it is obvious that there will be sequels. I say sequels because there is no way they could wrap this story up in less than three movies. Because of that fact, I felt a lack of completeness since the story arc wasn't really there. If I had known that I was going in to a series then it probably would have made my experience more enjoyable. Having said all this, I did like the movie and I will look forward to the sequel. Also, I didn't realize this until after I saw it, but this movie was based off a book by the same name. I probably won't have time to add it to my reading list but I would be interested in talking to someone who has read the book.



The Eagle

Heather and I went directly from I Am Number Four to The Eagle in the adjoining theater. For me, this movie beat out the other one. It was not a 10, maybe about an 8.

The unique thing that I liked about this movie is that there were no female leads. There were only two or three women in the entire movie and they had non-speaking roles in one scene towards the end. It was refreshing to see a movie without a love side-story going on. Channing Tatum, though I am not a big fan of him, was great in this movie. He fit the role and played it well. The actor who played Esca was also brilliant, even more so than Tatum. I believe the movie takes place in the 2nd Century Roman Empire and is fairly accurate in its depictions of the soldiers and the fighting. For a lover of history it was just nice to see a small story set in the larger scheme of events that we normally see. Like I said, it is not an epic monument to filmaking or the genre necessarily but it was a good respite from movies that focus only on large, real events in textbooks. One additional note: The movie has many quiet parts in it so make sure you are not in a theater next door to the Justin Bieber movie or you will catch most of that one as well.