Book VS Film: I Am Number Four

As a book, I Am Number Four is an outstanding showcase of how an author can mix action and romance skillfully, starting off a promising series with foundations so strong they could one day threaten the likes of Harry Potter and Twilight. As a film, however, things are quite different: liberties are taken with the tone of the source material to make for a compelling blockbuster fantasy flick, and in doing so the writers created a release that could easily drag the chances of a major franchise down due to its strangely dull cast. Why, for instance, was Diana Agron put to such little use as Sarah Hart, Number Four's romantic interest when her character was such a focal point in the book? Why were Sam Goode and Mark James only in the film a couple of times, then becoming supposedly good friends of the protagonist at its climax? Shortcomings such as these constantly reared their heads throughout, and although this sounds harsh on my part really it could have been avoided. There are strong points in the flick, the final battle being my favourite scene and I Am holds up as a decent standalone film (4/5), yet compared to the book it was a downright outrage. In other words, I think you know which version of I Am Number Four won this contest.