Since the phenomenon that is Harry Potter put audiences – young and old – under its spell, film studios have been desperately seeking the next literary series aimed at teens to convert into a long-running film franchise. With so many of the right ingredients (such as aliens, cute teens, special powers, good vs. evil etc), it’s no surprise that filmmakers thought that the novel by Pittacus Lore (which is actually the pen name for authors James Frey and Jobie Hughes) would be ripe for the rights picking. More importantly, it’s the first in a series of a possible six books. But let’s face it, lightning very rarely strikes twice.

If we’ve learnt anything from watching countless US films featuring vacuous teenagers, being liked just isn’t enough; being popular is where it’s really at. So to find a young teen avoiding being popular already gets the alarm bells ringing. It’s a sense of relief to learn then that John (Alex Pettyfer) is no ordinary teen; John is actually an alien.

He fled from his home planet of Lorien after an alien race known as the Mogadorians destroyed it. Not content with just obliterating the planet, the Mogadorians will not rest until they’ve wiped out the entire Lorien race. That’s commitment for you.

Due to his uncanny resemblance to human form, John has been living on Earth with his protector Henry (Timothy Olyphant), albeit in the lowest of keys. Every time they feel his profile could be on the rise, they up sticks and move on. This leads them to Paradise, Ohio.

It’s a small enough town where John – AKA Number Four – can blend in with a relative amount of anonymity. That changes however when his special powers begin to develop, with him initially having problems controlling them. Not only that, but his alien hormones also appear to start kicking in, when he finds himself attracted to fellow student and keen photographer Sarah (Glee’s Dianna Agron). He soon discovers that like his superpowers, it’s difficult to turn his feelings off. In fact it transpires that Loriens have a similar mating ritual to that of swans, penguins or parrots – whichever one of those animals it is that partner’s up for life.

Unfortunately for John, all these waves in his personal life mean that the Mogadorians are that little bit closer to finding him, and once they do, John can expect his number to be well and truly up.

I wasn't expecting this from a liquid soap.

It’s understandable that director DJ Caruso saw potential in the book. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t realise it in the film. It borrows way too many elements from other stories; time and again you get a sense of déjà vu: the Loriens appear to have the powers of Jedis; the school location and John’s introduction to it is all too reminiscent of Smallville; there’s also a general sense of Heroes about the whole thing too. And sadly the list goes on. With not one original bone in its body, it’s one limp lump of a letdown.

The reality is, the idea would probably work far better for TV as a drama series for teens, especially as said Smallville is coming to an end.

As a film however, with a tired looking premise and predictable plot, this effort is nothing more than a dreary teen-drama-by-numbers affair.