Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Max Irons, Jake
Abel, Diane Kruger
Directed by:
Andrew Niccol
Written by: Andrew Niccol (screenplay),
Stephenie Meyer (novel)
Release date: April 19, 2013
Rating: 1.5/5
The Host is
the misconceived result of Andrew Niccol and Stephanie Meyer deciding to make a
movie baby together. Niccol is known for directing insightful and memorable films
such as Gattaca (1997) and Lord of War (2005), while Meyer is famous for her
Twilight movies about sparkly teenage vampires. Why the two chose to
collaborate with each other will puzzle film historians for many years to come.
The movie is primarily created for young girls to take their boyfriends to the
movies with them. If this is you, prepare for an intense session of eye-rolling.
The Host is
set in a world where a parasitic yet benign alien species called Souls has
taken over the planet by possessing human bodies. It’s a premise we’ve recently
seen in the Nicole Kidman-starrer The Invasion (2007) and the many Invasion of
the Body Snatchers adaptations that came before it. There’s no more war,
poverty or suffering, but there are also barely any people left to experience
this paradise. We follow the story of Melanie (Saoirse Ronan) who is captured
and inhabited by the one of the aliens. However, the host nicknamed Wanderer soon
finds out that some of Melanie’s old self still lingers around thus leaving it
with a condition we here on earth call a multiple personality disorder.
It’s pretty
hard to be entertained or interested in a film where the first half consists of
placid-looking aliens speaking to each other in monotones. The only human
element is the petulant, bratty inner voice of Melanie who regularly throws
temper tantrums chiding her host to flee her captors. When Wanderer finally meets
up with Melanie’s former human companions, the film descends into a bizarre
four-way love triangle, much like Twilight’s Edward and Jacob who fight over
Bella. The two male leads Jared (Max Irons) and Ian (Jake Abel) display little
acting ability and it’s obvious they were picked to make the film’s target
audience coo. The only thing The Host has going for it are its stunningly shot desert
and cave locales, otherwise the film is dull, overly sentimental and flubs as a
teen sci-fi romance.
-
Gautam
Kagalwala
