Tuesday 16 April 2013

The Host (2013) - ★½

Director: Andrew Niccol
Writers: Stephenie Meyer (Novel), Andrew Niccol (Screenplay)
Stars: Saoirse Ronan, Diane Kruger, Max Irons, William Hurt, Jake Abel, Frances Fisher

I knew this movie was going to be bad. Trust me, it is terrible in so many ways. It's cheesy, it's unoriginal and at times uninteresting. My dilemma is that I enjoyed myself. There were a few reasons why I liked it and a number of reasons to hate it. I just can't bring myself to hate this movie.


It's about an alien race called 'Souls' that have taken over human-kind. They have done this by entering our bodies and pushing our minds away. Apparently they are doing this to 'liberate' Earth and save the planet from our selfish, neglectful and conflict prone ways. It's like Invasion of the Bodysnatchers. However, Melanie's mind has not been pushed away completely by the 'soul' inhabiting her body. They get into all sorts of trouble that I couldn't be bothered writing about to be perfectly honest.

The Things Wrong With This Movie:
- The love triangle looks forced, fake, and does not fit the story. It's so unnecessary.
- Max Iron's deserves a Razzie Award for worst actor. His performance was appalling.
- I hated that everything in this futuristic alien world was in chrome. Cliché to the max!
- Whenever Melanie and The Soul talked to one another, it looked ridiculous.
- Every second scene in this film was literally a clichéd and cheesy.

Why I Enjoyed This Movie:

- I liked the plot (minus the love triangle). It may have had a chance if Stephenie Meyer hadn't written it for love-sick teenage girls.
- Saoirse Ronan is a brilliant actress. Although her talent does not shine bright in this film, she's good enough to raise its quality a notch. The same goes to William Hurt as her uncle and Diane Kruger as the enemy.
- I absolutely loved the look of The Souls when they're not inside a human body.
- The score is among the most beautiful movie themes I've ever heard. For me, it lifted the scenes and gave the film beauty it otherwise would not have had.


If you told me this was the worst movie of the year, I'd completely understand. It is horrible in many aspects. My question is, If you enjoyed the movie, is it really that bad? In the end, I don't think The Host is that bad of a movie. It's not good, but I liked it.

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