THE HOST (2013)

Genre: Sci-Fi/Romance
Director: Andrew Niccol
Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Diane Kruger, Jake Abel, Max Irons, Chandler Canterbury, Boyd Holbrook, Frances Fisher, William Hurt, Stephen Rider
RunTime: 2 hrs 5 mins
Rating: PG (Some Violence)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website: http://thehostthefilm.com

Opening Day: 28 March 2013

Synopsis:  From Stephenie Meyer (author of THE TWILIGHT SAGA) comes THE HOST, a love story set in the future, where Earth is occupied by a species who erase the minds of their human hosts, leaving their bodies intact. Melanie Stryder (Saoirse Ronan) is one of the last surviving humans who fights back, risking her life for the people she cares about most - Jared (Max Irons), Ian, (Jake Abel), her brother Jamie (Chandler Canterbury) and her Uncle Jeb (William Hurt) - proving that love can conquer all.

Movie Review:

A parasitic alien invasion creates a nearly-perfect world in this adaption of Stephenie Meyer’s bestselling book of the same name, fusing into human minds and bodies to create a superior race that is not only more morally enlightened, but also more advanced in medical and environmental care. A pair of electric-blue eyes is the sole defining physical feature signifying that the human host has been overtaken. Melanie Stryder (Saoirse Ronan), one of the last few remaining human survivors, is caught by a militant Seeker (Diane Kruger) and implanted with an alien named Wanderer, with the goal of uncovering the remaining humans’ hideout.

Complications arise when Melanie, a spitfire with an extraordinarily strong will and mind, persuades Wanderer to subvert the alien race and return to her family and friends, most notably her love interest Jared Howe (Max Irons). Naturally, suspicions run high upon her entrance into their hideout within the antechambers of an extinct volcano, but trust wins out in the end as the two characters inhabiting Melanie’s body develop an unlikely bond, while figuring out how to unentangle themselves amidst complications in love and friendships. The ending, in a manner befitting of its source material, neatly resolves itself with a deus ex machina, such that viewers are left slack-jawed at how nicely it all turned out. 

Directed by Andrew Niccol, the film starts off looking like a pale replica of one of his better-known works, Gattaca -- the aliens are ‘the perfect race’ decked in crisp white uniforms while operating in pristine offices of glass and silver while the humans scramble for survival. Pity then, while The Host’s plot can stand on its own, it barely grazes the level of elegant storytelling and nuances that made Gattaca a bona fide success.

While the concepts of identity, loyalty and what it means to be human would have been interesting territory to explore, the film never delves into these complex ideas because it has to spend time pandering to its target audience with jarringly random scenes of the leads making out and a particularly ridiculous scene of forced kissing. Audiences should bear in mind that this movie is based on novel by the same author who gave us Twilight, mostly because it will answer many of the questions you may have throughout the film.

The show is carried by Ronan and Kruger, who make the best of the weak script, while the young male leads are mostly quintessential eye candy. 

Movie Rating:

(More likely to appeal to younger audiences or fans of young adult romantic fiction rather than viewers looking for a good sci-fi flick)

Review by Wong Keng Hui