Rated PG-13 for some sensuality and violence.
Starring Saoirse
Ronan, Jake Abel, Max Irons, Chandler Canterbury, Frances Fisher, Diane
Kruger, William Hurt, Boyd Holbrook, Scott Lawrence, Lee Hardee, Phil
Austin, Raeden Greer, Alexandria Morrow, Emily Browning.
Written and directed by Andrew Niccol, based on the novel by Stephenie Meyer.
GRADE: ** (two out of four stars)
GOSPEL-DOCTRINE-O-METER: (2 & 1/2 our of four Moronis) Okay, it's another story written by a member of the LDS Church, but you really couldn't tell by watching The Host. There is a vague undertone of free agency at work in the film, but mostly, it's about survival and stupid, sappy romance (very much like another series of books by a certain LDS author). It should also be noted that the main female lead does not exactly live the law of chastity, but in a universe where God has allowed bug-like aliens to inhabit human bodies, you might let that one pass.
In the aftermath of the success of the Twilight books
and film series, it was inevitable that Stephenie Meyer would write
again. It was also inevitable that any of her writings would be fodder
for another movie or series of movies, which is why we have The Host (based on Meyer's latest novel) in theaters this weekend.
The Host is
the story of how Earth is invaded by glowing caterpillar-like aliens
who insert themselves into the bodies of humans and overtake their
psyches. After implantation, the human hosts appear normal and healthy,
except for their eyes, which have a neon-blue glow. The aliens, known as
“souls,” clean up the planet and create a global utopian society.
Nearly all humans are inhabited by the souls, except for a handful who
resist. One of the resistance is Melanie (Saoirse Ronan), a young woman
on the run from alien “seekers” while trying to keep her little brother
Jamie (Chandler Canterbury) safe. While avoiding seekers, Melanie runs
into another uninhabited human named Jared (Max Irons) and the two young
people fall in love. Melanie eventually gets caught by the seekers and
becomes the host body for Soul Wanderer, a new alien arrival. Melanie's
real soul resists the alien presence, and eventually tricks Wanderer
into going to the desert compound of her uncle Jeb (William Hurt), where
more resistance humans live in an underground cavern and hold out
against alien intrusion.
After Wanderer and Melanie arrive, most
of Jeb's people try to kill her, since her eyes possess the telltale
blue glow. Jeb keeps the gang from killing Melanie's body, while the
real Melanie (speaking as a voice in the head of her own body)
constantly argues with Wanderer about their next move. Wanderer
eventually wins over the humans' trust, as Jared realizes that his
girlfriend is alive and well inside Melanie's body.
Complicating things
more is a new romance between Wanderer and Ian (Jake Abel), forming a
“love square” (as opposed to a triangle). As Ian and Jared split time
schmoozing two different women inside the same body, a persistent seeker
named “Seeker” (Diane Kruger) hunts Wanderer with great conviction,
utilizing all the resources and technology at her disposal (most of
which are chrome-plated sports cars and helicopters).
As Seeker
gets closer, Wanderer reevaluates the morality of stripping humans of
their free will. She must decide whether to sacrifice herself on behalf
of Melanie or keep on possessing her human host.
The Host is
a strange and sometimes imaginative science fiction tale, but it has
all the earmarks of a Stephenie Meyer story. As she did with vampires,
Meyer has taken alien invasion/sci-fi genre to another level by
inserting a sappy love story right in the middle of it.
While some of the quirks of Meyer's alien invasion world are interesting, The Host is
bogged down by all that sappy romance, which is complimented by a lot
of silly dialogue, especially between Melanie's “voice” inside her own
head being controlled by Wanderer. Saoirse Ronan spends most of the
two-hour movie arguing with herself as Melanie and Wanderer, which does
not appeal to folks who like their science fiction with a little more
action and special effects. It also seems that Meyer has some sort of
fixation on having her main female characters being pursued by more than
one hunky lead male – and haven't we all had enough of that already?
One bright spot in The Host is
William Hurt, who delivers a solid performance, giving the film some
much needed gravitas. Other very capable actors (Kruger – and an
underutilized Frances Fisher as one of Jeb's clan) seem wasted in a very
boring romance drama disguised as a science fiction thriller.
No comments:
Post a Comment