The Host Review
RYAN: The Host is a new movie based on a novel by Stephenie Meyer, author of the Twilight series, and it stars one of our favorite young actresses, Saoirse Ronan.
CAROLINE: I will confess to being interested in this movie only because of Saoirse. As you know, sci-fi isn’t really my thing, and I wasn’t sure if this was supposed to be a Twilight redux or what. Turns out it’s actually Stephanie Meyer’s first book of adult fiction, so it wasn’t meant to be another Twilight; they just happened to cast a younger main character. Sadly, it didn’t deliver for me.
RYAN: Contrariwise, I’m a sci-fi geek when it’s good. But this is sort of stodgy, awkward science fiction, both in the writing and the score, which oddly sounded Celtic to me.
CAROLINE: [laughs’ The script was painful in parts. The audience was laughing when they weren’t supposed to be. And I thought the acting from the supporting dudes left something to be desired.
RYAN: Yeah, the guy who plays her main squeeze is pretty wooden.
CAROLINE: He’s the son of Jeremy Irons; wonder how he broke into the business?
RYAN: [laughs’ He is cute though. I liked the sets and the silver cars and the costumes. They were slick, modern and sci-fi-y. But then some of the characters’ names were so Amish and outdated – Jebediah and Magnolia – that it seemed like Stephanie Meyer only had half her heart in science fiction. Maybe she ought to stick to vampiric fiction.
CAROLINE: Seriously. This movie did nothing to make my heart flutter like the first Twilight did.
RYAN: I did like the premise of the movie, how the human race is taken over by these alien beings; but the articulation of it was very dated and derivative.
CAROLINE: Yeah, it’s like another version of I Am Legend or some other end-of-the-world movie meets Invasion of the Body Snatchers. I also couldn’t help but compare it to Hanna, since that’s the last movie we’ve seen Saoirse Ronan in. The dynamic between her and Diane Kruger in The Host totally reminded me of her cat-and-mouse relationship with Cate Blanchett in Hanna.
RYAN: I didn’t think of that, but I totally see it. What did you think of Diane K?
CAROLINE: She was fine, but I was a little annoyed that I could hear her German accent.
RYAN: Totally! I also wanted her to be more of a ruthless hunter. She didn’t scare me enough.
CAROLINE: I also wished that the boys in the movie were cuter. I don’t think the two main guys will be sending hearts aflutter a la Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner.
RYAN: The pacing of the movie was a bit slow, and I was definitely more interested in the second half. That’s where the romance really peaks. It’s quite an innovative love triangle, or more accurately, quadrangle.
CAROLINE: I sort of felt the opposite. I was more into the first half and hoping something big would happen to catch my interest. And when I realized it wasn’t going to, I checked out for the second half.
RYAN: I was very pleased at how unpredictable the story was though. It went in directions I never thought it would.
CAROLINE: Yes, it’s definitely a unique movie in a lot of ways. But if it weren’t for Saoirse, I don’t think I would have cared about this movie at all.
— BOTTOM LINE —
RYAN: I obviously liked this movie a little more than you did, but not as much as last year’s best sci-fi movies, Looper and Prometheus. I’d say this one’s more of a rental.
CAROLINE: A rental at best. It’s not poorly made or anything, but I just didn’t get anything out of it. I’ve seen much better sci-fi movies and the script left a lot to be desired.
