Review of The Host (2013) by Wornoutspines — 15 Apr 2015

The host - the book - was the very first book that I stop reading after three chapters, I gave up because I thought it was tedious and boring. It's also the reason why I have this rule, whenever I pick up I read up to three or four chapters and if by then I'm not not hook or interested in the story I put it down. So when the host - the movie - came out in 2013 the only thing that got me interested was Saoirse Ronan. At the time, I remember thinking "What the F*ck is she doing in that movie?" but she was in it, so I gave it a shot, putting all of my preconceived ideas about it aside.

Once I saw it, I was pleasantly surprised, the plot was far more interesting that I gave it credit for. I was not sure where it stemmed from but when I realized that it was The Truman Show, Lord of War, The Terminal Andrew Niccol behind The Host I got the idea. The movie is intriguing, engaging, and quite riveting, it's a lot less cheesy than what I expected, actually less than what the marketing suggested. The Host is smart with good action sequences and another stunning performance by Saoirse Ronan.

The acting is probably the other thing that makes this movie a better one. Ronan is completely badass in The Host because she manages to show you two different characters in that one film. They have the same body and same voice but there is not doubt that it is two characters on screen. Her co-stars Jake Abel, Max Irons, Diane Kruger, Frances Fisher & William Hurt are holding their own. The Host is a well rounded movie, So I wonder what went wrong? My guess is a bit of timing and marketing faux-pas. The movie came out in the wake of Twilight fatigue, which was not a smart move, and it was Marketed as another cheesy love story when we already had five years of cheesy Edward & Bella love story. And also let's face it the pace was a little slow but I don't think that hurt the movie.

Andrew Niccol's take on The Host was intriguing, sophisticated and entertaining.