Review of The Host (2013) by Candace D — 22 Apr 2015

Instead of being assimilated into an alien intelligence that has conquered the earth, Melanie(Saoirse Ronan) jumps out of a window from a tall building. Somehow she survives, even after literally putting a dent into the pavement. So, Wanderer is installed into her. But somehow Melanie still resides in the back of her brain. For the Seeker(Diane Kruger), that is not out of the ordinary, as she hopes to get Wanderer to provide intelligence on other humans like Melanie's younger brother Jamie(Chandler Canterbury) and friend Jared(Max Irons). Melanie has other ideas, however.

Even at the best of times, it can be hard to visualize certain concepts of science fiction for the big screen. At the worst of times, you have the anticlimactic "The Host" which states in its own less than credible way that what makes us all human is inane soap opera, as expressed by author Stephenie Meyer's awkward sexual politics.(If Saoirse Ronan ends up looking lost, you know there is something seriously wrong with the story.) Even after a bad start, the movie does get somewhat better when William Hurt shows up on the scene. And Diane Kruger shows an adeptness for playing an alien that she had not shown for playing human beings over the past decade.