Unfortunately, when people see “The Host” flash across the screen, all they can seem to concentrate on are the words that come next: “From Stephenie Meyer, author of the ‘Twilight’ saga.” But as a viewer, try to shake off any memories of painfully awkward Kristen Stewart interviews and watch “The Host” in its own right — a new take on the current dystopian fad in film.
The story follows Wanderer (Saoirse Ronan), one of the many alien invaders that come in peace, ready to take over human roles to experience Earth. Wanderer is implanted in the human body of Melanie, who is different from the other human hosts — she is resistant to Wanderer’s invasion and fights back.
The two characters sharing one body eventually form a common enemy — the Seeker (Diane Kruger) — who wants Wanderer to access Melanie’s memories in order to find the remaining humans.
Eventually Wanderer leaves to find Melanie’s brother (Chandler Canterbury) and Jared (Max Irons), the man she’s in love with. Wanderer soon finds herself on the side of the humans, causing her to question her role in the world, especially when she finds a love interest of her own in human Ian (Jake Abel).
The film itself was somewhat of a disappointment. The story seemed slow and the solemn yoga-like music that played throughout did nothing to help. The Imagine Dragons song “Radioactive” that made the trailer so promising was reserved only for the credits. I also found myself craving some edgier camera shots worthy of a sci-fi flick, but director Andrew Niccol (“In Time,” “Gattaca”) made this one slow and steady.
If anyone could convincingly pull off switching between two character voices, it’s the Academy Award nominee Ronan; however, making Melanie’s voice Southern was a bad call — the Irish Ronan can barely master refined English, let alone a Louisiana drawl. The two teen heartthrobs Irons and Abel were unremarkable in their acting compared to the experience of villainous Kruger and lovable William Hurt.
I had high hopes for “The Host,” and let it be known that it does stay as true to the best-selling book as it possibly could have. Yet, as I walked out of the theater, I couldn’t help but think of the line, “Don’t judge a book by its movie.”
Dive Verdict: ??1/2
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