I must say that the majority of the time I like to read the book before I see the movie so that I have something to compare it to. Very rarely do I watch the movie first. I guess that’s why I’m half way through Life of Pi and hoping that the movie doesn’t disappear on my On Demand menu before I finish ( I could always get it via Amazon Prime, but On Demand tends to be cheaper).
In this case, time was not on my side and so I decided to go ahead and see the movie The Host before it left theatres as I’m sure I won’t be able to begin reading the book until late this summer.
Below is my review.
SPOILER ALERT: The Host – I have an opinion about the end of the story and I plan to share it. Beware those who have not yet seen the movie and/or read the book.
The Host is a futuristic story in which humans have been inhabited by an alien race who takes over their bodies and minds. Only small pockets of uninfected humans remain and they are being hunted down one by one to become new “hosts” for aliens that are arriving daily.
Melanie and her brother, Jamie, have teamed up with another survivor to head into the desert where they believe others may be waiting for them. On their way, Melanie is captured and becomes inhabited by Wanda (or Wonderer). But Melanie won’t lie back and allow this alien to take over her life. She fights from within to take back control.
Through memories and dialogue shared with Melanie, Wanda begins having feelings for the humans that Melanie wants to protect and Wanda has been tasked with finding and turning over to authorities. Eventually, Wanda heads to the desert to visit the family and becomes part of their community.
While in the community and getting to know the people, she finds that the humans don’t necessarily want to harm the aliens, but they are creatures of free will and will not stand idly by as they become possessed by others no matter how peaceful their “guests” seem to be. This group simply seeks to set those inhabited humans free and prevent others from becoming possessed.
Seeker Fleur, the alien assigned to Wanda goes on a manhunt for the missing girl and ends up finding the humans that Melanie wishes to protect. The action reaches a climax as Wanda cannot hide forever from her old friend and she becomes aware of the slaughter that is happening in the doc’s back room.
In true Stephenie Meyer style, there is resolution, love and an open ending that allows for a new book (or new movie) to be created.
The storyline of this movie is fantastic. Melanie loves Jerrod while Wanda is falling for another boy and the conflict of sharing the same body and yet having different minds and hearts is intriguing. Also the story of Seeker Fleur and her inability to gain true control of herself from her host and how it leads to hostility and an attitude outside of what her own race will tolerate is great. She’s literally a walking contradiction to her own people and their intentions. I also like the concept of being possessed by another and loosing your own mind and heart to another’s will.
But let’s face it, this is a Stephenie Meyer story so we’re going to see a sappy love triangle (which we do) and the characters are going to be a little under-developed and shallow (which they are) and finally we’re going to see a happy ending (which we do). And the whole disembodied voice of Melanie ringing in Wanda’s thoughts was a little weird even as the movie progressed.
Honestly, I think I would have left Wanda to die away after being taken from Melanie’s body. I would have ended the story in tragedy; a funeral perhaps. I know Meyer has a complex about killing off her main characters but this would have made the whole story. Instead it came across as anti-climatic. And for that reason, I’m only giving 3 stars out of 5. Hopefully the book will be better than the movie.
By the way, can I just brag a bit about how well Saoirse Ronan did in this movie. It was a difficult part and it has to come across, not as stage acting, but as if we’re watching someone’s impossible life unfold before us. She did such a great job, I’m almost tempted to bump up the review to 4 stars. Almost.
Have you ever watched a movie based on a book and then decided to hold off on reading the book because you’re not sure you would like it? Tell us about it.
