The Host - Andrew Niccol (2013) Out of a plethora of teenage romances that have graced/disgraced our

The Host - Andrew Niccol (2013) Out of a plethora of teenage romances that have graced/disgraced our screens in recent years, the new adaptation for the Stephanie Meyer book The Host, was one that I was looking forward to because I had read the book when I was younger. Maybe it was the fact that I kept comparing every scene to the book that ruined the film for me, but nonetheless, The Host was a big disappointment. This was Stephanie Meyer’s most promising book. Amidst a myriad of Twilight novels, that progressively declined in quality as the series progressed, The Host was practically the shining beacon of light in Meyer’s list of works. Essentially, it’s another love story with a supernatural twist, but amongst that the allegory of colonialism and the quest of power, The Host was excellent. Going in to the movie, I was already aware of what would happen, but even despite that, I felt the movie moves way too quickly. The character development was shocking. There were characters screaming for help when another character was in a room with them alone and it was all ’wait who the fuck even is that? why is she scared of him?’. Action sequences had SO MUCH potential, but the slow pacing ruined it all too. I didn’t care if any of these characters died because I hardly got to know any of them. One other questionable filming decision was to have internal dialogue between the protagonist and the alien which overtook her body. It was so poorly done. Every scene I just thought of how much better it would be if there was another version of Melanie (Saoirse Ronan) on screen. Internal dialogue felt like a cheap alternative that did not work, and didn’t allow Ronan to expand on those great acting abilities we know she has. Okay the best part of the book, for me, was the colonialist concern. The film could be taken in allegory of countless real imperialist stories in our past. The imposition of advanced technology, economical exploitation, and genocide in lust of power were all present in the book, but were hardly expanded on in the film. There could have been a strong message about coexistence and while I hate to compare the two, Heart of Darkness’ central concerns could have been added to create a true depth to the story other than fickle teenage love. But they didn’t even do that well. If you’re going to focus on the love triangle over the real issues I found in the book, at least do it well. I hardly gave a remote shit for the central love triangle. It’s none of the actors’ faults either, they did quite fine. But they rushed out a script and ran straight to a director to make this is quickly as they could to milk more money out of the twihards. The shocking character development just ruined the entire film for me. The random ’months later’ segment at the end was as awkwardly placed as this sentence. One standout feature was the production design though. Everything on the technical side ranging from hair/makeup to the cars and architecture of this world that, hey, isn’t that bad, was spectacular. It was a great job, and that kept me interested in continuing. So essentially, the script is where my issue with this film is. Everything else was done in a way that isnt that bad but there was still much to improve on. I don’t understand why the film didn’t go for longer either. Don’t get me wrong it was entertaining, but it could have been something much better with the potential in the story. The acting wasn’t bad considering the script they had, production design was great, but ultimately I felt like I needed more from Andrew Niccol, who really shined his directorial skills in Gattaca. One star/Five -- source link

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