by Lorie Lewis Ham
Special coupon for Dinuba Platinum Theatre at the end of this review.
I once again find myself seeing a movie based on a book, which I have not read, so I can’t attest to its faithfulness to the book, though I did notice that the author of the book, Stephanie Meyer, was involved with this movie. So judging this movie on its own merits, The Host was a good movie, which I recommend. 
The Host is a sci-fi movie set on an Earth where an alien race (the race isn’t really given a name that I noticed, but they are referred to as souls) has almost completely taken over our planet. They have brought peace, a restored planet, and a “perfect” world. However, it’s a world where most of the humans have been implanted with this alien race, their bodies and lives taken over.
A young woman named Melanie (Saoirse Ronan from Lovely Bones) is among those few remaining humans–a group that is called the resistance in true sci-fi tradition. Melanie is captured and implanted with one of these aliens, yet she doesn’t go quietly and fights to keep from losing herself. The alien inside her calls itself Wanderer. When Wanderer finds herself influenced by Melanie and questioning what her own people are doing, the “Seeker” decides she is to be removed and Melanie killed. Seekers by the way are a group of the aliens that go out and seek out any remaining humans. Melanie talks the Wanderer into escaping and going to look for her brother and her boyfriend. They find them, and then must try and convince those Melanie loves and the rest of this group of the resistance to trust “them.”
I won’t give away any more of the story. There is of course love, and as must be the case I think in any Stephenie Meyer novel, a love triangle of sorts, though this one is a lot more complicated and interesting than in her Twilight novels. Thankfully this movie is missing the teen angst and weak, whiney female lead that is in the Twilight novels (my apologies to any Twilight fans–it does have its good points). The lead characters are much better and stronger, and even though sci-fi, much more real. The beauty and strength that is humanity comes through in this story, along with themes of sacrifice, the power of love, and the message that you shouldn’t judge those you don’t understand.
There aren’t really any big name stars in this movie, but you will see several familiar faces if you enjoy this genre, and also from British TV and films.
This isn’t a tech heavy, shoot ’em up kind of sci-fi with spaceships and laser guns, but more the intellectual, humanity filled kind of sci-fi that leaves you feeling good about the universe and about being human. I highly recommend this movie. Even if you aren’t a sci-fi fan, you can still enjoy the characters and story of the movie.
Check out trailers on the movie website. And check out KRL’s review of the book!
The Host is currently playing at Dinuba Platinum Theatres 6. Showtimes can be found on their website. Platinum Theaters Dinuba 6 now proudly presents digital quality films in 2-D and 3-D with 5.1 Dolby digital surround sound to maximize your movie experience.
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