Director: Andrew Niccol
Writer: Andrew Niccol
Release: March 29, 2013
Length: 2hr 5min
Rating: PG
What if everything you love was taken from you in the blink of an eye? "The Host" is the next epic love story from the creator of the "Twilight Saga," worldwide bestselling author, Stephenie Meyer. When an unseen enemy threatens mankind by taking over their bodies and erasing their memories, Melanie Stryder will risk everything to protect the people she cares most about - Jared, Ian, her brother Jamie and her Uncle Jeb, proving that love can conquer all in a dangerous new world.
I was fortunate enough to score advance screening tickets to see The Host movie early. I loved The Host when I read it years ago. I was able to read it again this year in audiobook form and loved it even more than I had the first time around. I found I liked The Host more than Twilight because I believe Stephenie Meyer had improved as a writer by the time The Host was written. It has an insanely creative and cool concept and I loved the characters and the heart of the story. So I was very much excited for the film adaptation.
The problem is, it's not necessarily a book that translates well to movie. There is a ton of inner dialogue between Melanie, the body, and Wanderer, the "soul" (read: alien), inside of her. In the movie, the filmmakers decided to have Melanie talk to Wanderer in voiceover and Wanderer respond out loud. It was incredibly awkward and cheesy, much like the voiceovers for the wolves in Twilight. There were a ton of unintentionally funny moments, also just like in Twilight. To be fair though, I can't think of a way that the filmmakers could have made this work on the big screen.
It wasn't a terrible movie though: I liked the cast that they chose and they did the best they could with the corny dialogue they were given. Fans of the book will be pleased to know that it is a fairly faithful film adaptation, which is no small feat considering The Host is over 600 pages long. Still though, the pacing was a bit off and we lose a lot of the wonderful character and relationship development that was in the book.
Bottom line: I think Stephenie Meyer is a great storyteller, but I don't think her books translate particularly well to film, unfortunately.
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I haven't seen it yet, but I thought it would be difficult to translate the inner thoughts to screen - does sound like they did the best they could
ReplyDeleteYeah, I guess I can't blame them because I'm not sure how they could have done them right!
DeleteI'm so out of touch with everything- didn't even know this one had released. (And I didn't know Jake Abel was in it, now I'm watching for sure!) I liked The Host better than Twilight too, but you're right, gotta be hard to do a movie on a book that is based much more on emotion than action.
ReplyDeleteIt's tough, definitely! Much of her books take place in the protag's heads so I don't think they necessarily translate well to good movies.
DeleteI liked the book a lot more than Twilight, though many of these early reviews have put me off watching the movie now. I might just wait until it's on DVD if I'm still curious in a few months. I think you're right - there's a lot of inner monologue in the book that was probably never meant to be adapted to the big screen. I can't think of how they could ever translate that well. Thanks for the helpful review, Aylee!
ReplyDeleteI certainly wouldn't have paid full price to watch it in theatres. That's what I mean - it wasn't translate well to the big screen but I don't know how they could have done it!
DeleteI've been hearing similar things. Makes me sad 'cause I ADORE the book. But you're right. It's something that just doesn't translate well. I wonder if people who haven't read the book will like it better. Thanks for your honest take! :)
ReplyDeleteI would think people who haven't read the book would like the movie less, actually. They have no context for what it's actually supposed to be like form the book. Just my guess!
DeleteHmmm...very interesting! I will probably see this when it's out in iTunes, but I definitely want to check it out.....
ReplyDeleteI do recommend checking it out just to see it for yourself!
DeleteI haven't read the book but I've been wanting to see the movie. I am a little put off by this voiceover thing you mentioned that is like the wolves. Oh boy, I could not stand how that was done in Breaking Dawn. That makes me a little nervous. lol
ReplyDeleteHaha, yeah... it didn't work out so great for the wolves and not for the alien either, lol.
DeleteI'm going to see this today Aylee! I'm really excited:) I was wondering how they were going to do all the dialogue between Melanie and Wanderer, and while I'm bummed it comes of a bit cheesy, like you, I don't know how else they could have done it. I'm really glad to hear you say it's a faithful adaptation, that was another of my worries given the page length of the book:)
ReplyDeleteI hope you liked it more than I did! I tried not to blame it too hard because I have no clue how they could have done it right so I could forgive some cheesiness. I was at least pleased that it was faithful!
DeleteThank god you feel this way too, Aylee! I was SO underwhelmed by this movie. I am so meh on it I don't even want to review it. It was cheesy and it just didn't translate well. But I liked the book. And the actors were all good, it just didn't gel for me. Great honest review!
ReplyDeleteYup! It's disappointing that the movie was so underwhelming because the book was the opposite!
DeleteThe inner dialogue/inner thought loss is always something I miss in book-to-film adaptations to be honest. It's one of my favorite parts about reading to feel like you know the MC so intimately. I can see how the Melanie/Wanderer wouldn't translate well to the big screen. I was hoping that they would have lost most of the cheesiness that had made it's way into the Twilight films, but I guess on some accounts they never learn >.<
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to know what to expect to be honest, since I'm planning on going next week! I did manage to enjoy the Twilight films despite how corny they could be :) And I like how you mentioned it was mostly faithful to the book, I was worried about that especially because, like you said at 600 pages there was a lot to potentially change!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Aylee!
Yes, exactly: the inner dialogue that we get in books is one of my favourite things about reading and it doesn't always get translated to movies very well.
DeleteI do sort of enjoy the Twilight movies and this movie, as well. Super cheesy, but still kind of entertaining. So if you had fun with Twilight, then you should with The Host as well! It's always good when the adaptation is faithful to the book.
hm, it sounds like Stephanie Meyer is the new Stephen King when it comes to bad book to movie adaptations. I still can't get over the main actress. I don't really like her and since I never read the book, I'm not all that interested in seeing the movie. The reviews I've read for it so far aren't exactly inspiring me either. It's a shame when serious things in movies are unintentionally funny. I always wonder, didn't they realize that before they released the movie??
ReplyDeleteI wasn't sold on her when I first heard she had been cast. But she's a good actress, I think, and she did the best she could with her lines. Stephenie's movies are the WORST for unintentionally funny scenes. I have no idea how they miss how ridiculous they are!!
DeleteI'm not really interested in the movie, I never read any of Ms Mayer's books - I tried but couldn't get though - so yeah, not really my thing. I looks a little generic, like I've seen this exact same story before.
ReplyDelete:) I'm glad you liked it though, since you did like the book, so it's good to know it's not all bad :D
I actually really liked The Host and didn't find it generic at all - it was so creative and SUCH a cool concept. But yeah, I don't blame you if they aren't your thing.
DeleteI was surprised by how much I loved this book. Movies never quite live up to the book for me so I go into them not comparing the two - that way I usually end up enjoying it more. I like the trailers I've seen and am hoping the actual movie is good, too. :)
ReplyDeleteI try to not compare either because in some ways it's unfair, though there was no way I could accept the cheesiness of this movie. I hope you like it more though!
DeleteSometimes, a book must be a book. Not every story is meant to be translated to the screen, especially when it has a lot of inner dialogue.
ReplyDeleteTrue true! Not all books are meant to be movies. None are, for that matter.
DeleteDid you review The Host book on your blog? I checked the review archive and couldn't find it. Its available as a kindle deal special and I'm debating if I should lay down the cash or not. I think its $2.99.
ReplyDeleteWell, I pulled the trigger, I was wrong it was only $1.99. So I figured it was worth the risk. I hope it proves to be a good read.
DeleteI did not review The Host on my blog as I read it pre-blog. $1.99 is a pretty excellent deal though, considering the book is 600 pages long. And I honestly really loved it! It was so creative and SUCH a cool concept!
Delete"I think Stephenie Meyer is a great storyteller, but I don't think her books translate particularly well to film, unfortunately." - Ha, I guess I should read TWILIGHT but shouldn't watch the films, huh? (Yes! I haven't read that awesome/horrible saga yet. :P)
ReplyDeleteThe Host was one of my most anticipated films this year. I'm kind of disappointed to hear that it wasn't as great as it could've been, but that's to be expected, right? Books are always better than movies, after all. I saw a bit of the dialogue between Melanie and Wanda in the trailer, but it was just one scene so I couldn't judge it. It does sound cheesy, having Melanie voice out her thoughts in the movie. I really enjoyed THE HOST as a book. I'm not sure if it would be wise to go see the movie, though...
Thanks for such a helpful movie review, Aylee!
P.S. I have NO idea how I never stumbled across your blog. It's ADORBS. POTTERHEAD FOREVER. I don't think I'll ever recover. :P
Wow - you must be the only one left who hasn't read Twilight!
DeleteIt's true: books are always better than movies and this book in particular would've been very hard to pull of as a movie. I wasn't too surprised that it turned out so cheesy! But I was still disappointed. I would still recommend it, but I personally wouldn't pay full price to see it.
THANK YOU! I'm glad to find another blog friend with similar interests!!
I read The Host, and I remember clearly that I didn't like it as much until I told myself not to compare it to the Twilight Saga. Truth is, her books are always better than the movies. I look forward to watching this movie!
ReplyDeleteYup, her books are better and just don't translate well!
DeleteI've seen the trailer of this one and it just seemed like they focused on the romance or something. Thanks for letting me know that it stays pretty faithful to the book, Aylee. It's weird that Wanda responds out loud to everything Melanie says. Does she do this around the others because I'd be wondering if she's schizophrenic or something if I was around her.
ReplyDeleteShe does do it around others! It's super awkward and corny, haha! But yeah, it was a very faithful adaptation so at least that was good.
DeleteI had wondered what they were going to do with the inner dialogue. Hmm. I still want to see this one though. Hopefully soon.
ReplyDeleteI think you should! And I would love to know your thoughts.
DeleteI liked reading The Host and even though I want to watch the movie, it hasn't been released in India yet. I had that doubt about how they'll show both the voices (Melanie's and Wanda's) before as well. Then again, a book is a book! I still want to watch the movie just to see what they've made of it. Great review! :D
ReplyDeleteSarika @ The Readdicts
Yup, there was nothing much they could do about it! Because there was no way for it to not be cheesy in the film adaptation. I would be very curious to hear your thoughts when you getting around to seeing the move. I hope you like it!
DeleteI really liked this book, but I'm not sure how I'll feel about the movie. I think I might wait until it's out on video so I can get a reread in. Too bad they got lots of corny dialogue!
ReplyDeleteMight be a good idea! I don't think I would have wanted to pay full price to see this.
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