There is always a certain amount of trepidation when sitting down to watch a adaptation of a book into film. Thankfully this is a faithful take on the book.The Host tells the story of a non corporeal alien race who have taken over Earth by inhabiting the bodies of almost all of humanity. Melanie Stryder, part of the resistance, and one of the only few remaining humans, is captured and turned into a host. Now with a dominant alien being inside her, Melanie remains trapped inside her human body and she fights to save her brother and be reunited with her true love, Jared.The Host is a strangely engaging for a film where nothing very much really happens.The narrative in itself is admittedly an interesting one; the utopian future, where humanity barely exists any longer except for the resistance, a small group of human humans who live in caves in the desert fending for themselves, hoping not to be taken over by the parasites. Seeing how the remains of the human race are living, surviving in their self built underground lair is life affirming, and the welcoming of a stranger into their home, especially one who could threaten their cover, is uplifting. The climax is heartwarming too, if a little predicable (even if you haven't read the book) where both the underdog, in this case humanity itself, and of love true love, win through.The sweeping desert landscapes and the utopian cityscapes are breathtaking and beautiful. Even the underground home of the resistance is simply but beautifully crafted. Even the aliens shopping facilities and transport are enviable.Our lead as Melanie/Wanderer, is the main issue with the film. There is an obvious difficulty developing the two leading characters in the time usually taken for just one. She is relatively emotionless and static for the most part and while this is clearly a trait of the alien beings, the conflict between the host and the human still fighting inside never really leaves this inert state of emotion. Sadly this makes the character of Melanie/Wanderer rather unsympathetic. The novel obviously develops the emotional turmoil much more successfully. The tumult of Wanderer when she falls in love with Ian ultimately fails when portrayed by Wanderer's blank expressions and Melanie's wan voiceover. One would think this is more a performance based issue rather than a storytelling one. Disappointingly, Saoirse Ronan is not engaging as neither Melanie nor Wanda.The voiceover occasionally grates too. It is a very unusual device to use throughout a film narrative, albeit one that does work, and is an effective way of getting Melanie's point of view across. It is also faithful to the way in which the novel is written.Diane Krueger, however, is great at The Seeker, playing the struggle between her human side and host subtly, but with more success. The moment she shoots one of her fellow seekers, is the turning point for her character(s), her obvious turmoil showing with no need for a voiceover, just simply great acting.The majority of the other characters are reduced to supporting roles, Melanies lover Jared, and her brother Jamie are lucky enough to be included in the flashback story of Melanie, pre insertion, but Jamie is sadly underdeveloped and Jared only a tad more so. Ian is the character that suffers the most, his pain in falling for Wanderer is sadly non existent, making him rather two dimensional. Uncle Jeb is more favourable, kindly, and sympathetic to the alien race, he is a champion to the human race.BOTTOM LINE: Faithful adaptation of the novel, with an appealing and uplifting message.With mixed performances, the production is really the star, but still worth getting into the skin of.

Worst movie I've ever seen in the cinema.Really? How can someone likes this garbage?I wanted to go out from the cinema, but I was with my friends, and at the end of the movie I found out that everybody was thinking to get away from there.I wish I could give a zero to this movie.

Yes, the movie gets bogged down by some show-stopping incomprehensions, some hilarious bloopers and some bouts of overacting (ah, Diane Kruger...), but to be frank, it could've been much worse, and the end result is... enjoyable. The story does not require that much thought if you are in for the laughs, the acting can be decent at times, the music is enjoyable (well, it is the highlight of the movie), and in the end, you have passed a satisfying amount of time watching it. So all in all... OK.

Designated as an action/adventure/romance/sci-fi/thriller film it does not have any of that. It's a mix of everything that in the end equates to none of it at all. Never in my life have I seen such an illogical story in a movie so slow and boring and without action. Probably the teenage girls will be able to find some adventure/romance here because the main protagonist is going to flirt with two guys at the same time throughout the movie in "Twilight" style, which is not surprising if we take into account that this movie is also based on a work of that same author. This is just a really cheap bad romance (the focus of the movie) while aliens try to annihilate the last humans (scenario, and very secondary). The performances are also not convincing at all. Completely unbelievable.