Mariah Foley
Staff Writer

Based on Stephanie Meyers’ critically acclaimed novel, “The Host” is not what it seems. The extremely misleading previews for the movie depict parasitic aliens taking over the residents of planet earth. The movie previews depicted the film as an adventure tale with a small amount of romance tied in, but the whole story is actually based on the true love between the character Melanie Stryder [Saiorse Ronan] and Jared Howe [Max Irons].

Aside from a very well-developed relational aspect, there were several circumstantial problems with valuable parts that tore viewers a bit too far apart from plausibility and reality. For instance, the aliens can infiltrate the minds of any being on any planet, but without help from a human host, the parasites can’t get into a living being. There is no way the human race could have been replaced in the first place. Also, while alien invasion may be the premise for this story, the value in the movie is found in the strength of will of one determined host to find the surviving humans, including her surviving family, regardless of the alien being that is controlling her body.
Besides the fact that the entire setting is unreasonable and slightly boring, the message this movie sends to viewers is still positive. “The Host” is a perfect fit for ages 11-16; it’s not scary or vulgar, and it is easy to follow.

Viewers of “The Host” seemed to expect more entertainment. The movie appealed more to the romantic side of viewers than anything. The movie doesn’t lack creativity, but it is shallow in detail and excitement. It seems as if Stephanie Meyers wrote the story specifically as a romance, and it just isn’t cut out for an action movie.