The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

In an attempt to fill the hollowness left by the conclusion of the Twighlight Saga,  The Host is brought to us by the one and only Stephenie Meyer.  This time, producers have turned to director Andrew Niccol, hoping that the man who wrote The Truman Show and The Terminal will bring in some much needed complexity and wit. 

Unfortunately, the result of the collaboration doesn’t pay off.

Set in the distant future, aliens – named ‘Souls’ – have descended and conquered the planet.  Taking over the bodies of nearly every human being, they now have complete control. There are no wars or world hunger to deal with and Earth as we know it is at complete peace, but there are still a few humans refusing to accept the alien occupation, though, including Melanie (Ronan), her younger brother Jamie (Canterbury) and Melanie’s love interest, Jared (Irons).  

In next to no time, Melanie finds herself captured by top alien tracker, Seeker (Kruger), who wants to explore her human memories in order to find out where the rest of the rebels are hiding out.  Injected with an anemone-like alien named Wanderer, Melanie is turned and begins to sport the infamous luminous blue eyes – an indicator of the possession.

Soon after the procedure, Wanderer is surprised to learn that the human inside of her is still alive and kicking. After failing to provide any viable information to Seeker, Melanie tricks Wanderer and escapes to the desert to reunite with her family and her lover Jared. Things, naturally, get complicated when she meets Ian (Abel); another rebel fighter who quickly falls for her. 

Now, not only does she have to keep Seeker and her army of aliens at bay, but she also has to face the fact of having feelings for two guys at the same time. Life is tough.

You just can’t keep Stephenie Meyer down, right now.  The celebrated novelist, whose Twilight series made her the best thing since sliced bread, crafts yet another love triangle and it’s not surprising to see that the story targets teenage girls, who will probably eat this latest – supposedly planned trilogy – right up. However, the most surprising thing of all is how Niccol ever came to be attached to the film in the first place. Furthermore, what is with the luminous eyes, again? Lazy, absurd and self-contradicting, The Host fails to amuse or entertain and the sterile and lifeless dystopia that Niccol creates fails to engage.

The only upside of this entire film is the message it tries to convey, but when projected through the eyes of loved up it inevitably falls short.     

Ronan, who is most remembered for her role in The Atonement, is all grown-up and is given a chance to lead, front and centre. She does a decent job, even though she spends most of her time wide-eyed and talking to herself.  While Hurt injects some sturdiness and substance as Melanie’s uncle, Jeb, Kruger is busy looking good in white – that’s the most significant thing about her overly-robotic, alien perfromance. 

Overall, and most importantly, The Host doesn’t deliver on the element of magic and intrigue that it promises. It’s another dull and overly sappy teen drama that perhaps looks better on the pages of a novel than on the silver screen.