The Host (2013)

Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Max Irons, & Jake Abel

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Director Andrew Niccol (Gattaca, In Time) is known for taking ideas presented in short stories and turning them into something magical for the big screen. The Host is loosely based on Robert Silverberg's classic, Passengers, and tells the story of aliens who come to earth and use human beings as host bodies. Once inside, the aliens replace their humans consciousness for their own purposes, but some are able to resist this process and even control their alien host. Melanie Stryder (Saoirse Ronan) is one of those people, and while she can't rid herself of the alien presents inside of her, she can control it. Saoirse Ronan stars and it is great to finally see her in a movie that is worth while. Ronan is one of the top young actresses in Hollywood, but she keep playing roles like Hanna, in terrible films that do little more than to allow her to show off her talent. In those films, she was the only thing worth watching, so putting her in a film that's actually good, really gave her the opportunity to shine and she was amazing. Ronan played the role of Melanie, trapped in her own body but also played the alien Wanda that was inside of her. Once gaining control of Wanda, Melanie seeks out her family, which are part of the resistance. He main love interest is played by Max Irons, who was also terrific. Known more as a model and background character, this was really one of his first starring roles, and he was fantastic, playing a man caught between his love for this girl and his hatred for the alien inhabiting her. The Host has it all, an alien race, chasing a fugitive on the run, leading up to a major dilemma, wrapped inside a love story. Silverberg's Passenger is a favorite of mine and I knew with Andrew Niccol at the helm that this was going to be a good film, but I had no idea how innovative and intense the story would be, and for that, The Host is the latest film to join our list of must see movies.