The Host (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
by Bong Joon-ho
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DVD Cover Information
Director: Bong Joon-hoBrand: KANG-HO,SONG
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: Korean (Original Language); English (Original Language); Spanish (Original Language); English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Dubbed)
Format: Anamorphic, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 120 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-07-24
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Magnolia Home Entertainment
Movie Reviews of The Host (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
Movie Review: Has a good monster...and not much else
Summary: 2 Stars
A good way to judge a movie is to watch it far away from all the hype surrounding it at the time of it's release, especially when its being called just as good as Jaws or Alien (if the hype is that big, you had BETTER be good, or you are doomed). Getting some distance away from it allows you to see the movie as it is, strengths and flaws, without the cloud of hype settling in over you. With that in mind, I sat down to watch "The Host", knowing next to nothing about it, save that lots and lots of people were hyping it as the next great monster movie. When the film faded to black and the credits began to roll, the first thing on my mind was, "That's it? This is supposed to be as good as Jaws?"
Not by a long shot. Not even close.
"The Host" tells the story of a South Korean family who are trying to rescue the youngest member of their family from a giant, mutated monster who has kidnapped and taken the girl to its lair. With the government scrambling to contain and eliminate the creature, as well as a deadly virus it's carrying, it's up to the family to save the girl themselves. In the right hands, it's a story that could have been incredibly powerful emotionally, yet falls flat on it's face, turning the film into yet another monster movie with great visual effects, but a dull plot and unlikeable characters.
The family, the focus of the film, is a group of misfits, chief among them lazy and overweight dad Gang-du, who spends most of his time yelling, "Hyun-seo!" and running around. His fellow family members poke fun at him for being an idiot, and he is. When he's infected with a virus and told not to eat anything, he goes ahead and secretly scarfs down what looks like snail guts. He breaks out of quarantine with the rest of his family, threatening to spread the infection to the entire city, threatening the lives of millions of people. And at one point, his idiocy has disastrous consequences for someone else, and that point I just lost interest in him. I don't care if his daughter is in mortal danger, this man is a complete idiot whom I wanted to die. I didn't feel any sympathy for him in the slightest. The rest of his family is a little better. His older brother, who thinks going around monster hunting as a bad idea, at least has some common sense. Gang-du's father just wants to get his granddaughter back, which I can understand. Best of all is Gang's sister, Nam-joo, a national archer who is the most likable character due to the fact that she really doesn't do anything idiotic to begin with.
The biggest flaw of the film is that it just feels very loose, and in need of tightening and focusing. The tone bounces all over the place from horror to surprise to some weird comedy moments. At times, it just seems to go on for too long and would benefit from editing and shortening the script, as well as cutting out a few characters (like the homeless boys, who's introduction into the story feels jarring and out of place). The political subplots just don't work at all...the government seems well meaning and trying to take care of things, yet the film has a grudge against the united states. Not knowing the inspiration behind the jabs at the united states, I found it even more bizarre when a government agent reveals a secret about the virus that left me scratching my head...even more so when a character undergoes completely unnecessary brain surgery that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Ditto for the scene of the armed forces having a barbecue. I think the film is trying to poke fun at bumbling governments, but I never got the feeling while watching the film.
The best thing that can be said about "The Host" is that the creature itself is very cool. The visual effects are fantastic throughout, and the monster does feel like a creature that could really happen. The filmmakers also deserve credit for having the monster appear so early and in broad daylight throughout many frequent scenes, and even more credit for making the beast look realistic. I especially liked seeing a touch of personality in it during a scene in the sewers when Hyun-seo tries to escape.
But despite the excellent visual effects, "The Host" fails to impress. I was never scared or amused when I watched the film, instead feeling only disbelief and anger at how stupid the characters were. "The Host" ultimitly ends up as yet another monster movie with great visuals but unlikable characters and a dull plot, joining countless other monster movies in the same boat. The thought of this movie joining ranks with "Jaws" and "Alien" is highly amusing...those two movies have stood the test of time because of having tight, focused stories, and memorable characters who do logical things, both good and bad, in the face of monsters. While the rubber shark and the rubber suited alien will continue to thrill and enjoy audiences for decades to come, this overgrown tadpole will best be remembered as another example of how a loose and unfocused plot with unlikable characters will kill a movie, no matter how impressive the visual effects may be.
Summary of The Host (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
A young girl's family tries to rescue her from a monster living in the Han River.Genre: Horror
Rating: R
Release Date: 24-JUL-2007
Media Type: DVD
Aficionados of movie monsters will find things in The Host that they have been waiting to see all their lives: a monster lazily unfurling itself from the girders beneath a bridge, for instance, or a view from a moving elevated train that frames the monster as it gallops lustily across a park filled with scattering locals. If the realization of a creature were all this movie had going for it, director Bong Joon-ho would have enough to be proud of, but The Host offers more food for thought, and plenty of food for the monster. Bong creates both a deeply eccentric comedy about family and a cheeky gloss on political currents. The monster is created when a U.S. military doctor (Scott Wilson in an unnerving cameo) orders a South Korean soldier to discard chemicals into the Han River in Seoul. Sure enough, a toxic monster is born, as we see in an opening reel that is surely the most exhilarating monster intro in years. Our central figure--of the human variety, that is--is played by Song Kang-ho (who also starred in Bong's Memories of Murder), as a hilariously lazy slob who must fight to discover what happened to his daughter after she was snatched up by the creature. Along the way, the film makes some pointed cracks at the ease with which governments can exploit public fear for their own purposes, and there's some satire aimed at U.S. intervention in global affairs. The film has some serious lulls, and would have been a tighter, crazier head-rush if it were 90 minutes long instead of two hours. But in general this is a much smarter Godzilla movie than Godzilla movies ever were. --Robert Horton
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