It's definitely overachieved with critics, that's for sure. I watched this last night with my somewhat 'just friend' blah blah whatever she is and she fell asleep, and I would've too if I wasn't such a fan of monster movies. For some who might think this review is biased, know this: I live for monster movies, therefore it is. My 'just friend' I mentioned above can vouch for this. I have every Godzilla movie ever made on DVD (some illegal) and I have two pet dinosaur eels named Loche and Champ. Not kidding. But the fact is, this is a movie which is so packed with anti-American messages and stupid humor that it very nearly comes off as a spoof of all those things I hold dear. It really does. There are often times, like in the very beginning, when it is painfully obvious that all director Joon-ho is doing is talking about how stupid and stubborn America is. When the film starts, an American scientist tells his Korean (this is a Korean film, not a Japanese one like some people are suggesting) assistant to dump the chemical down the drain, but NOT before talking for five minutes about how dangerous it is. America rocks!
The writing is bad. And I'm not talking about the fact that the dubbing is so horrible that it's really hard to pay attention without laughing every five minutes. The monster's coming to be is classic, as in it's a product of chemical runoff, and doesn't waste time trying to explain it scientifically (The Mist did this well). This is a good thing. What's a bad thing is when the human characters' actions are so horribly written that it makes it almost painful to watch. There is one scene where two hazmat-like workers stop a truck because one saw a dollar-which was practically invisible-in a sewage drain...on the other side of the truck. Of course, they have to get out and see (because a dollar is like, what, ten times what they make in a year!) and become monster food. But that's the problem with this script, as in too many of the actions are forced and work only to move along the ridiculous story reminiscent of something from Roger Corman in 1992-oh yeah, Carnosaur. Did I mention this movie is kinda like that? It’s lazy, lazy writing.
By the way, before I continue, why is this thing rated R? Just thought I'd ask. Because, honestly, the big F-bomb comes up just once, and I think it's the only cuss word in the whole movie, and there's less gore than on an old episode of Power Rangers. The story is also substantially silly. Why is it so easy for two guys to sneak into a military base who aren't even wearing military colors? How can a drunk suddenly go all Tom Cruise on some police officers and escape a high-rise building? All these ludicrous subplots seriously detract from the monster itself. In fact, the monster seems like so little of an actual threat that it often takes a back seat to everything else happening.
And this is where I stop totally ripping this movie and talk about the good stuff: the monster itself. The 'Host' is a neat-looking, well thought of, creative, and thoroughly good monster. Its emergence from the river in the beginning is memorable beyond words, and is clearly the best scene in the movie. This monster, unlike ours like King Kong or the Japanese Godzilla, is often much more terrifying. It's quick, it's scary looking, it's brutal, and it doesn't think. It attacks, it kills, and thanks to the special effects of WETA (which worked on King Kong by the way) is simply amazing to look at. When the Host is on screen, this movie is excellent. But it’s not on screen very much.
So after watching this movie, I have found a way to make it better.
1) take out the dubbing and PLEASE just watch it in Korean with English subtitles
2) take out all of the scenes that don't have the monster in it (about an hour and a half of film time) 3) up the volume on what you have left
Simply put, The Host has some of the most intense, beautifully-rendered monster scenes ever conceived, yet it is unfortunately wrapped in what is a horrible script with horrible actors. It's like tootsie pops. You have to get through a lot of annoying lollipop to get to the good stuff, and at the end of the day it’s just not worth it.
Score: 4/10
