Really? The Host was pretty substandard in my eyes. The critic response has been pretty positive. Hoping to catch a theatre screening tomorrow at TIFF. Still, BIG expectations.
I love The Host, so you might totally disagree.
Usually Bong Joon Ho movies give me a big pleasure rush from all these clashing tones coming together to create this weird new feeling of unease and energy. There's a couple of moments where that feeling almost comes together but for the most part it ends up feeling like disjointed parts from a bunch of different films that don't work together. With the exception of Giancarlo Esposito's nicely restrained turn, the Mirando corp people have stepped out of this really loud cartoon satire with overwritten faux clever dialogue. They never feel like they belong in the same film with Mija, who's like a Miyazaki heroine.
The animal rights activists lead by Paul Dano work better, and their material balances the serious commentary with comedy nicely. But Bong can't help himself in overindulging in grotesque caricature that's over stressing the point whenever he focuses closely on the political/social satire elements.
Bong is still a really good action filmmaker and there's some fun chases early on, but this lacks the kind of ingenious visuals and staging that made his earlier work stand out. The direction is much more conventional than I was expecting.
The above reads really negative but the movie is definitely interesting and unusual and has some great moments, so I would encourage anyone interested to check it out. A friend of mine completely loved it. I just went in with huge expectations, as Bong Joon-Ho is one of my favourite working filmmakers.
Just saying, adjust expectations. Outside of Peter Bradshaw's 5 star take, the reviews are less gushing than what' greeted everything else Bong's put out.
