The best science fiction is born from the major concerns of our times, and sometimes average-to-good science fiction emerges as well, nevertheless driven by earnest fears. Such may be the case of The Host. If you hear about its plot -- a giant monster attacks Seoul, Korea -- you might think it was ripping off Japan's Godzilla, and there could be a bit of truth in that. Not that The Host is stealing the story; rather, it's echoing it, 50 years later, and from these echoes we hear the concern about mankind continuing to ignore the potential consequences of environmentally damaging actions.

At least that's the base from which The Host starts. It begins with a seemingly insignificant event from almost a decade ago, when an American scientist working in Korea orders his Korean assistant to pour all the lab's bottles of old formaldehyde down the sink -- and straight into the Han River. Switch to present day, and suddenly an amphibious beast about the size of a small house comes leaping out of the river to feed on the people who work and play on its shores. But rather than look at this disaster from the perspective of the government and its response, the movie chooses to focus on its effects on a somewhat dysfunctional family, whose youngest member, Hyun-seo (Ko Ah-sung), is abducted by the creature as it dives back into the river.

The Host may have a bone to pick with man and his irresponsibility, which allows this monstrosity to be created (it also takes a few not-so-subtle jabs at the bullying influence of Americans), but its stronger punch comes from its satirical attack on how the government handles this emergency situation. Hyun-seo's family, consisting of her father, her grandfather, her uncle, and her aunt, are quarantined due to the father (Song Kang-ho) having come in direct contact with the creature -- as it turns out, the authorities suspect that the monster is the host of some kind of deadly virus. Officials treat the family with no sympathy for their having lost a loved one, and they prefer to see them as delusional when the father reports he's received a call from his daughter, claiming to be alive.

Director and co-writer Bong Joon-ho puts us in the boat of the family, an imperfect group of extreme personalities so goofy I was tempted to call the movie Little Miss Sunshine meets Godzilla. His message is clear -- natural disasters, such as the tsunamis and hurricanes that have recently raged over us, become personal experiences first to most everyday people, especially those who may have lost a family member or have one who could be rescued. During these times, the impersonal, inadequate forces of authority feel more like hindrances than help, and in The Host, most of the comedic and dramatic mileage comes from our intrepid family eluding not the monster, but the agents of the government.

It's a bit too bad, then, when the movie loses its steam as it hits its climax. A showdown with the creature turns out to be inevitable, and the film gives way to its more manga-inspired aspirations, jettisoning real-world metaphors in the process (after all, none of us could take personal revenge on a hurricane). Its ending is a concession to blockbuster-movie storytelling, but for the most part, The Host is a spirited endeavor at enhancing the signal sent from Godzilla so long ago, for even then, under the atomic bomb fallout, governments were not to be trusted.

(Released by Magnolia Pictures and rated "R" for creature violence and language.)

Review also posted at www.windowtothemovies.com.