Twilight (2008)

Notification arrived that a review of Twilight should have appeared in this space before now (Sorry, C!), so here is my hurried-off-the-cuff-5-hours-of-sleep replica of a real review.

The Twilight series of books first came to my attention by way of a good friend. We made a trade-off bargain. I'd read Twilight and she'd read a book I'd been begging HER to read. I liked the vampire novel enough to read the two sequels. When the fourth book was published, I re-read the first three in order to read the fourth. (I couldn't remember them well enough to go on to the sequel without a re-read.)

I purposely didn't re-read Twilight before the movie, so as to avoid the book-movie comparison game that fans often must play. Then again, I'm not a typical Twilight fan, as Bella gets on my last nerve. To make matters worse, I am on Team Jacob. (I know - horrors!) So, my expectations were not perhaps the same as many Twilight fangirls. I hoped to enjoy the movie and perhaps to get a better insight into why people find Bella and Edward so compelling, since I don't apparently get the full extent of it through reading.

Several of my friends are also Twilight fans and we cooked up a plan to go to the midnight movie release. So, souped up on caffeine and hyped up after eating out, seven of us converged on the local theater last night to experience Twilight on the big screen. A midnight show gets out past 2 am, you understand.

So, what did you think of the movie? That question has been posed to me several times last night and throughout the day. Even though my expectations were not high, I felt that they weren't fulfilled. I didn't get any better understanding of the romance between Bella and Edward. I have heard speculation that the low budget of the film created some of the problems with the film, and that could be. But I think there are many issues that could have been solved without throwing more money at them.

I was disappointed in the casting of Robert Pattinson as Edward from the beginning. His looks don't come close to the ethereal angelic beauty described by author Stephenie Meyer. I was hoping that seeing him in action would change my mind, but by the end, I was convinced that the casting director had made a horrible mistake. As much as I hate to say it, the acting was not high caliber by any of the major characters.

Other problems? Special effects were poorly rendered. Key scenes and lines were left out or changed thus leaving the characters without their proper motivations. Pointless scenes were written and added unnecessarily. What's more? Scenes that should have been serious or sentimental instead elicited laughs from the audience. If anyone should grasp the nuances of your movie, it should be the fans that come out at midnight to see it. If they laugh when they should be crying? Not good. Not good at all.

There were things I did like. I liked the kiss. You'll know which one I mean. I enjoyed the baseball-in-a-thunderstorm scene. The school kids seemed realistic and I liked the interplay between the characters at school. I want Bella's hair. (Does that count?) Some of the secondary characters were spot-on with their portrayals - Billy, Charlie, James, and Jessica, for instance. I got a hint (only a hint, though) of the Jacob we may see in New Moon (TEAM JACOB!) and that was promising. I didn't detest the film, and I didn't love it. I suppose that leaves me feeling lackadaisical about it.

My poor sleep-deprived mind is now grasping at straws and I must conclude. Maybe I will be able to be more coherent another day and add to this review. Or maybe it'll just stand this way - a half-baked review for a so-so movie. Worth seeing? Depends on your level of commitment to the Twilight fandom. You decide.

Oh yeah, one more thing. Now I am on TEAM CHARLIE!!!

LINKS:
Plugged In review
IMDB page
Screenit.com Info - Coming soon

Comments

Denise Bryant said…
You reviews are always well written. I can't see the appeal behind the movie, but I didn't read the books either...
Christy said…
That was a very well written and balanced review. Thanks!
Unknown said…
I am TOTALLY TEAM JACOB, too!!!! Haha! I REALLY enjoyed the books much more...I think they could have cut 200 pages out of the 4th one, though.

Too much fun!
Niffercoo said…
Hmmmm.

Hmmmm.

Hmmmm.

;)

At least I read your review, right? LOL

New Moon is official now... will you go see it?

(Mom saw Twilight tonight with me and loved it, too! LOL)

Popular posts from this blog

A to Z Website Meme

Booking Through Thursday - Sticky

October Reads