All right, folks. I was there at 12:01 a.m., when the film adaptation of Stephanie Meyer’s inescapable Twilight finally rolled out at movie theaters across North America this morning. Surrounded by rabid fangirls, Twilight Moms, and bemused theater employees, I procured my seat, grabbed some Diet Pepsi and M&Ms, and I got ready to be dazzled …
Twilight is a very accurate adaptation. The plot never sways too far from the source, and lines of dialogue and narration have been pulled directly from the novel. The scenery and location shots are pitch perfect. Bella, as portrayed by Kristen Stewart, is done well. And the film is fun – funner than I expected. For such a heavy (even, dare I say, melodramatic?) story, director Catherine Hardwicke really made time for light hearted moments, and these snippets (Bella shopping for prom dresses with her classmates, or the parade of local Forks boys that try to catch her eye, for example) balance the darker elements of the film. The complicated relationship that Bella has with her father, Charlie, is also handled respectfully. In fact, at times, I found myself more interested in that relationship than in the Romeo & Juliet plot.
Unfortunately, my appreciation for the movie is not universal. While entertaining, it’s not a total home run. It stinks, but I do have a few complaints that prevent me from fully embracing Twilight’s vampire kiss …
Because of the film’s slavish devotion to the book (Meyer even cameos – keep your eyes peeled for her as a customer in one of the diner scenes), some of the lamer elements of the novel handicap the movie. The biology class scene where Edward is physically repelled by his bloodlust for Bella is a strong example. While the scene reads tense in the book, it comes off as over-the-top and comedic in the movie. Not effective. I also wasn’t a fan of the low-budget special effects. Hey Summit Entertainment: invest in some decent CGI when you greenlight the sequel, already!
Then there’s the make-up. The human characters look okay, but the vampires are overly caked in pasty makeup that distracts way more than it appeals. Peter Facinelli, who plays Carlisle Cullen, looks particularly — and amusingly — anemic whenever he appears.
And finally, there’s Edward himself. Robert Pattinson, the actor cast as the “godlike” male lead who’s been creating a veritable hullabaloo in tween and teen culture these past few months, was a total disappointment! He’s attractive, sure, but his performance stood out like a sore thumb. Overacted, and overly pale, he just got too close to clownish for me in too many vital scenes. Stewart completely out-acts him, which literally sucks, because in more capable hands, I suspect the unintentionally funny scenes could have felt more emotionally grounded.
So what’s a Twilight fan to do? Don’t worry. Like I said, the movie is fun. It’s entertaining, respectful of the source material, and definitely worth a Friday night trip to the cinema. It’s just not perfect – but then, what film adaptations of popular books ever are? And no matter what, we’ll all have a blast debating merits of both, so grab some girlfriends and check it out – we’d love to hear all of your thoughts and opinions here!
Love from Los Angeles,
Jami B.
I can’t wait to see it!
Hey, I noticed in previews and trailers and such that the actual film or something makes everything look redder. Like in the cheesy “Say it- Vampire!” scene Kristen’s face looks really red while everything else in the background looks really bleak and pale. Is it like that a lot? I haven’t seen it yet (going tonight) and was wondering, because that has bugged me in all the trailers.
Ok, rewatched the trailer and she wasn’t reddish in that scene. But in the cafeteria where Rob held the apple like the cover she was.
I spent my day surrounded by crazy fangirls in homemade TEAM EDWARD t-shirts who’d had (at most) three hours sleep and (at least) three Red Bulls and lattes because of this movie.
Oh, how my head hurts.
You’re right, it looks like they did do some post production work (not sure if its a filter or color correction, or what) that played with the color tones. The effect makes the greens and blues and drippy aspects of Forks stand out, as a pallette, and likewise, really brings out the white, pale skin on most of the main players.
The NEW MOON sequel film was officially announced today by the production co – Summit Entertainment. Lets hope they improve the CG, at least!
Twilight the movie is definitely fun and entertaining. I love it as an adaptation of the book, but I don’t love it as a movie per se. It fell short in many ways as a movie per se – in character development and plot development, for example.
I actually thought that Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen was glorious. I recognized the overacting, but I felt it was actually appropriate for the role because Edward Cullen “overacts” and “overeacts” throughout the series. (Even Stepehenie Meyer mentions this on her official website – how Edward always acts/reacts in an extreme way.) My friend (whose father is an actor) says, there was a lot of “ham and cheese” (hamminess and cheesiness) in Robert Pattinson’s performance. I responded that there really is a lot of “ham and cheese” in Edward Cullen in the books! So that performance was just right for me. LOL.