Sunday, March 22, 2009

Twilight

Here’s a fun experiment for everyone to try. Put yourself in a big group of females, mention the name Edward Cullen, and see how many swoon. Edward Cullen is of course one of the main characters of the Twilight series. This book series has been adapted to the big screen, with more installments to come, and was just released on DVD Narch 21st. To celebrate the big release of the DVD, many places had midnight release parties like they’ve done with Harry Potter. However, I’m sure many of our loyal readers are asking themselves what the big deal is with these movies. Let me explain to you my experience.
Twilight is the first in a series of four books. The first installment introduces us to Isabella Swan, who moves from Phoenix, Arizona to Forks, Washington to live with her dad Charlie Swan. On her first day there she meets her Biology lab partner, Edward Cullen, who seems repulsed by her very presence. However, as the film progresses and these two get to know each other, we learn that Edward, who is described as being a gorgeous model type teenager, may have more to him than we think, which could cause problems for not only his family, but also for Isabella.
I saw this movie a while ago, and have kept thinking about it. I don’t want to lead people on in believing that it is such an amazing movie that I just haven’t stopped thinking about it, because that isn’t exactly the case. I’ve read the books and hoped that the transition from book to movie would be smooth, more specifically as smooth as Edward Cullen is said to be ;). However, this is not what I experienced. I didn’t like how some of the things that were in the book got changed, and I’m not talking about slight things, like to color of the water, I mean pivotal scenes that were kind of ruined and were only slightly reminiscent of the scenes in the book. If I hadn’t read the book I probably would have liked the movie more than I did.
The acting was fine. Nothing outstanding. Robert Pattinson, who is known for being the courageous Cedric Diggory from Harry Potter, played Edward Cullen. While I’m not saying that he is bad looking in any way, I didn’t see him and this drop dead gorgeous creature that had been described in the books. He did seem tortured, which is what the character called for, but he probably also had problems with the changes from the book. Kristen Stewart fits well in the looks department with her character, Isabella. Her acting was fine but I think she needs to get deeper into the role. She said the lines right and her facials expressions were good, but I didn’t get the feeling that it went much deeper than that superficial level.
I know that this review will not go over well with the fans of Twilight, and I count myself as one of them. But before you all decide to hate me forever let me recap what I have said. The movie would have been better for me if I hadn’t known about the book. The acting was average and could have been deeper. I liked the music and the scenery as well. I am going to give this movie a 6 and challenge those involved in New Moon, the Twilight sequel to make me eat my words.

8 comments:

Dr. Worm said...

SP, I have to disagree with you. I thought Robert Pattinson was positively dreamy. And sparkly.

jbodster said...

SP, as you are well aware, I am HUGE fan of the books but, for the most part, I agree with your review. I saw the movie before I read the books and I loved it. But then I saw it a second time after having read the books and I thought the movie was lacking in all the same areas that you mentioned (with the exception of Rober Pattinson - he certainly is positively dreamy and sparkly!)

CmdLuke said...

Nothing about this movie looks good to me. Its glad to hear some true twilight fans talk about its flaws instead of just saying how amazing it is.

This just strikes me as vampire-teenage-melodrama, as I have even had fans of the series describe it to me.

I love vampires, but if you want a good vampire/human love story, please check out HBO's True Blood. Much more adult oriented.

Moshe Reuveni said...

I would just like to point at an interesting trend in your blog:
In the Spiderman reviews, the complaint was that the female lead wasn't as good looking as expected; in Twilight, the male lead is not as good looking as the book specifies.
I suspect this indicates at us generally expecting too much.

Mike said...

I don't get it.....this review tells me next to nothing about the film, characters, or what's right or wrong with the movie.

Stormy Pinkness said...

Gee Mike. I'm going to have to say the same thing to you. I gave a breif summary of the film and what I thought of the acting and casting. Is there anything else that you need to know. Essentially, I don't get what is missing.

CmdLuke said...

Moshe,

how is it a trend when there is one mention of a female character (same character twice) and one male character.

I think its just one instance of each. not a trend

Moshe Reuveni said...

CmdLuke, I was only trying to demonstrate why blind dates have a low success probability. We tend to expect too much.