Review: "Twilight"
Friday, November 21, 2008 at 1:40PM | By Franck Tabouring 
Seen on: November 21, 2008
The players: Director: Catherine Hardwicke, Writer: Melissa Rosenberg, Cast: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Billy Burke, Peter Facinelli, Elizabeth Reaser, Cam Gigandet, Nikki Reed
Facts of interest: Catherine Hardwicke also directed "Thirteen."
The plot: It's the story of Bella, a human who falls in love with Edward, a vampire.
Our thoughts: Hardcore “Twilight” fans will certainly get their money’s worth in Catherine Hardwicke’s big-screen adaptation of the popular Stephenie Meyer novel, but there’s a chance people who haven’t read the book but would still like to find out what the fuss is all about may actually end up watching a boring film.
Before I go on about this, let me point out that I have not read any of the “Twilight” books, which is why I can’t discuss how the movie compares to its source material. From what I’ve heard so far, the film version seems to be pretty close to the book, but I’m going to leave it at that. My take here is solely based on “Twilight” the movie.
So, is it a good movie? While I won’t say it’s an absolute disaster, I can’t get quite excited over it either. To me personally, it’s just a dragging, forgettable experience that tries too hard to please its fans and pretty much fails to offer those who don’t know much about it a good show. In other words, I was disappointed by what I saw.
In the film, Kristen Stewart stars as Bella, a Phoenix girl who decides to take a break from her current life with her mother by moving in with her dad in the rainy town of Forks, Washington. Shortly after settling in she meets and falls in love with Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), a weird guy who eventually turns out to be a friendly vampire.
Bella’s acquaintance with Ed and her discovery of his true identity is pretty much all the plot spends the flick’s first hour with, but I can’t say it either entertained me or moved me emotionally. The final part at least speeds up a little via a couple of action scenes, but the way there is a little too long and too shallow for my taste.
I can see why these characters appeal to a lot of people, and I’m sure they could have come across as a lot more intriguing and credible without the utterly simplistic and cheesy dialogue. Edward’s overprotective nature, Bella’s absence of fear, and both their willingness to do whatever it takes to be together definitely make for a sappy but romantic story, but the lines Pattinson and Stewart get to work with often sound fake and ridiculous.
Additionally, some of the subplots in the film are rushed and hardly engaging, such as the threat posed by James (Cam Gigandet), one of the bad vampires who considers Bella a tasty snack and just can’t seem to let go of her. The resulting hunt and the film’s more action-loaded finale fail miserably.
Although the special effects stink, the film is otherwise visually pleasing, and Hardwicke’s direction is mostly decent enough and during some sequences even quite interesting. One scene during which the Cullen family plays baseball amidst an approaching thunderstorm is actually rather captivating.
Stewart has some solid acting experience, and although she looks uncomfortable (and very pale) at first, she eventually turns in a convincing performance. Pattinson doesn’t seem to put that much effort into this role as the dead-looking Edward, but at least he and Stewart share a credible enough chemistry that, again, is often undermined by silly dialogue.
Freaky quote: “You know, your mood swings are kinda giving me whiplash." – Kristen Stewart
The final word: “Twilight” fans will like this movie no matter what, and they’ll certainly be just as excited about future sequels, which we know are now officially on the way. My only hope is the filmmakers will put more effort into the story next time. I can see the potential in this thing, but this first film didn’t sell it to me well enough to win me over. Suck on that.
Article by Franck Tabouring
Reader Comments (13)
The book is just as boring, silly, and shallow, and takes a lot longer to get through. I couldn't force myself to finish it. I was hoping the movie might edit, condense, and speed up the plot, since vampire stories are generally sexy, dangerous fun.
Oh well.
THIS BOOK IS AMAZINGGGG. i suggest it to anyone, even if you think the plot sounds so stupid cause i agree i think it does also but trust me(and i dont like to read to much) this book was by far the most fabulous thing i have ever read. EVER.
and p.s. JACOB IS BETTER because edward is wayy to controlling and annoying. just throwing that outthere
Every body need love there for not only vampires stood back. It was the love story I never forget I should say, after so much of waiting just had the opportunity today to see it. Wonderful movie for young people who needs to know the power of love whether it was vampire love feels in same way. http://www.80millionmoviesfree.com is most perfect story.
ummmm ...ya i am a huge fan of the book, the movie....ya that was a total joke!
I can't believe i wasted my friday night and my money on shit like that !
ughhhhhhhhh!!! Was Rob suppose to look constipated the whole movie? cuz i was like pissing myself laughing at how stupid his expressions were throughout the movie. And i don't see why everyone thinks kristen is such a fantastic actress? The girl can barely act her way out of a paper bag! GEEZ the meadow scene looked like he was sweating not sparkling and what the HELL was up with charlie and the pepper spray?
I AM a hardcore fan...of the BOOKS the movies were like Twilight spoof or something, get better special effects, directions, change the whole script entirely cuz it was too terrible for words and get people who can ACT, i mean whatever just change the no emotions Bella and the constipated, sweating freak Rob ( cuz he aint an edward).
very generous to give it that many stars. I give it a 2, it what way to choppy and, the whole movie led up to nothing... it was just start to finish nothing great happened in between. And james whole scene was a big disappointment because well, he didnt even seem like a big threat at all like they took care of him easy peasy no struggle. IT was a disappointment and embarassment to stephenie meyers AMAZING novels.
I think your wrong about twilight fans liking the movie no matter what.I was very disappointed and I love the books.The script was way off from the book and the dialogue horrible, it took all the humor and personality from the characters.I think the end result is due to a bad script, a cheap studio, bad cinematography, horrible special fx, and bad direction.I think they had a great cast that was totally able to become these characters but its obvious the director didnt do her job.Edward&Bella on film werent anyway close to whats in the book, there were glimpses and the kissing scene was the only part that displayed any true longing and desire that shouldve been present the whole movie,I believe the actors were capable just not guilded properly to portray these characters.And the script doesnt leaves out so many key points and adds in a story line about James to appeal to more guys??? I cant believe the director when she talks about how much she cares about this film and changes the story to make more money, they couldve used the time to stick to the original story line about James losing Alice and taking it out on Bella the revelation cements her and Alices relationship as well as in the Cullen family I dont know how they can make the second film when theyve made such a choppy flimsy first one.They did such a bad job establishing a true love in twilight that the suffering and pain Bella and Edward go through in New Moon will seem more like self inflicted torture and over reaction than a shakespearen tragedy.
I thought Twilight was a great movie. It could have had better special effects, I'll admit, but hopefully they'll use a bigger budget for New Moon and clean that whole thing up. I think that you Twilight fans who are hating on the movie really need to put the entire thing in perspective. Of course you thought it was choppy. You're used to the book, which was STEPHENIE MEYER. And the book obviously had to have more in it. When I first began watching Twilight, I thought that Rob Pattinson and Kristen Stewart did not look like my Edward and my Bella. But I came to believe them in the roles. Everyone has a different interpretation. But overall, I found the entire film very entertaining and I was very grateful to see a portrayal of my favorite book on the big screen.
i dont know i saw the twilight movie w/ my girlfriend n we both thought it was prety good. neither of us have read the books. i dont think i would want to read an entire book w/ th same plot but i liked the movie and thought it was funny.
Thanks for the info about Twilight. Too Shy to Stop just published two new reviews of the film, one from a young man who didn't read the book, and one from a young woman who did. You can read Adam's review here and Samantha's review here.
I liked the movie and the books. I liked the book, Vrakluna:Origin of the Vampire better. It was more adult romance and definitely had blood in it. Shouldn't vampires actually feed on blood? I have an extra copy, hit me up or you can go to Amazon. The author's name is Benjamin G. King.
I loved the book, but the movie just wasn't great. The sad thing is that it could have been. The changes that were made to the original story didn't add anything; instead they made the story less appealing. It just turned out to be a cheesy movie!
Some of my complaints: I don't remember the characters in the book being pasty faced and wearing lipstick or being natural brunettes with very fake blond dye jobs. I remember them being paler than normal with dark cirlces under their eyes. The thing that made them stand out was their beauty. The actors are pretty hot in real life; the makeup made them look goofy.
Rosalie was supposed to be a beautiful blonde. Nikki Reed is a very stunning brunette, but it just didn't fit. Peter Facinelli could've looked natural and played Carlisle just fine. Jasper came across like a tortured Edward Scissorhands...very weird acting dude.
I am hoping the sequel will be better because it can be!
WOW!! now i know i'm a bit late to the party and all but we english chicks didn't get the movie til mid dec (great marketing move FYI), so please....no haters for the latecomer :) i am a massive fan of the books and not for the no sex, true love reason, or the sexy vampire things going on and i did find the books to be a little cheddarsome......however, as an escape from real life crap i think the books offer an easily read and quite absorbing sojourn into fantasy land (and it is fantasy so she can write vampires however she likes)
my husband and i went to see the film and i thought for the money summit provided the entire film crew and cast did a great job, the true twihards would have gone mental if some of the cheesy lines weren't in it - seriously!! i found it entertaining and rob pattinson some rather serious eye candy....yummy :)
i' ve always liked extra cheese on my pizza so maybe this is why i find the movie flavoursome and easy on the palate, but i can see it wouldn't be everyone's cup of char.......
anyhoo, i couldn't have done any better :)
I'm gonna have to say I'm pretty much a Twilight fan - even though I think the books are quite badly written but overall the story is good. However, I don't believe the film captures the book at all. They changed a lot of scenes which is frankly pretty annoying and they certainly don't develop characters which are of great significance in the book (Alice & Jacob). Also, I thought they rushed it, it could of been longer (people were gonna go see it anyway) and they didn't really explain a lot about it.
However, I am looking forward to New Moon and I think Chris Weitz will be the better option as a director.