Twilight by Stephenie Meyer - Movie Review

By June Williams On November 23, 2008 In Reviews: Movies 17 Comments

Twilight - Movie Review

The Twilight novels have built up a huge fanbase. Did the movie live up to the hype? The good, the bad and the corny.

Director: Catherine Hardwicke
Writers:Melissa Rosenberg (screenplay), Stephenie Meyer (novel)
Stars: Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner,Robert Pattinson
Romance

Spoilers Below

 

Twilight has a HUGE fandom presence. These new fans are called Twilighters, Fanpires, Twihards and there is even a special category for the middle-aged women - Twi-Moms.

I must begin by telling you that I have never read the books upon which this movie is based. My perceptions are influenced only by what I have seen onscreen.

I was aware going in that this was to be a movie about teenagers and vampires. Having imbibed my share of vampiric fiction as well as been a fan of Forever Knight, Buffy, Ultraviolet and True Blood I am reasonably familiar with the
genre.

How I wish an editor had refined the first third of the movie. The story of the new girl in town finding her way was told in a manner that was dead boring. Kristen Stewart who plays Bella makes you wonder what could ever cause the century old vampire that is Edward Cullen to not only take an interest in her, but be instantaneously smitten by her at first whiff.

Bella first arrives in her biology classroom and a convenient fan blows her hair about like the heroine of an old romance novel perched on the tip of a cliff. The reaction to this by Edward Cullen is the uber obvious move of putting his hand over his mouth, which everyone in the audience is aware means he is hiding his fangs-to-meet-you look.

Bella perceives this as him becoming nauseous at the thought of her sitting next to him. There is nothing in the movie to distinguish her from the other kids at school. No special powers, no calling, nothing at all. I am hoping that the books let the reader in on the reason, but the movie does no more than hint about halfway through that the telepathic Edward can’t read her mind. That causes her to be compelling to him, that and also his belief her blood would be like “heroin”.

This is romance with a big R - the kind of trappings you might see on a fannish web page filled with hearts and flowers with extra glitter and sparkles.

Charlie Swan was born and raised in Forks, Washington. Through his life-long friendships with Billy Black and Harry Clearwater, he is the prime connection to the Native American tribe in Forks.

Now for the things I liked. The use of Native American folklore to explain to both the audience, and Bella, about the Cullen family ties to the area was done well. Having a couple of Native American actors play realistic-seeming people who have every reason to be connected to Bella and her father was another plus.

Bella’s father was not only likeable; he was someone I could relate to. It was easy to understand why Bella chose to live with her dad after seeing what life with her flighty, but loving, mother and her new husband would have been like.

As far as I am concerned the movie didn’t take off till the baseball scene. All American vegetarian vampires playing baseball in a thunderstorm was definitely my favorite part of the movie.

The predictable and sometimes spectacular chase and rescue scenes did not suck in a bad way. ALL the actors that played vampires did so believably. Especially endearing was the entire Cullen family. I would have loved to hear more of the history of Dr. Carlisle Cullen who is father to this clan. I’ve mixed feelings on the soundtrack. It fit the scenes but in some cases was so overblown as to make what was supposed to be a very serious moment into something campy yet at other times it was spot on.

Bottom line is that if you have not read the books what you see is what you get. I’m sure it is more enjoyable if you are a tween or even a teen who was a tween when the first novel was published. The person I saw the movie with said it had the feel of an ABC TV after school special. Having never watched any of those myself I’ll leave it for you to say if they were right or wrong about that. If you are over 18 and on a budget this is not the first film to rush out to see this holiday season. On the other hand it certainly is not the worst film I’ve seen in the past 3 years. I’ll give it a B-.

by June Williams

 

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Twilight - Movie Review
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Twilight - Movie Review
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The Twilight novels have built up a huge fanbase. Did the movie live up to the hype? The good, the bad and the corny.
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June Williams

June Williams

June, also known affectionately as Buzzy Lady #2, has been with the company since it began. She was born in Manhattan, raised in the Bronx (the first 12 years in the heart of the south Bronx) and spent most of her adult life living in Westchester County N.Y.

Always a Science Fiction fan and dabbler in writing she had thought herself too practical to pursue a career in the field. Before coming to Buzzy she spent over 30 years in the travel industry, then one day decided it was time to spread her wings and plunge into publishing. Everyone she knew thought she had gone slightly daft but as this was not the first time they had expressed that opinion she took the red pill anyway and now spends all of her time putting together projects that make each day a pleasure.

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  • Amy L

    This is the first review that came up and I’m glad it did. Most reviews of this movie are way over the top frenzied oh! positives. From what I’ve read and heard from those who have seen it, that is. People are snatching up memorabilia from the movie - from posters to necklaces that look like they contain blood at such a rate it makes me wonder if the PR people have learned a trick or two about hypnotizing others and/or its like the mob mentality but in sheepdom, one person joins the baa wagon and everyone follows suit.

    However, I have to admit, I’ve been tempted and really want to get the books and see the movie. I’ve been half in love with vampires for as far back as I can remember, decades, and this one seems to be fairly good.

    As for Bella being ordinary with no special powers, no calling, nothing at all, I think such a heroine is perfect and no great mystery. Not everyone is drop dead gorgeous, with psychic powers or a great calling however, every day these people meet others, sometimes charismatic like Edward sometimes ordinary like themselves and there is love or Recognition of Love at first sight. A drawing towards that person.

    I do like that you cementing my feeling that its not just a vampire movie, that, like I’ve read elsewhere, that’s just part of it, like a family being christian or baseball fanatics. That there is more of a three dimensional story here then blood suckers and their willing or unwilling victims.

  • June Williams

    Thank you Amy. I really do aim at fair and balanced even with authors or filmakers that I either adore or abhor.

    I’m not sure whether the rush of memorabilia is generated as much by the film as it is by the source books. Stephanie Meyers’ vampire romance books seems to have hit the tween through teens like a tsunami over the last few years and no doubt all that built up feeling is at least in part responsible.

    As to Bella, while the movie only hinted at her being something other than an average teenager. I’m betting that the books explain why she is the only one whose thought Edward could not read.

  • Charity Owensby

    I haven’t read any of the books either, and even though I knew that this was a teen romance at it’s core I decided to go see it. The theater was packed with girls of course, but these managed to keep their excitement mostly to themselves.
    I’ve always loved vampires in all the various forms they’ve taken over the years, and honestly this was no exception. I was prepared for the teen aspect and the love story arc, so I was able to open-mindedly enjoy the movie for what it was.
    Overall though I agree with the review, it had good points and bad, which is something I haven’t seen much of in a review of this movie or of the books.
    The baseball scene was my favorite as well. I also liked the scene in which Bella meets the whole family for the first time. There were moments that I found the movie genuinely funny, if a bit campy, which was something I hadn’t really expected.
    I could have done without the glitter though, but that may be just because I’m not 13 anymore.

  • Kayce C

    I’m glad I read this. I’ve been eyeing this book for a few weeks, and have considered buying it. You changed my mind. Thank you.

  • seems likely that they will come out with a Twilight sequel pretty soon, there’s a crazy lot of ticket sales at stake

  • Cindy M.

    I’m terrible at putting my thoughts about movies and books into coherent words; I just know what I like and what I don’t, but I’ll give it a shot. I have read the books, so that tends to color my perceptions of the movie to some extent. In my opinion, it’s rare for a movie to measure up or compare to how and what you saw in your ‘mind’s eye’ when you read a book. I bought the first book when it first came out in hardback for my then 16 year old daughter; she saw “Twilight” in a bookstore and thought that it looked interesting. After reading it, she insisted that I read it too since we’re both avid readers and enjoy the genre. Since then, we’ve read all of the books in the series as they’ve been published. Over-all, the movie does a very good job of following the look and ‘feel’ of the book. I liked how they got across the closeness of the Cullen family and Bella’s somewhat awkward relationship with her dad.

    On to the movie- My husband and I saw it with our daughter; he knew nothing about the book series or the movie except for some of the publicity that he had caught on TV and even on National Public Radio. His first comment after leaving the movie was “It wasn’t too bad.” I think that he was able to enjoy it more than I did because he had little or no expectations; I don’t think that it’s a movie that he would have seen if our daughter hadn’t wanted to see it. She enjoyed it more than I did also; the sparkling vampires and way-too-many longing looks were a bit much at times. Maybe I’m just too jaded and cynical. Seriously though, it is Young Adult literature, so I shouldn’t be so critical of the angsty scenes.

    Not to be a ‘copy cat’, but I have to say my husband and I both liked the baseball game most of all. The fun, action, intensity and speed of it was enjoyable, and it was very similar to how I had pictured it when reading the book. Over-all, the movie was fairly well done, and the actors did a good job in their roles. I’ll be tempted to forgo seeing the sequel(s) at a movie theater, and mostly likely will wait to watch it/them on a cable movie channel.

    One more comment about the book series – I’ve had conversations with 2 adult, professional men who really got caught up in reading the books. They brought it up to me because they know that I enjoy the genre, but honestly, I was very surprised at the level of interest and enjoyment from them since I see them as Young Adult Paranormal Romance novels. As far as quality and style of writing, the books are no where nearly as well written as the Harry Potter series, in my opinion, but on the other hand, if it’s gets people reading, it’s good. 🙂

  • June K.Williams

    Thank you so much Cindy. There is nothing like having someone who knows the source materiel very well to understand if the filmakers were successful in translating it onto the screen. I wish there were more scenes that showed the closeness of the Cullen family. Perhaps in future films they could not only include more of that but more of the backstory of how they all came to be together. As Greensboro does have a end-of-the-run movie house over on High Point Road that has a $2.50 admission I might still see those sequals on a big screen, just not at full price. 🙂

  • Sally Sundeen

    There was so much buzz about this movie that I think so many people EXPECTED so much out of it. One thing I have learned in my years is I prefer books to movies. it’s fun and entertaining to watch the movie after you’ve read the book, however I love the detail of a book, and I believe that I would have preferred to read the book before i saw the movie. You need the back story. From what I’ve heard from other viewers is that they aren’t familiar with the past of either of the characters, and it leaves you wanting more information. That is why I am not going to watch the movie before I read the book. THanks for the great review I really appreciate it.

  • i never read the books either, i’m more of a Potthead, get it?! Anyways, i came into the movie feeling very bitter towards it, and for some reason i found myself somewhat liking it, the teen girl in me really liked the whole, i like you, no i don’t, let’s kiss, but now i don’t like you anymore but i really do! I guess that was the first third of the movie, and then it got to the vampire stuff, i didn’t like that part as much because i thought there could have been more character development, but whatever. It was still on ok movie, nothing to wet your pants about really, i rather see interview with the vampire!

  • June K. Williams

    The one complaint that seems widespread is that the teenage girls in Stephanie Meyers novels act and speak in a relatively normal way in every aspect but speaking to and about the opposite sex. Then they revert to the kind of speech you would be more likely to associate with a pre-teen. Many said she was just pandering or talking down to the YA market her books are aimed at. Now that I know more about her personal history this view of teens make more sense. She was raised as a Mormon, graduated from Brigham Young University, and is still a member of the LDS. Her background makes her dialog more understandable the way Ann Rice’s Catholicism affects her writing.

  • Ed Nemmers

    Is this movie a commentary on teen abstinence? I thought that I had read this somewhere. If so, I found it strange that everyone was so traditionally beautiful/handsome.

  • Theresa Shafer

    I read the books. All of the series in one lost weekend. I laughed. I wondered. I enjoyed the twists and turns. I saw in my mind’s eye what they looked liked and how they belonged to each other by invisible binds. The attraction between them. ROMANCE.
    So… I know movies try to capture that magic that is the book. Parts are cut out and changed to make it flow in 90 plus minutes….but the two of them were dull, boring, and did not even try to have a spark between them. I was very disappointed.

    Maybe …OK… I wanted more and got less. The movie was dead. A shadow of what it could be. It seemed the two main actors did not even like each other let alone were supposed to be deeply in love trying to hide and deny that love.

    grade C - just below average. The two did not deliver.

  • Barbara McCrea

    I am so glad I found your review I bought the set of books for my daughter, who loved them until the last one and almost refused to finish reading it, I had heard all the hype about the movie and was thinking about buying it, but after your review I think I’ll pass on this one. Thanks for saving the money for me!

  • Mrs. Leonard

    I have read the first book and thought it was just so-so. I had to force myself to finish it. The movie, though, was a bit better. I also enjoyed the portrayal of the Cullen family. On a more superficial note, I imagined Edward to be MUCH more handsome in the book than he was in the movie. 🙂

  • Lori Ann Lee

    According to http://www.dictionary.com, the definition of the word “Twilight” is “the soft, diffused light from the sky when the sun is below the horizon, either from daybreak to sunrise or, more commonly, from sunset to nightfall.”

    To the pre-pubescent, horny, and obsessed teenage girls of the world, the definition of the word “Twilight” is “the bible. A sacred, beautiful piece of art in which she goes to every night. An example of how she can be with that rebellious boy in math class that she just knows she can’t be with… But she does it anyway. The idea that guys CAN be perfect.”

    To the boys that are trying to get in the pants of those pre-pubescent, horny, and obsessed teenage girls, the word “Twilight” means “the death of relationships; The acknowledgement of his un-sexiness and inability to climb trees like a spider monkey, gleam in the sunlight, and refrain from sexual activity.”

    My definition of the word “Twilight”: “The end of the world as we know it.”

  • Administrator

    Please Lori Ann, don’t hold back, tell us what you really think of the Twilight phenomena:)

  • Amy G.

    I read the book before I saw Twilight, but I think even if I didn’t read the book first that I would have enjoyed the movie anyways. I think they did a good job of explaining why Bella stuck out- the other girls mention how the boys at school act like Bella is a shiny new toy. So just the fact that she’s new would draw attention, then her scent- just reading the synopsis of the movie, that Edward is a vampire, let’s the audience know why he’s shielding his face in the classroom, and the fact that he can’t read her mind all draws him in. I also think you could probably argue that the love between Bella and Edward is love at first bite, I mean sight, lol. The movie isn’t Oscar-worthy, but it’s pretty enjoyable. It’s got a great cast- I love Taylor Lautner, an awesome soundtrack, and a good story.