It’s hard to write a review for “Twilight” objectively since, hopefully, about 95 percent of the perspective audience will have read the novel before seeing the film.
There was a lot of hype about making sure certain scenes were in the movie, or whether or not the characters were acted out properly or how director Catherine Hardwicke would be able to pull off making Edward’s skin sparkle in the same beautiful way it was described in the book (which she didn’t).
What was lost in all the fan-promotion and debate and hysteria that surrounds Stephenie Meyer’s vampire universe was what it would take to make a good movie out of the story; not as an adaptation but as a film.
“Twilight” had its moments. About 50 percent of the film was good, 20 percent was spot-on perfect, and 30 percent was just terrible. And not terrible in the way the romantic Naboo meadow scene in “Star Wars: Attack of the Clones” was terrible, but “Doom” or “The Scorpion King” or “Gigli” terrible. Terrible like the type of acting you expect out of inexperienced middle-schoolers performing the first rehearsal of “Scrooge.”
The effort was there, and for a fledgling movie studio like Summit Entertainment, who produced “Twilight” and has signed on for the next three installments in the series, “Twilight” was a valiant effort. It’s going to make them the money they need because fans of the series will ignore the acting and instead swoon over Robert Pattinson and pretend that they are standing in Kristen Stewart’s shoes (which is easier when you’re reading the book and a lot harder when you see how gorgeous they gloss Bella up to be in the movie).
People are going to go see “Twilight” if only because they’re loyal. Unfortunately, as far as movies go, the 30 percent of the movie that was downright awful irrevocably polluted the other decent parts of the movie.
Kristen Stewart did an impressive job as Bella, the protagonist of the movie who moves to Forks, Wash. on behalf of her mother to live in the always-raining town with her father and then discovers that the boy she is enamored with at Forks High School is really a vampire. Some dialogue scenes, like one towards the end where she is recovering in the hospital, ruin the movie’s illusion by Stewart’s awkward delivery, but Stewart proved herself again as one of the stronger teen talents coming out of the MTV generation.
Robert Pattinson, however, did not like up to the buildup. In fact, I doubt that few followers of the progress of the film ever even considered that Pattinson might not pull off the character of Edward, the vampire who Bella falls in love with. Most of the focus on the choice of Pattinson as the male lead was on his looks, not his capabilities.
Sure, Pattinson looked pretty, and there were a couple moments in the film where he absolutely nailed the charming an irresistible creature that Edward was supposed to be. He was nearly unbearable the first half of the movie, though. Pattinson said in an interview with Blast that he had strived to portray Edward as a tortured character who was feeling everything all at once for the first time and it was destroying him. The idea was a good one if it had been executed correctly. Instead it was just annoying watching Edward act insane throughout the first 40 minutes of film – inexplicably insane.