Introverted Bella (Stewart) is starting over; leaving her life with her mother in Phoenix, Arizona, she is moving to the small town of Forks, Washington to live with her father, Charlie (Burke). Despite her desire to blend in, as the newcomer (and daughter of the town sheriff) she is the center of attention on her first day of school. However, she seems to repulse the gorgeous and mysterious Edward Cullen (Pattinson), her lab partner. Edward and his adopted siblings: Alice (Green) and Emmett Cullen (Lutz), and twins Rosalie (Reed) and Jasper (Rathbone), are an elusive clique at school: eating lunch together and avoiding interaction with the other students.
Bella finds herself drawn to moody Edward. Her curiosity is piqued the more time they spend together. After he rescues her, Bella learns the family secret: they are vampires. They drink animal blood, try to live normal lives (until people notice they don't age) and refer to themselves as "vegetarians." In addition, Edward can hear people's thoughts and Alice can see the future. They fall in love, despite the complications (Edward wants to drink her blood). Life is complicated further by the arrival of three other vampires, led by James (Gigandet). They have been attacking locals, and choose Bella as their new target.
The book was better....prior to seeing this film, I began reading the Twilight novels (at this point I still need to read the fourth book). I wasn't particularly interested in either when the film was in theaters, but it seemed like everyone was talking about the series.
Bella finds herself drawn to moody Edward. Her curiosity is piqued the more time they spend together. After he rescues her, Bella learns the family secret: they are vampires. They drink animal blood, try to live normal lives (until people notice they don't age) and refer to themselves as "vegetarians." In addition, Edward can hear people's thoughts and Alice can see the future. They fall in love, despite the complications (Edward wants to drink her blood). Life is complicated further by the arrival of three other vampires, led by James (Gigandet). They have been attacking locals, and choose Bella as their new target.
The book was better....prior to seeing this film, I began reading the Twilight novels (at this point I still need to read the fourth book). I wasn't particularly interested in either when the film was in theaters, but it seemed like everyone was talking about the series.
The film was entertaining, but lacked in many ways. I was disappointed in some of the casting choices: Emmett (Kellan Lutz isn't even close to what I pictured, and he was one of my favorite characters), Rosalie (she is supposed to be breathtaking, but I wasn't wowed), Jacob (he works here, but I worry about future films). I wasn't impressed with the director (or her resume) or the writer. I understand the stakes (the book has a huge fan base), but they tried to pack too much into too little: characters were downgraded and useless scenes remained. Some places were too long...
Teen girls love it, but film critics don't seem to understand the appeal and choose to bash it and the people who enjoy it (Rogert Ebert, Film Critic.com, among others). It is a mainstream film marketed for teen girls, and it reached that audience. It might not have the cool cinematic tricks reserved for high brow/indie films, but that isn't the goal. It is a teen romance, not a cinematic masterpiece.
Twilight (2008) 122 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for some violence and a scene of sensuality.
Director: Catherine Hardwicke
Starring: Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan
Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen
Billy Burke as Charlie Swan
Ashley Green as Alice Cullen
Nikki Reed as Rosalie Hale
Jackson Rathbone as Jasper Hale
Kellan Lutz as Emmett Cullen
Peter Facinelli as Dr. Carlisle Cullen
Elizabeth Reaser as Esme Cullen
Cam Gigandet as James
Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black
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