Twilight Movie Review

One of my least creative titles. As predicted, this is a review for the movie Twilight. This review will talk about any surprises it holds for those who have not seen it, and will also discuss some differences found in the book.

So, my overall opinion of this movie is: pretty good. I read the book first, like the weekend before seeing the movie, and when I first saw it, all I could do was compare it to the book (even though I tried so hard not to) and feel a little disappointed in the depiction of Edward. I have since seen the movie a second time, and that viewing was a whole lot more enjoyable. I noticed things I hadn't noticed before, small details that make a good movie great.

First, I should tell you, that I did not love the book Twilight. I loved the idea of it (a love story that includes a vampire, what's not to love?) and I also really loved the first half of the book. The second half wasn't as exciting, I didn't like the way Edward and Bella had "playful" squabbles. It was annoying. Bella got really annoying.

But this review is about the movie, not the book. I will start with the things I did not like about the movie. First, I have to talk about Edward. I knew that the Edward that Hollywood would create could never equal the one created in my head. After all, he's supposed to be my dream guy, and who knows what he looks like? Aside from that, I didn't really like the make-up for Edward during most of the first half of the movie. It made him look really scary and not really beautiful and colorless. It made me think that the actor wasn't that good-looking, but as the movie progressed and there was less make-up, he really is good-looking, and makes a very good Edward.

My other gripe about Edward is that he seemed more shy in the movie than elegant. In the book he was described as being from another time, he was overly polite and spoke in a more old-fashioned way. He didn't really seem that way in the movie, just sort of shy and afraid of what was happening.

Since I am on the topic of looks, the evil vampires were not quite as evil as I imagined. Then again, my mind has more power to make something scary than Hollywood does. James looked like a good-looking punk, not really the ruffian killer I had imagined. The evil vampires were alright, just not as menacing as I was hoping for.

Another downer on this movie was some very cheesy lines, and not all the fault of the movie, some were taken straight from the book. I especially hated when Edward was describing what Bella's blood was like to him. In the book he used a few analogies before he got to the ridiculous "You're like my own personal brand of Heroine." If they were going to take just one analogy, my pick would have been the alcoholic with the scotch, not the heroine. The description of the alcoholic was much more elegant, which probably helped me think that the movie version of Edward was not so elegant.

Along with some cheesy lines, I have to poke some fun at his running scenes. It looked funny. It wasn't as bad as it could have been, but I definitely think it could have been better. Also the scene where the Cullens were killing James, that part was pretty ridiculous too. Just strange. Not elegant. Not my version of a vampire.

Now on to the things I liked about the movie. I really, really liked Bella. I can't describe how much I don't like her in the book. In the movie, she was a klutz but not so much that it made you get annoyed with her. She has a much stronger character in the movie, which is very conflicting in the book. She was prettier in the movie too, and that's got to be a plus.

Because of this good Bella, I like her relationship with Edward better. It seemed more real, like they could actually have a relationship, like he might actually be attracted to someone like her. Bella has a strong character, and that made her a little bit closer to having an equal relationship with Edward. So the silly squabbles, weren't squabbles, they were legitimate. I think you get the point.

I also really liked how some of the characters changed. Take Eric, for example. He was just some nerd in the book that I didn't really care about. In the movie, he was funny and some of the needed comic relief for such a serious romantic story. The same goes with Bella's dad, Charlie. I liked him better too. He seemed to act more like a dad and also add to the humor.

Another interesting thing I liked, was that there was a ethnic diversity to the cast. I imagined everyone white, as would be easy to do, this story takes place in a small town in Washington which is not far from here, where most people probably are white European decedents. It was nice to see a good variety in the cast.

Did anyone else notice Edward catch the apple in his hands, just like the cover of the book? That picture has absolutely no significance in the book, I thought it was really awesome that it was incorporated into the movie. Very artistic.

The last couple of things I'll mention don't really have much to do with regular movie topics, but I still enjoyed them! First, the music. I was very excited to hear a song from Muse for the baseball game scene. (That also reminds me, I loved how Alice pitched, so pretty!) The other thing, an OSU graduate helped work on the set design, and part of the movie was filmed in Oregon. I bet you saw Multnomah Falls.

All in all, I enjoyed this movie, and wouldn't be opposed to seeing it again. Please feel free to give comments on your thoughts about this movie, or my opinions of it!