Again, this is a reprint of an older review. And, yes, this is a (marginally) positive review of Twilight. And, yes, I am male.
Don’t worry. It’s not as bad as you think. Calm down. It’s not as good as you think.
Confused? At the moment, I’m addressing those who are at polar opposite sides of the Twilight spectrum. Namely, those who think everyone involved is the equivalent of the Anti-Christ as well as those who waited five days in a sleeping bag for its premiere. But I digress.
Twilight is decent, but it’s mediocre. It’s clichéd, but it’s not clichéd. It’s original, but it’s not original. Still confused? Well, that’s the movie in a nutshell for ya.
As the film begins, we meet Bella (Kristen Stewart), a Phoenix teen who moves in with her father in Forks, WA, after her mother joins her new baseball boyfriend in Jacksonville, FL.
How do we know all this? She tells us so through narration that, frankly, feels completely unnecessary. Case in point: a scene in which a scorned Bella sits by her car and watches the Cullen family (more about them in a second) leave their vehicle, waiting for Edward to appear. She narrates, “I plan to confront him and demand what his problem is. But he’s not there.”
Gee, thanks for the tip!
Anyhoo, Bella, in a move unseen in any other teen movie, is accepted by the other students at her new school and feels right at home. That is, until she’s introduced to the Cullens, a strange, pale family of seven. The only loner in the group is Edward (Robert Pattinson, last seen as Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), a teen who, as Bella soon learns, can’t quite control his inner feelings and desires.
After meeting in Bio Lab, the two soon become infatuated with one another, despite the fact that Edward won’t explain his strange tendency to stare at her non-stop as well as his ability to stop a car in mid-crash. Well, one thing leads to another, Bella discovers his secret, I stare at my watch, the film’s not even halfway through, when is this madness going to end, etc., etc., etc.
Strangely enough, Twilight actually begins to pick up once Bella learns of Edward’s true nature. I grew fond of both the Cullens and the visual nature of the film, which is accented by stunning shots of forests and subtle, silent sequences that require little more than Hardwicke’s unique style of direction and a bit of great acting from the cast.
Three scenes in particular stood out for me. No. 1: A simple set-up in which Edward and Bella are, of all things, playing a grand piano. Here, Hardwicke establishes the “less is more” technique, which I could have used a lot more in this movie, frankly. It says more about their relationship than any other scene in the movie.
No. 2: Bella talks with her father about Edward while he puts together a shotgun. Again, less is much, much more.
No. 3: The baseball scene. Yes, it’s strange, but I’ll admit it looks pretty cool!
However, this is not to say that I did not find fault with the movie. In addition to the aforementioned complaints, er, criticisms, there are quite a few bizarre and unintentionally funny bits, including a simple glare between Edward and Quileute tribe chief Billy Black that almost had me chuckling.
In addition, some of the plot points don’t make much sense, but I’m sure most of the questions I have are answered in the book which I, uh, never read. Oh, and the violence at the end is a tad brutal, even for this movie.
All in all, I can’t exactly recommend Twilight to everyone, but the film should please its fanbase and I’m certain Hardwicke and co. achieved what they set out to do.
Also, I don’t plan on protesting against the sequel, so that’s a good sign.
Rating: 6/10
Update: On second thought, I’m getting pretty sick of the New Moon hype. Maybe protesting is a good option.
Great Blog!……There’s always something here to make me laugh…Keep doing what ya do