265 of 308 people found the following review helpful:
Became a fan after the movie...
I had heard about the fantasy books by a friend when they first came out but didn't have the time to look into them. By the time the movie came out, I'd nearly forgotten about the book referral, but asked my hubby to take me as it looked like a good vampire romance flick. The scenery of the Pacific Northwest forests, rivers, and coastline was breathtaking and as a native...
54 of 63 people found the following review helpful:
Oh so terrible, but amazingly addicting. Love it, but wonder why.
If I were rating this movie solely on quality of the film, it would get one star. if i were rating it solely on how much i love to watch it even though it's awful, it would get 5 stars. SO I averaged it and got 3.
The dialogue is horrendous, the effects cheesy, the music (not the soundtrack which is great, but the score) indescribably awful. It looks like a...
I had heard about the fantasy books by a friend when they first came out but didn't have the time to look into them. By the time the movie came out, I'd nearly forgotten about the book referral, but asked my hubby to take me as it looked like a good vampire romance flick. The scenery of the Pacific Northwest forests, rivers, and coastline was breathtaking and as a native to this area, it was like going out into my own backyard which made the film that more appealing. I was so captivated by the actors portrayal of the characters (the facial expressions and emotions brought out of the characters by Rob, Kristen, Peter, Nikki, and the rest were mesmerizing) and the depth of the back-story left me desiring more! The very next day after viewing the movie in the theater - I raced to the bookstore to grab the first book. I was hooked, read through all four books (plus went to the authors website to read the extra materials she had posted there) in a week. Then, still not satisfied, went back and saw the movie several more times - IN THE THEATER, something I've never felt compelled to do before - because I was so drawn to the characters and the story. This may have been written for the young adult audience but I'm 32 and a parent of four children, and still found the story to be well worth my time.
If you haven't read the stories, I encourage you to do so. Regardless, this film will be a treasured part of your movie collection and one you'll be sure to watch several times before you'll feel satisfied.
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If I were rating this movie solely on quality of the film, it would get one star. if i were rating it solely on how much i love to watch it even though it's awful, it would get 5 stars. SO I averaged it and got 3.
The dialogue is horrendous, the effects cheesy, the music (not the soundtrack which is great, but the score) indescribably awful. It looks like a made for TV movie.
However- I can't stop watching it. i saw it 3 times in the theater and pre-ordered my own copy. It entertains me. Plus, Edward is nice to look at... oh, James too. LOVE James.To me this movie is absolutely hysterical- where it doesn't intend to be. The scene where Edward first sees Bella in class and he looks as if he may throw up on her??? Great! The look that Billy Black and Edward exchange as they pass each other in their cars? Priceless. I love the baseball scene! But the crouch down and prepare to fight stance they take at the end... Can anybody say Power Rangers? But just mentioning all this makes me want to watch it again. I know it makes no sense. It just has that power.
I should be embarrassed to like this, but I'm not. I will watch it over and over again proudly. I will recommend it to anyone I can. Watch it and love it. But know that it's terrible and know that it can't compare to the book and that all of it's charm is due to it's cheesiness.
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I came into the Twilight series not expecting much. The books were, after all, marketed to the teen crowd, so I originally dismissed it. I didn't expect much from the film. I wanted to see it not for the story, but because I knew Robert Pattinson from "Harry Potter" and enjoy the vampire book/movie genre.
4 books and 7 viewings later, I am happy to report that I am now a happily obsessed "Twilighter."
Going into the movie, I found myself hooked within the first 10 minutes. As soon as the Cullen siblings walked through the cafeteria door, I knew I was in for the ride. And by the time Edward and Bella were sitting together at the restaurant in Port Angeles, I was smitten. The love story, the beautiful vampires, and the amazing chemistry between leads Rob Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, made this film - for me - utterly irresistible. I knew I wanted to see it again as soon as it was over, and the female relatives that I went to see it with couldn't agree more.
7 viewings later, I am still obsessed. Like "Titanic" and all the wonderful Jane Austen and Elizabeth Gaskell tv/movie adaptations before it, I was enthralled by the love story of Edward and Bella. Edward Cullen, a 108 year old vampire trapped in the body of a 17 year old, falls in love for the first time...to a human - a young unsuspecting girl named Isabella Swan. Bella becomes equally fascinated by Edward, and this mutual fascination soon grows into yearning and love. Theirs is a Romeo & Juliet like love story but this time it's not a family feud that keeps them apart, but the fact that Edward is a vampire and Bella is a human - the predator and the prey fall in love (or as Edward puts it, "...and so the lion falls in love with the lamb"). Within the story are some other conflicts, as Edward and his family's true nature must remain a secret, and as other vampires threaten Bella's life.
Author Stephenie Meyer has crafted an irresistible tale, and screenwriter Rosenberg Melissa Rosenberg does a fine job of staying faithful with the novel. Some scenes and plotlines are changed around or omitted in order to make it work on film, but the essentials are there. Director Catherine Hardwicke does a superb job of bringing all the elements together and guiding her young cast through the journey, so I was saddened to hear that she will not be helming the sequel.
The major breakthroughs in this film, however, are the young and talented leads - Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart. What started out as a small independent film has now become a worldwide phenomenon and has catapulted Rob and Kristen to the brink of superstardom. And this is no accident. The charismatic and versatile Robert Pattinson is brilliant as Edward. He properly conveys the internal conflict that rages within Edward and brings it out in full force. When he's onscreen, you couldn't take your eyes off him. His Edward can be gentle, loving and tender, but also fearsome and dangerous. Kristen Stewart brings a beautiful and nuanced performance. She is exactly how I pictured Bella and she does an excellent job of bringing the character to life. The supporting cast is also wonderful. Of the supporting roles, Billy Burke (Charlie Swan), Ashley Greene (Alice Cullen), Kellan Lutz (Emmett Cullen) and Peter Facinelli (Carlisle Cullen) are standouts. I think everyone - with the exception of Nikki Reed's Rosalie Hale/Cullen (who I feel just doesn`t fit Rosalie physically) - are perfectly cast.
I am also a fan of the soundtrack and Carter Burwell's amazing score, and I highly recommend purchasing these as a companion to the dvd. I am thrilled that the dvd is finally coming, and I although the final specs are not yet available, I hope that Summit Entertainment will release a dvd version filled with extras, deleted/extended scenes and behind-the-scenes footage. I'm a huge fan of the books and I feel that the cast and crew of Twilight has done an amazing job of bringing one of my favorite books to life. I'm looking forward to New Moon, and I hope that it will be as good as, if not better than, the first film. This film is a gem and one of my favorite love stories ever. Bella and Edward has joined the ranks of Elizabeth and Darcy, John Thornton and Margaret Hale, Jane Eyre and Edward Rochester, Cathy and Heathcliff, Jack Dawson and Rose DeWitt Bukater, and yes Romeo and Juliet, as two of my very favorite romantic couples that has ever graced the big and small screen.
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I can't recall the last time I had this much FUN with a poorly-made movie. I honestly can't decide whether I want to give it 'one star' for how genuinely terrible it is, or 'five stars' for how enjoyable it was to be appalled by.
It's a sort of tradition amongst my local friends and I to rent movies we know to be bad and watch them together; often we're just bored and, by the time the ending credits roll, feeling that we just lost two hours of our lives that we shall never get back. This one, though, stands out as one of the greats.
If you're new to the series, the premises is this: Bella Swan (yes, 'beautiful swan') moves from her arid Phoenix home to Forks, Washington, where she meets and falls in love with a dour and seemingly perpetually-nauseated boy named Edward Cullen. She soon discovers his secret - that he's a vampire! - by Googling "cold ones," a term she finds in a book of Native American mythology. One would expect that Googling this term would actually yield many pages pertaining to beer. Or maybe that's just me. Anyway, a very clingy and angst-ridden relationship ensues, and after playing baseball in a thunderstorm with Edward's family, Bella meets a nasty vampire named James, who immediately develops his own obsession with her.
Unlike Edward, though, James wants to eat Bella. Really badly.
Most of this takes place in the latter half of the movie. The first half is comprised mostly of Bella moping around her new town and exchanging silent stares with Edward.
Ah, Edward.
It gave me pleasure to discover exactly how much the lead actor, Robert Pattinson, despises Edward Cullun.
"When I read it I was convinced Stephenie was convinced she was Bella and it was like it was a book that wasn't supposed to be published. It was like reading her sexual fantasy, especially when she said it was based on a dream and it was like, 'Oh I've had this dream about this really sexy guy,' and she just writes this book about it. Like some things about Edward are so specific, I was just convinced, like, 'This woman is mad. She's completely mad and she's in love with her own fictional creation.' And sometimes you would feel uncomfortable reading this thing..." "...the more I read the script, the more I hated this guy."
Edward Cullen has a completely inconsistent personality, and Pattinson solved this by playing him as, in his own words, "as a manic-depressive who hates himself."
Now, I understand some preteen girls actually find Edward's various advances upon Bella to be romantic - like admitting to sneaking into her room to watch her sleep for months before he even made an attempt to be nice to her. I'm led to wonder how some fathers would feel if they knew their young daughters admired such qualities in future boyfriends. Personally I think Edward is downright creepy, but as Pattinson apparently meant to portray him this way, kudos to Mr. Pattinson!
For Bella's part, she's an unabashed Mary Sue, with every male in town falling all over himself to befriend, date, or, in one scene, gang rape her. It's Edward, however, who wins her inexplicable devotion, mainly by following her around and saying things like, "We shouldn't be friends," or, "Stay away from me!" in a low menacing voice.
By the end of the movie, after lots of heaving and sighing and rushed special-effects, we're meant to believe that the two are star-crossed lovers, though they seem more like an abusive relationship in the making. With the vampire James dispatched, Edward and Bella slaver over eachother's necks at prom, and James' female companion Victoria slinks away in the backdrop, doubtlessly plotting mischief.
There's also a sub-plot straight from the underwhelming "Underworld" series regarding a rivalry between werewolves and vampires, but it's barely touched on in this installment.
I wonder, given his public slandering of the franchise, whether Mr. Pattinson will reprise his role as Edward in the next film. A part of me is looking forward to it.
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I consider myself a Twilight fan. I love the books and since reading the first one have bought the other three the day they came out. I was extremely excited about the movie, and went to see it opening night. My first thought by the halfway point of the movie was: WHY DID I SPEND MONEY ON THIS?!!!!!!!!
Twilight: The Movie is a horrible, campy, tacky, CHEAP vampire story that swallows almost all of the power of the novels. The vampire special effects are even WORSE than "Queen of the Damned" (which is hard to achieve), and the "action" scenes were scripted, confusing, and in some cases pointless and lame.
The acting was off and it was awful. Kristin Stewart was weak and ineffectual as Bella. She portrays none of Bella's strengths and instead presents her as, essentially, a weakling, a coward and a whiner. Rob Pattinson's Edward is kind of creepy, kind of tacky, and completely unromantic; in fact, he's kind of off-putting. None of the Cullens act like they're supposed to except Rosalie and Alice, so of course they only got about five lines each in the entire movie.
The worst acting choice was whoever played Charlie -- he's a dead fish in the entire movie. He never displays ANY emotion. Now, in the books Charlie IS kind of closed-off, but he DOES get upset -- like when Bella says she's running away, for instance. In the movie, he's quiet and unmoved and seems to say nothing but "Oh, my daughter's running away. Don't go, Bella. Please stay, Bella. Wonder what's on TV?"
However, first and foremost, the love story element was RUINED by the script. Bella and Edward are awkward as can be together, and at one point Edward makes the cryptic comment "It would be better for you if we weren't friends." Now, at this point in the movie, he's been nothing but a supreme jerk to Bella at every turn. If I were Bella, my response would have been: 'What?! We AREN'T friends! You're a creeper and you need to go before I call the cops! Stranger danger! [Makes sign of the cross]'
By the time they're 'together' as a couple it feels so rushed and unnatural that you have to gag at some of Bella's more romantic thoughts, which make perfect sense in the book. One of the worst mistakes they made was combining about five different important scenes and shortening them into one confusing scene: the meadow scene, combined with the first running scene, combined with the skipping class scene, combined with three other minor scenes. It was rushed, confusing, creepy, unromantic, weird, badly acted, badly shot, and badly directed.
The dynamic of Bella and Edward was ruined -- Edward is supposed to be so supremely larger than life to Bella; for instance, in the book when he runs (he's supposed to look like a blur, which the movie of course killed off right away) with Bella the first time she's violently ill and can't stand for a moment. In the movie she just hops off his back as if to say 'Alright, I do this all the time.'
In the book, James, the villain, is actually rather terrifying. In the movie...okay, the actor is admittedly very attractive. But -- have you ever seen the movie "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (NOT the show, because the show was amazing; the movie was awful)? You know, where Rutger Hauer played the most CAMPY, RIDICULOUS vampire EVER? Well, James almost TOPS his performance in "Buffy" -- again, VERY hard to achieve.
Another point of unintended comedy? Bella and Edward spend half the friggin' movie in a TREE. Why? NO ONE KNOWS. He calls her "spider monkey," for the love of GOD. It's SILLY! And then when the Cullens jump at the 'bad vampires'? It looks like they're about to perform the song and dance "fight" in the first scene of "West Side Story!" How utterly absurd!
The casting was awful, the acting was awful, the script was awful, the special effects were AWFUL. Possibly the only good points about this movie was the first five minutes, which actually did a very good job for some strange reason, and the last five minutes, which also did a very good job, for some strange reason. Every other minute of the movie was excruciating in its mediocrity.
I pray to God every day that people don't watch this D-Grade piece of CRAP movie and go away thinking to themselves, "Well, now I KNOW I'll never read 'Twilight' after watching THAT crap."
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Director Catherine Hardwicke ("Thirteen," "Lords of Dogtown (Unrated Extended Cut)," and "The Nativity Story") has a special affinity with the subject of most of her films; she captures the inner angst of the adolescent from seemingly a personal vantage point that puts each member of her audience right smack in the cauldron of raging hormones, inferiority complexes and the necessity of rebellion that makes up the teen universe no matter what the generation. In her 2008 film "Twilight" she departs from her usual sexually explicit world of pubescent temptation and explores a good old-fashioned romance replete with the repressed love imaginings conjured up to perfection by Mormon mother-turned-author in her four young adult vampire novels that have achieved global success. Despite a screenplay that whittles the 500+ page novel to play in a 121 minute format, Hardwicke successfully recreates those special moments of first love that we have all experienced and allows us to remember with fondness that wicked mind-blowing intensity no matter what our age or how long ago.
Novel purists may debate the casting of the Cullen vampire family, and the two main characters vehemently, suggesting that the ensemble starring in "Twilight" did not exactly meet with personal expectations that have been mind-visualized with fan-fanatic intensification since the debut of the first book in 2005. Nevertheless as a newbie who read "Twilight" after viewing the film, I give the two leads a vigorous thumbs-up. As Bella Swan, Kristen Stewart updates the Every-girl teen wannabe-queen who typically transforms herself from awkward nerd hiding behind glasses undiscovered to triumphant mini-skirted magnificence a la "The Princess Diaries (Full Screen Edition)." Stewart's Bella knows and accepts her clumsy relative `ugly duckling' status; as a transplant from sunnier Phoenix climes she views her new home with an edgy guardedness that coincides well with the northwest backdrop and her complete lack of regard for grooming herself to become the graceful animal her name suggests. Instead Hardwicke's Bella is defined by realism. Yes, she waxes romantic over Edward's perfection, but she presents herself as a grounded unsmiling girl-woman that epitomizes most of today's teenagers.
And if she spends much of her time mooning over mega-hunk Edward Cullen, who in their right minds would blame her? What a combination of male beauty and vulnerability! Robert Pattinson, as the object of her desires, smolders with all the energy of James Dean albeit with a too white layer of pancake make-up, glossed lips and a six-inch high coif that suggests way too much hair gel and morning mirror time. Although we are not privy to all of Bella's internal longings for Edward (as we are with the first person narrative in the novel) the audience quickly grasps the intense chemistry between the two lovers and marvels at their ability to convey a realistic relationship between a 100-year old vampire in the body of a seventeen year old boy and a world weary 21st century girl who doesn't quite understand why such a specimen of male perfection would go wild for her after just one whiff.
Combined with the grunge/alternative soundtrack and throbbing half romantic/half sinister score by Carter Burwell Twilight - The Score: Music from the Motion Picture, the scenes between Stewart and Pattinson are well worth the price of admission. Not just for teenagers--I had one sixty-something year old woman exclaim to me, "Wow! I have never had a man love me like that--that was so romantic it had the hair standing on the back of my neck"--"Twilight" delivers what women want: Victorian honesty and honor without the game-playing. Hardwicke sashays her characters around passion that sizzles between the two like electric current, rendering the obligatory sexual culmination unnecessary and unwelcome. For once the vertical dance outplays and obliterates the horizontal, making the film a lovely interlude for its intended PG-13 audience and those of us who want something beyond the superficial.
Presenting a vampire family without being campy most likely was the most difficult aspect to pull off in this film without making it seem too Harry Potter. Unfortunately, in this regard, Hardwicke (and Stephanie Meyers in the novel) doesn't quite manage to maintain the gravity of the vampire/human interaction during Bella's first time at the old homestead and then again at the over-the-top vampire ballgame. With their Liberace-like glamour and cornball quips, Carlyle and Company are just too easy to spot as being a breed apart. Ah well, the camp succeeds to a degree to dampen the intensity and interject a little humor before the all intensive chase and climatic scenes that lead to the film's conclusion.
Bottom line: Catherine Hardwicke's film "Twilight" depicts teen love in a modern day "Rebel Without a Cause (Two-Disc Special Edition)" with a bite that doesn't quite break the skin and doesn't have too. Pre-teen friendly, this 2 hour story gives teenagers what they want without annoying their parents with a show of too much skin and mature themes that are always unnecessary in a movie geared for the minor set. Despite its vampire theme, the film depicts teen concerns realistically without the usual display of irreverence, superficial materialism and lack of morality that make up the cornerstones of most high school dramas. Thankfully, there are no Disney touches here, only romance of the Heathcliff/Catherine Wuthering Heights (Penguin Popular Classics) genre. Can't wait for the next installment. Recommended.
Diana Faillace Von Behren
"reneofc"
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Ok, to start with I have loved the Twilight books for a long long time. I was so excited to hear that they were going to make a movie. But then as soon as I saw the actors they picked for the movie I knew it was going to suck. But I held out a shred of hope that these actors would surprise me. But unfortunately no they did not. Stephenie Meyer was supposed to protect her work and she definitely did not do that.
First of all the acting sucked big time. It was all very dramatic and dark. Bella may not be the perkiest character in the world but I did not envision her as the whiny little brat she is portrayed as. And Edward, although he is attractive he is also a jerk through the first half of the movie. The acting is very forced and way to teen drama for me. I was 23 when I read Twilight and I still loved it. But it was more like a made for tv movie then a feature film. The rest of the cast is forgettable which is unfortunate. Jacob could be good if he had been giving more then five or six lines.
Second, they rushed so much of the story that someone who has not read the novel probably would have no idea how certain things came about. For example how does Bella fall in love with Edward so fast after him being such a jerk for so long? They never truly explain why his eyes change color. Then they added all the killings from Laurent, Victoria and James. Those were never mentioned in the book. Also the climbing of the trees never occurred. Just theatrical special effects that really did nothing to add to the story. They may as well have thrown some fangs on the vamps. Then the line towards the end where Edward says he left Bella alone for a few moments and the wolves descend. Ha ha ha. Also they left out the science lab scene where Bella nearly faints. I think that was a pretty informative scene that they should not have left out. Then all the time they spent talking during lunch was cut down dramatically. I realize it's a movie and they can't include everything but if they had left out some of the new crap they would have had time to include more of the original story.
I am just so disappointed in this film. I really had hoped that it would be great. I hate the actors they picked, I hated the acting, the script. The only really good thing about the film was the scenery. Washington is a beautiful state and they showed that nicely. But other then that I would not recommend seeing this movie. And definitely do not buy it without seeing it first. We can only hope that with the new director for New Moon that he will bring back the Bella and Edward that we know and love from the novels.
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This movie created a whole new obession that started with the books in the twilight series. It started with my 14 year old "teen" son saying I had to get a book for him. Well, that was a few weeks before the movie was released. As word traveled and the buzz about the upcoming movie approached. I read his book. I made it to the movie a few days after it was out. I loved it. But did not expect to see it again until it came out on DVD. Then I read the rest of the books in the twilight series. And somehow I was drawn back to the movie a week later. I felt like I was in Bella's head and needed to see the flick again. I left with more appreciation than the first time. I started to think more about the film and books. The love story alone makes you want more. When Edward says to Bella,"You don't know how long I have waited for you" your heart skips a beat and your body goes numb. I got the movie companion at a local store. I was surprised at the low budget. I also started to see "why" the director did what she did in the movie. Why the vampire's running or tree climbing wasn't the special effects we are used to in this day in age. I started to fall in love with the essence of the movie for what it really is. I am in a trance every time I see it. I am addicted to the characters, story line and every possible crumb of the twilight world. I have seen the movie for the 10th time tonight. Every time I see it, I am still amazed at the way Catherine has brought it to light. Yes, somethings are left out from the book. Yes, scenes are different than described in the book. However, the script has word for word from the book thoughout here and there. To take a book and make a movie on a limited time and budget, and capture the audience is a tall order. To deliver a movie that has already been perfected in a reader's mind is even more difficult. The movie follows the story line smoothly and is one of the best book to movie adaptions I have seen in a long time. I believe that Robert's acting was spellbinding. He is Edward Cullen. I am amazed how he embraced and captured the character of a 100 something year old vampire so realisticaly for a 22 year old young actor. His facial expression's alone express the emotion's that Edward has for Bella. You leave the theatre wanting more! To see the movie without reading the books may leave you with a limited vision of what is behind the story.But over all you should love the movie no matter what. The movie is my favorite and I am now a very twilight-addicted married mom of 3 boys.
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After reading the first chapter of this book, I was amazed at how lame and colorless it was. It didn't have the poetry of Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles and lacked potent imagery. Dull, dishwater dreariness! I rented only out of curiosity of it's box office draw. It was so low budget, with so many unseasoned actors and a very week (almost laughable)script for it's paper thin plot. A bad vampire movie usually turns out to be a gore fest with little to no romance. This movie is certainly not belonging to the horror genre and the chemistry between the lackluster performances of the principle actor's was non-existent. It was more of a bore fest! I could only imagine the appeal of this movie coming from a wide teenage virgin audience (which appears to be larger than I imagined). Thank you for wasting two hours of my life on this B-movie joke! B for boring!
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I'm 44 years old so I'm a little older then the typical Twilight Fan. Not unlike some of the others who have posted reviews here I liked it better the second time around. The first time I watched it I couldn't get past the differences from the book although it followed the story in the books very closely. I noticed the things that were left out a little to much. I went and read some online reviews of the movie and got to thinking about the fact that it was done on a low budget and that they had to squeeze a pretty long novel into just over 2 hours. I went back to see it which is something I've never done and decided to try to view it without expectation and I loved it. I went to the theater and saw it a total of 6 times. My daughter in law downloaded it online and I've watched it 3 more times. I've read the books about a dozen times. I can't get my fill. I just want more Twilight. I really wish the series didn't have to end already. I love Stephenie Meyer's work. I thought The Host was great too. The first couple chapters a little slow but once it got going I couldn't put it down. My best advice is if you loved the books try to view the movie without expectation. I haven't read any books yet that could be converted into a 2 hour movie without something being left out. I can't wait to own this movie so I can watch it any time I want. I'd also like to add that I've always been an avid reader but until now I never found a book or a movie that I wanted to watch or read more then 1 time.
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