Twilight (2008)
Directed by: Catherine Hardwike
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Billy Burke
Plot: After her mother remarries, Bella Swan decides to move from Phoenix, Arizona to Forks, Washington to live with her father. When she arrives at her new home, she immediately makes many friends at her new school. They warn her not to interact with the Cullens, a group of rich, pale, and antisocial foster siblings, especially Edward Cullen. After saving her from an out of control van, Bella begins to suspect that there's something supernatural about him. She tries to get him to confess, but he refuses to tell her, and warns her to stay away from him. Despite his warnings, she continues to interact with him, until she discovers that Edward is a vampire. Now that they're being honest with each other, they begin to develop a romance. Unfortunately, a small group of nomadic vampires have been killing various people around town. When one of them realizes that the Cullens have been interacting with a human, he decides that she'd be good prey to hunt. Will Edward and his family be able to protect Bella from becoming vampire chow?
Good: Despite what many people have claimed, this movie does have some redeeming qualities. Billy Burke as Bella's dad does a great job as the concerned father and the dedicated police chief. It would have been cool if there was a story about him and his struggle between caring for his daughter, while also solving a supernatural murder mystery. Taylor Lautner is good as Jacob Black, making the friendship he has with Bella seem natural. Peter Facinelli is also serviceable as Dr. Carlisle Cullen, who's dedication to his family is very evident in all of his scenes. There are some moments when the two leads have some genuine moments of emotion, such as when the Cullens and Bella play baseball during a thunderstorm. The audience can see the genuine bond these characters have for each other as they use their powers to have fun together. It's also one of the few moments when the movie decides to have fun with its premise. I wish the rest of the film had been like this small scene.
Bad: Although there are some moments of good acting from the leads, for the most part, they're very flat. Kristen Stewart as Bella rarely shows any emotion, even when she's in danger. Robert Pattinson as Edward is not much better, with his acting ranging from boring to hilarious. It's very difficult to watch the scene where Edward reveals his sparkly skin to Bella, and not smile when he says that "It's the skin of a killer". However, this isn't necessarily the actors fault. They've put in good performances in the past, so I have to assume that this was a mistake on the director's part. The special effects are serviceable at best, and awful at worst. The effects for the sparkly vampire skin and Edward's super speed are laughable, and take away from the seriousness of many of the scenes. Also, the majority of the daytime scenes in Forks have a blue filter on constantly. While this is obviously a stylistic choice (since I can tell you from experience that the Pacific Northwest is not constantly blue and grey), it makes the film look really bland. The biggest problem, however, is the writing. None of the dialogue feels genuine, with many of the conversations ending abruptly, leaving the audience confused. The pacing is awkward, with 75% of the film focusing on the romance, then some antagonists suddenly show up for the last quarter of the story with very little build up. Most of the characters are all written with very few flaws, especially the main cast. The Cullens are incredibly bland and one dimensional, with very little personalities. Edward's only personality traits seem to be either creepiness (more on that later) or blandness. However, Bella is the worst offender then it comes to characterization is Bella. Like The Room's Johnny, Bella's a great example of a Mary Sue. This is most evident when she arrives at her new school, and nearly everyone either falls in love with her, or become her best friend. I find it ironic when she tells one of her friends to take control of her life, because she is a "strong, independent woman", since she ends up wanting to dedicate her life to a man she's only known for about a couple months. She even goes as far as wanting to make the ultimate sacrifice and become a vampire just so she can be with him for eternity. While it may be that she only feels an attraction towards Edward, as many teenagers do when they have a crush on someone, but he constantly sends up red flags that even a teenager would notice. He has sudden angry mood swings, he constantly talks about how he wants to taste her blood, and he even watches her in her sleep without her permission. Bella ignoring these obvious warning signs makes her seem like an idiot. Not only does this make her a bad character, it makes her a horrible role model for some of the audience members. While many of these issues are from the source material (from what I've heard), it's the filmmakers' fault that these issues remained in the adaptation.
Trivia:
- During the scene where Edward perform "Bella's Lullaby", Robert Pattinson was actually playing the piano.
- Kristen Stewart had to wear a hair pieces so that the crew didn't have to use up time doing her hair, leaving more time to film.
- Robert Pattinson spent a few weeks before shooting not talking to anyone in order to feel as isolated as his character.
- The movie grossed about $69.6 million during its opening weekend, which was the largest opening for a movie directed by a woman, as well as one starring a woman.
Final Verdict: When I first went into this film, I was expecting a movie on par with The Room, with many laughs to be had at how horrible it would be. However, for the most part, it's pretty boring. Oh sure, there are some moments that were genuinely good (i.e., the baseball scene) and some that are so bad they're hilarious (i.e., the sparkly scene). I just couldn't get into the unrealistic romance, the bland characters, and the poor special effects. I would only recommend this movie if you were already a fan of the books, because if your not, this won't make you a fan.
Next week, we'll look at my first review of a musical on my blog, with Mary Poppins.
Stay Tuned
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