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Twilight - The Movie

I probably should be writing the last 2900 words of my 50k (so close!) but I just can't help myself. I finally saw Twilight on Wednesday night (dragged my Other with me too) and wanted to post my initial impressions...

Negatives...

  • The way the movie was filmed, it came across like a TV series. I knew it had a low budget but I wasn't really expecting something so TV-esque.
  • Jasper was easily the most disappointing character, in my opinion. Can we say Edward Scissorhands? Seriously.
  • The special effects weren't that special. The Edward sparkle scene was extremely underwhelming and his whining about it made me cringe. The spider-monkey-in-the-tree scenes, likewise, weren't that great.
  • I suppose there really wasn't a way around it, but Bella and Edward falling in love felt extremely rushed and false in the movie. It's much more natural in the books.
  • The restaurant scene was disappointing. I also spaced and missed seeing Stephanie Meyer.
  • Edward's room didn't feel realistic. Wouldn't someone who has lived as long as he has have some old-world memorabilia? His room just looked like any teen boy's room, minus a bed. (I know, I know - total nitpick.)
  • I didn't think the girl who played Alice was a particularly good actress and Carlisle was almost too white.
  • They altered and/or brushed over two of my favorite scenes in the book and completely left out another scene I thought would be in the movie. Totally broke my heart.
Positives...

  • Robert Pattinson as Edward - pretty darn hot. His American accent was a little wanting but overall very good. His acting was admirable, although I resisted the urge to laugh at him a few times.
  • Kristen Stewart seemed very in-character and did really well, even if she does blink a lot.
  • I thought the movie added some extra tension between Edward and Bella. I was skeptical at first, but after I got used to it I thought it was pretty cool.
  • Except for Jasper, and a few of the minor characters, it was casted for really well.
  • There were a few artistic moments in the movie that I really dug.
  • The kiss scene gets a thumbs up, as does the final prom scene (except for the other couples just randomly leaving mid-song.)
  • Alice snapping James' neck at the end? Nice touch.
  • The movie followed the book surprisingly well.
Overall, I found a lot more to be disappointed in than I thought I would but I still really enjoyed the film. I typically don't get my panties in a twist when a book gets turned into a movie and isn't that great or doesn't follow it well. I know it's not an easy feat, especially with something written in first person, so I try to view them as seperate as I possibly can. I'll definitely be seeing the rest of the movies and will probably even buy them. I'm really curious to see what they will do with a larger budget and whether or not they will stick with the TV-esque feel that this first one has. Maybe they were going for that, who knows.

If you've seen the movie, what are your thoughts? What do you agree and/or disagree with from my lists?

4 comments:

Jill Wheeler said...

Ha! Edward Scissorhands! That is so spot on.

Anonymous said...

I haven't read much about the making of the movie, so I don't know why it was low budget. It certainly seems like a stupid move, considering the popularity of the books. Anyone with two brain cells could have predicted it would be a hit and make back every cent they spent on it.

I haven't seen the movie yet, but I do know that it was filmed here in Portland, and more specifically the greenhouse scene was shot at Clackamas Community College. I found out about the shooting the day after it occurred and was a little bummed because I graduated from the CCC Horticulture program a few years ago and was intimately familiar with those greenhouses. Of course the college and the film crew intended it that way, hoping to avoid a crowd.

Casey Something said...

I was surprised it got such a low budget too. I beleive they had 37 million to work with. Not a lot compared to the 125 million or so that Harry Potter had to work with for its debut. Apparently they underestimated the fan base or maybe they wanted to make that much more off of it. Not sure.

The greenhouse scene was rather brief but I'm sure it will neat to see your community college's greenhouse on the big screen! Too cool.

Heather Hansen said...

What I thought was...

Oh, wait. I haven't seen it BECAUSE IT ISN'T PLAYING HERE!

*SOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*