People of all ages assembled in front of the doors of Edwards 21 Cinemas to watch the midnight premiere of the Twilight movie, based on Stephenie Meyer’s award-winning book series. As the year’s bestseller with over 17 million copies in print, many teenagers awaited its Nov. 21 big screen debut.
With Catherine Hardwicke as the director, the movie resided at the top of the box office for the Nov. 21-27 week.
The movie begins with a scene of Isabelle “Bella” Swan (Kristen Stewart, Jumper), the main character of the series, moving to live with her father in Forks, Washington. After settling into her new high school, Bella encounters Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson, Harry Potter: The Goblet of Fire), an enchanting and inhumanly handsome classmate who reveals to her the vampiric history of his family. Unlike the vampires of folklore, however, Edward, along with his parents Dr. Carlisle (Peter Facinelli) and Esme (Elizabeth Reaser) and adopted siblings Jasper (Jackson Rathbone), Alice (Ashley Greene), Rosalie (Nikki Reed) and Emmett (Kellan Lutz), constitute a fangless clan with special abilities who refuse to drink human blood.
Bella and Edward fall in love almost instantly, fulfilling his 90-year search for a soul mate. Throughout the film and the books, Edward suffers a temptation to indulge in Bella’s blood ? more than any other human ? and risk destroying their relationship, not to mention her life.
With the combined power of Edward’s telepathy, Alice’s premonitions and Jasper’s recognition of and control over moods, the Cullens help protect Bella from dangers. Three nomad vampires in the area ? James (Cam Gigandet), Laurent (Edi Gathegi) and Victoria (Rachelle Lefevre) ? present numerous threats to Bella’s safety, resulting in a series of events across state borders to escape James’ insatiable thirst for her blood.
In their adaptation of the story line, the film’s crew often mixed different aspects of the novel. These changes, although minor, often distorted important details. For example, in the book, the Cullens reside in an old-fashioned mansion. In the movie, however, the vampire family lives in a modern-day house. Although not a significant difference, the change does not allow for many of the more enjoyable scenes.
Although I would have preferred a different actor to play Edward, Pattinson successfully portrays the character. As I read the books, Edward appeared as a handsome man with black hair and more of a soft look, in contrast to Pattinson’s rougher appearance. Despite discrepancies between Pattinson and my mental image, he engages scenes with precision and authenticity, such as when he speeds to rescue Bella from men in Seattle.
On the other hand, Stewart agreed with my imagination and played a convincing role as Bella. In several scenes, such as when Bella must fake a hatred for the city in order to escape from James, Stewart powerfully demonstrates her acting talent.
Although the movie represented the main theme of the book well, it lacked sufficient description. The 122-minute film neglected many minor details that augmented the novel’s enjoyment. For Twilight novices, the movie was incredible, but for fans of the series, the film fell short of the hype.
Twilight is rated PG-13 “for some violence and a scene of sensuality” and is playing at most local theaters. For show times and tickets, visit Fandango. For more movie reviews, visit the Dec. 2 article, Bond flick busts big screen.
