I finally got around to seeing Twilight, and I'm full of thoughts. First off, I was underwhelmed. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it, because I did. But I just expected so much more from it.
I thought the casting was pretty spot-on. Most everyone was exactly how I pictured him/her with the exception of Jasper. And I liked that they were faithful to the story and used dialogue plucked straight from the book. Plus, I liked the look (i.e. colors, settings, etc.) of the film.
What I didn't like was the lack of character development, the rushed feeling of Edward and Bella's relationship, and the overall cheesiness of some of it.
I realize it's hard to condense a 500+ page book into a 2 hour movie, but I was disappointed. The book was so great at developing all of the peripheral characters, and I especially liked the backstories of all the members of the vampire "family." But these weren't even addressed in the movie. And I felt like Edward and Bella just magically fell for each other in the movie very quickly, and I don't recall this being the case in the book. It's a much longer mutual fascination with each other that slowly develops into a relationship.
And the effects were just cheesy. I chalk this up to a director who had no previous experience with CG, so I'll let it slide. I thought some of the direction in the vampire confrontation was too campy. I get that they're vampires and there's some hissing and grandstanding, but I'm not supposed to suppress a laugh at that moment. It's intended to be very serious, and I don't think it came across that way. Plus, there was some careless editing that created too many noticeable continuity issues. Sooo.....
That being said, I'm really looking forward to the future installments since they're getting a new director. I think the new guy will better weave the teenage love story/character development/CG given his background and not make it so darn cheesy.
By the way, I've only read the first book, so if you want to leave comments please keep that in mind. I don't want any spoilers!
2 comments:
I tend to agree with the cheesy-ness and all around rushed feeling of the movie. I enjoyed it too, but still left feeling a bit disappointed. I can't believe the rest of the Cullen family was just in a couple of scenes with very little dialog or character development. It really adds to the story to know about their backgrounds.
I didn't realize that you have only read the first one! You need to get busy! You're missing out :) Although, I will say that New Moon was probably my least favorite so don't stop after that one, it gets better!
I'm still waiting for it to get over here. They aren't even projecting it as coming, so I don't know if I'll even get to see it on the big screen. ARGH!!!!!!!!! When I get to see it, I'll let ya know what I think. But, it's been my experience in the past that the book is almost always better.
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