[Twilight]
Plot:Based on the Stephenie Meyer novel, concerns a girl who comes to a small town to live with her father, and is inexplicably drawn to a pale mysterious classmate who comes from a family of vampires.

Cast:Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Justin Chon, Kellan Lutz, Cam Gigandet, Peter Facinelli, Elizabeth Reaser, Jackson Rathbone, Ashley Greene, Nikki Reed, Michael Welch, Anna Kendrick, Billy Burke, Taylor Lautner, Christian Serratos, Edi Gathegl, Rachel Lefevre, Sarah Clark, Gregory Tyree Boyce.

My Thoughts:Surprisingly good.

Review:I did not think much at all going into seeing "Twilight". After seeing the trailer, and all the promotional materials released for the film, my first reaction was it's gonna bore the hell out of me. Pardon my brashness, but I grew up with hardcore vampire films like "The Forsaken", "Dracula 2000", "From Dusk Till Dawn", "Near Dark", etc. Sure....some of them weren't of the best storytelling or quality, but they all had one thing in common... which was vampires taking people out in gruesome fashion. Which is what they're supposed to do. They're not supposed to fall in love with humans, and they're not supposed to pass on human blood. Unless in the instance that they plan to turn said human, or tell someone they plan to make their bride that they're trying to stop drinking human blood while feasting on bums or the homeless behind the persons back.

Then there's the usual vampire steeples like exploding when sunlight hits them, fangs, and gruesome killings. But "Twilight", based on Stephanie Meyer's series of novels...tries to soften the vampire image. I remember when "Blood and Chocolate" tried to soften the werewolf image. And boy did that NOT work. "Twilight" however handles it's adapted material with alot more care, and has a much more sensible story. The main player in the movie is Bella (Stewart), who moves from Phoenix Arizona to live with her Father in Forks Washington. When she attends the local high school, the kids take to her pretty easily, mostly because she grew up in Forks and has some childhood ties there.

But things become a bit complicated when she meets a really pale kid named Edward Cullen (Pattinson)...who seems to dislike Bella at first...but not for the reasons she thinks. Edward is a vampire, and part of the Cullen family...a family of vampires who unlike some of their bretheren...have learned to ween themselves from human blood over the centuries. But Bella's blood is very tempting to Edward, tempting enough to push him into breaking his code of conduct when it comes to feeding on humans. So when he makes numerous attempts to avoid her, Bella begins to think his problem with her is personal....although in Edward's defense...it's not.

But at the same time, he cannot simply just come out and tell her what he is...even though he skips school on sunny days, and has pale white skin which is cold to the touch. Bella doesnt seem to catch on very early to Edward's secret...and he doesn't seem to be in any rush to tell her about it. Which presents one of the films early problems, and the on-screen chemistry between Stewart and Pattinson is quite good, and really makes scenes like this very effective. The two totally misread each others intentions early on, and it's interesting, intriguing, and entertaining to watch them both interact with one another in the pictures first act.

Their relationship seems to be going in the opposite direction until one day Edward rescues Bella from an out of control vehicle...and thus the love affair between the two of them begins. The act of chivalry pretty much seals the deal between the two and from there, their relationship slowly blossoms. But as this happens, people in the town of Forks are being murdered...and the question is, have the Cullen's or some of their clan gone back to their old ways, or is someone or something else responsible for the killings? "Twilight" does a good job of giving the viewer a likeable and attractive story to watch unfold, despite it's softcore approach to the vampire.

Sure...women will appreciate the ever-growing love story between Bella and Edward, but guys will be more intrigued by the mysterious deaths happening in town, and Bella's mysterious friend Jacob who knows alot about the Cullen's due to a rich history between his family bloodline, and the Cullen's family bloodline. A history which was not always very friendly. The film really has something for everyone, and once you accept the fact that it's not gonna be one of those hardcore vampire movies that you're used to (30 Days Of Night for example), you kind of grow to like the film for what it is as you become more and more open-minded to the story and the characters. The characters themselves are also mostly well done.

Bella starts off as annoying, but kind of grows on you eventually. Edward is likeable for the most part, and Jacob and the Cullen family are very interesting characters and interesting parts of the film. The kids who played Bella's friends however, specifically the girls were probably some of the most annoying characters in the movie, and really felt like they belonged in "Clueless 2", and not a film like "Twilight". But surprisingly enough, the most fun parts of the film for me was watching Edward and Bella's relationship slowly develop...and believe me the relationship is not an easy process. It certainly has it's bumpy moments which include Edward's temper, and his family not approving of him cozying up to a human, among other things.

But Edward like Bella...is drawn to him...is seemingly drawn to her, as everytime she needs help...he seems to magically appear to bail her out of all sorts of messes...some of the films more comedic moments. "Twilight" really finishes up strong, which is what I had hoped the film would do after spending so much time and energy on the romance and puppy love angle of the story. One of the movies best scenes is a Cullen family softball game where Bella is invited to participate, but is soon rained upon so to speak, when three enemy vampires show up to confront them. One of them being James, a super tracker who's speciality is "the hunt." The other two being his girlfriend Victoria, and the seeming leader of the group Laurent. This scene propels the movie into a fantastic finish where we finally get to some good stuff like fighting, conflict, and confrontation.

The intensity and suspense levels also pick up during the climax, and even a film which I am not extremely crazy about...can sway me somewhat if it finishes up strongly, which is exactly what "Twilight" did. The films final scene is indeed sugary sweet from a character interaction, and events-which-unfold standpoint...but still manages to keep the mystery elements alive with alot of unanswered questions and unresolved issues amongst characters such as Victoria, Jacob, and even Edward and Bella. Chances are I won't become an instant fan of this series overnight, nor will I go out and buy up all the books. But I will admit that "Twilight" was certainly not a film that I regretted spending close to 10 bucks on seeing, so you can take that for whatever it's worth.

Positives:Good acting by Stewart and Pattinson, great on-screen chemistry by the two as well. An interesting story with alot of underlying subplots, and a fantastic ending.

Negatives:I felt the film, even though I knew what I was gonna get going in...should've been somewhat more edgy with maybe atleast one nasty demise or two.

Overall:Three out of four stars.





( Talk about it in the Forums!)



( Back to the main page)