Twilight for Twilighters — the NNT Exclusive Review!
November 19, 2008 by sgundell
Hello fellow Twilighters. As I write this, I have just gotten home from the advanced screening of Twilight here in Portland, Oregon. And I can say this. Loved it. I honestly loved it.
It was by no means perfect - and not every Twilight fan will love it as much as I did. But I went in with a lot of expectations and I was not disappointed.
Now, in a few more words, I shall attempt to give you my review of the movie. This is not a typical movie review; it shall not examine the movie as a traditional movie critic would. I'm not a movie critic; I'm a movie viewer. And I'm a Twilight fan. So consider this your Twilight review - written by a Twilighter, for Twilighters.
I can't promise a spoiler-free ride, so if you are worried don't keep reading. If you don't mind a few spoilers (I promise, I won't give too much away!) keep reading after the jump. (Really, very minor spoilers — nothing serious, I promise!!)
Like I said, I loved the movie. I know a lot of people were worried about its faithfulness to the novel, and I can say without a doubt that the movie is 100% faithful to the novel.
Now, that doesn't mean it is exactly the same. It's not; there are a lot of differences. But the basic story - the basic events - are true to the novel; it is true to the spirit of the novel, much in the same way the Harry Potter movies are all faithful adaptations, even if they diverge from the books.
Some of the movie's lines are even plucked word-for-word from the novel - even that most famous line (however cheesy), "And so the lion fell in love with the lamb." I know originally the moviemakers wanted to remove the line, or rewrite it to be less cheesy - but Stephenie Meyer insisted it remain the same. I'm glad she did. The young actors are talented enough that they managed to deliver the line (and the subsequent "stupid lamb," "sick masochistic lion" remarks) without sounding like total hams. It actually worked.
The movie uses a lot more voice over than I traditionally like in a movie, but I found it actually provided the film with that same intimate quality you get from reading the book. In a lot of ways, it reminded me of another standout performance from Kristen Stewart - that of her role in Speak. The voice over also helped move the story along and even provided us more famous lines from the book (I'll let you see which ones made the cut).
I'm not sure what to say about the pacing of the movie. I thought it moved pretty well - even moving quickly at some times - but my friend, who also saw the movie with me, thought it felt slow. So I guess it's a matter of personal opinion. As for me, I thought it moved quite well. The progression in Edward and Bella's relationship does happen somewhat quickly, but that's to be expected because of the time constraints in making a two-hour movie. The filmmakers didn't have hundreds of pages to build that tension and romance. All things considered, I thought it worked pretty brilliantly. The filmmakers even managed to weave the most important dialogue and conversations between our two heroes into fewer, more exciting scenes. (After all, the movie would be pretty boring if Edward and Bella just kept talking as they drove to and from school. I love those scenes in the book, but even I can admit it would be pretty boring in a movie.)
As for the acting … well, I don't think they could have picked a better cast. Kristen Stewart plays a very reserved, awkward Bella - socially uncomfortable, a bit of a loner, and yet very level-headed and very determined. Not everyone is going to love her performance. One of my friends who saw the movie with me commented that she thought Bella was "blah." I didn't feel that way, but others may. I thought Stewart did an excellent job of portraying Bella, how I perceived her in the books.
Likewise, Robert Pattinson is Edward Cullen. Now, I was always a Pattinson fan. I loved him in Harry Potter and I was instantly thrilled about his casting as Edward. He did not disappoint me. If anything, I was even more impressed after seeing the movie. The agony he portrays is utterly heartbreaking. And yes, he is dazzling - both figuratively and literally. I won't give away too much - but I can tell you that the sparkle effect they used for his skin in the sunlight is amazing. It was fantastic. It was beautiful and subtle, without being garish. I know they worked very hard to get just the right effect, and it totally paid off. I kind of felt like Bella that first time she saw Edward in the sun … I was equally mesmerized and dazzled.
One of my favorite scenes is that first day in Biology. Pattinson's portrayal of Edward's horror and bloodlust is a standout. I don't want to give it all away — but I can tell you it was a pretty awesome scene.
Another standout from the movie is Billy Burke as Charlie Swan. Now, it's no secret that I've got a huge soft spot for Charlie as a character. I don't know what it is, but he's one of my favorite characters in the books and I absolutely adore him. My love for Charlie has only grown after seeing the movie. Burke's portrayal is both amusing and heartbreaking. One of the most emotional scenes in the movie is when Bella tells him that she doesn't want to get stuck in Forks like her mom. You could hear a collective "Awww" of sympathy in the audience at that moment. I wanted to cry for Charlie. He is the lonely ex-husband, the loving yet awkward father and also the police chief, whose job it is to look after his daughter and his neighbors. And Burke plays it brilliantly.
And of course, the Cullens. I only wish we got to see more of them. Due to the constraints of turning a 500+ page book into a two-hour movie, we lose some of the smaller side stories and back stories. Yes, we do see a little of the Cullens' history. But not much. And we don't get to spend a lot of time with them in the present. But all of the actors in the Cullen clan were superb. Even in the scenes when they had no lines - when they were silent bystanders - they had a major presence. One of my favorite moments is in the Forks High School parking lot, just after Edward has saved Bella from Tyler's minivan, we see a close-up of the Cullen siblings. It was chilling, to say the least. In a small, quick shot, we get a very vast understanding of how much Edward has angered his family and how much he has risked by saving Bella's life. It's very much akin to the argument Edward has with his family in those chapters from Midnight Sun.
The bad vamps are equally delicious. I'm so glad they were given more scenes in the movie - given a chance to establish themselves as wicked and wonderful before they arrive in the baseball clearing. Honestly, I hope Summit greenlights a New Moon movie just so I can see more of Rachelle LeFevre in action as Victoria.
And speaking of baseball … let me just say this, I will never look at a regular baseball game the same way again. I realize this baseball scene was fabricated - done with stunts and special effects. But the overall look and feel was exhilarating. I only wish it had lasted longer.
I should also mention briefly that Taylor Lautner was surprisingly good as Jacob Black. Now, I'll be the first to admit that I am proudly, 100% on Team Edward. But from the beginning, I was not happy about the casting of Lautner. I just didn't see it, and every interview I saw with him just irked me. Perhaps its his youthful enthusiasm, or his overuse of the word "like" … but whatever it was, I just couldn't see him as Jacob. However, I stand corrected. He not only pulled it off, but I'll go so far to say that he actually did a really good job in the part. His scenes with Stewart as Bella felt very much like the Jacob-Bella interraction I remember from the books. Together, they gave off that very "easy friendship" vibe — though you could still see that Jacob is crushing on Bells.
And lets give some love to the humans at Forks High School. Mr. Molina — the movie version of their biology teacher — has only a few brief moments, but they are memorable. Anna Kendrick as Jessica Stanley is pure genius. You both love her and want to slap her at the same time. Christan Seratos' portrayal of Angela is also endearing, so much so that I can picture her in my head when I reread the scene from Eclipse when Bella helps Angela address graduation invites. And the boys, well, they are all clearly smitten by Stewart's Bella. Of Tyler, Eric and Mike — my favorite was Michael Welch as Mike Newton. He had that quasi-popular, nerdy-yet-cool attitude down pat. He was actually rather adorable, in a non-supernatural hunk kind of way.
The music was also exquisitely woven into the movie. I myself had my doubts about how some of the tracks on the soundtrack would work into the film, but those doubts are gone. (Most notably, I was uncertain how Muse's "Supernatural Black Hole" would work into the film. I'm a huge Muse fan, and I love that song, but I just couldn't see it in the Twilight context. But I've seen it in use and I am sold.) I'm also now in love with Carter Burwell's version of "Bella's Lullaby" - which appears throughout the movie in various forms as a sort of "love theme" for Bella and Edward. It helps connect their romance throughout the film, and brings it all together. Like many, I wasn't sure I liked it when I first heard it. Not so any more. I even listened to it in my car on the way home from the movie and found I actually kind of loved hearing it.
Oh, and the movie's ending? Satisfying, yet it just leaves you longing for more. I will leave it at that.
Overall, I would give this movie a 95% satisfaction rating. Some of the special effects seemed a wee bit cheesy; the pacing wasn't perfect. But overall, I think they nailed it. And I for one, will have no problem going to see Twilight again Thursday night … or Friday afternoon … or over and over again on DVD, with all those deleted scenes we've been promised.
On a final note, here's my advice to Twilight fans headed to see the movie for the first time:
Remember it's an adaptation of the book. It's not going to be exactly the same, page for page. Not every scene will happen the same way it does in the book. Things are changed and adjusted to fit in a cinematic scope. But the movie is true to the story and the heart of the book.
If you go in with that in mind and a good attitude, you should hopefully enjoy the movie just as much as I did.
Source - https://twilightnovelnovice.com/2008/11/19/twilight-for-twilighters-the-nnt-exclusive-review/
