Twilight the Movie

I finally got to see Stephenie Meyer's Twilight the movie last night. It was very enjoyable and the actors played their parts quite well. I realize that a few movie critics have given the movie somewhat mediocre reviews for the dialogue, just as some book critics have critized Stephenie Meyer's writing for the book on which the movie was based. (Check out my criticism on the Twilight critics blog).

In my opinion, these "awkward" dialogues actually made the actors more convincing as inexperienced teenagers who are still unsure how to express and deal with these exciting new feelings and thoughts. Angela (played by Christian Serratos) and Jessica (played by Anna Kendrick), for instance, acted like typical giddy teens, giggling when they saw Edward unexpectedly show up with Bella who was missing for what appears a few hours. And the main characters, Edward (Robert Pattinson) and Bella (Kristen Stewart) had those "tongue-tied" moments, which I think is pretty natural when you've never been in a relationship before and don't know whether you should be direct or indirect with your thoughts toward the object of your affection. I mean, even adults sometimes don't know how to say simple things to the person they are infatuated with (or in love with). The insecurity of not knowing how the other person is going to react can truly get in the way of expressing one's self.


As I had heard beforehand, there were definitely some scenes in the movie that were not in the book at all. I don't think the additional scenes hurt the movie though. In fact, I think they enhanced the movie, especially the parts related to the traveling vampire clan. These scenes were not in the book (at least as far as I can remember). They added drama to the movie as well as show a significant difference between the Cullen family and other vampires. It also helped to enhance the reason to fear vampires, clearly showing how dangerous and risky Bella and Edward's relationship was.


One thing I didn't expect was the occasional comic relief scenes such as the references to Bella's clumsiness. Although it was mentioned in bit parts in the novel, the characters talking about it and teasing Bella brought a bit humor to an otherwise serious or dark storyline. I did notice the peculiarity of Jasper Hale (played by Jackson Rathbone) who is one of the Cullen Family's "adopted" sons. He barely talked and had what looked like a permanently forced smile on his face, reminding me of Edward Scissorhands. Just his simple appearance in the movie made me want to crack up laughing.


At the end of the book, there's a sneak peak at New Moon, which looks like it is going to be a very exciting follow up to Twilight. Heck, the final scene in the movie lets you know there's going to be much more happening in Forks, Washington.