It's not just people hating on it...

Rating: 1/10 (5 December 2009)

When this movie came out, I thought all the nasty comments were just people hating on it without seeing it because it's a popular flick for young, teenage girls, and they wanted to look cool by trashing it before it came out.
And then I actually watched the movie, and... SWEET Jesus... It is actually one of the worst movies I've ever seen. It's not just people hating on it. It is actually a really bad movie. I mean I feel like I've been mooned watching "New Moon".
But, just to even things out, I'm a guy. So I'm not exactly unbiased when it comes to this movie. (I saw the movie because I work at a Drive-In theater, and it was a really slow night.)
That said, I've seen love stories and fantasy love stories that I've actually liked, or I can respect for being well made, even if they're not my thing. And that's what I was expecting with this. I was expecting it just to not be my thing, but it made me frigging ANGRY to try to sit through this. I say "try" because I couldn't sit through the whole thing!
Everyone else has commented on the movie, but I'll add my two-sense anyway.
ACTING - Mostly awful. The woman playing Bella is actually OK, but she's given horrible dialog, a horrible motivation, and a horrible story so it's impossible to get into her character.
STORY - It's stupid. That's the only way to describe it. It's like watching a two hour emo-trip.
Here's the story ***SPOILERS***
Edward breaks up with Bella. She goes through a long... long... long... LONG over-dramatic period of mourning where she meets another guy and basically acts completely emo and sees Edward everywhere. Not just for a few days or a few weeks, but MONTHS. Which the film MAKES A POINT TO SHOW US BECAUSE THEY PUT UP TITLES SHOWING US THE PASSING MONTHS AS SHE STARES OUT A WINDOW!!!!
And then she starts hurting herself and putting herself in dangerous situations because... life is meaningless. And you know, she's emo. Because her boyfriend broke up with her. And even though she's got other guys expressing an interest left and right... she just keeps crying over this one guy, who is kind of a dick. That's not romantic. That's a sign you need psychological help. And it is a terrible message for young women. "If your boyfriend breaks up with you... act like it's the end of the world... because it is. Don't try to move on. Dwell on it. And get into motorcycle accidents."
DIALOGUE - Bad. SPECIAL EFFECTS - Bad. PACING - Bad. LOVE SCENES - Unbelievably bad. CHARACTER MOTIVATIONS - Ridiculous.
ANY GOOD?
Well... I will say the cinematography is nice. Some of the editing is nice. The girl playing Bella can act, but she's given bad material. And some of the scenery is kind of nice.
But in all... the movie is really crappy. I didn't see the first one, and I don't intend to. Hell, I didn't intend to watch this one. I only tried to because it was a slow night at the drive-in movie theater where I work. But if you want to watch a good fantasy love story, there's better stuff out there. There's more well-made stuff out there.
And fans of "Twilight," I'm not hating on you. If you like it, hey, everyone's got their own preferences. Watch what you want to. But I didn't care for the movie, and I, personally, didn't find enough good to give it a higher rating.
1/10 - Only watch it if you're a fan of "Twilight" or you're really into this kind of thing. To anyone else... I wouldn't even bother with it.