Book to movie translations aren't always hit, and Twilight is proof of this miss.

Rating: 5/10 (6 January 2009)

Since Stephenie Meyer's debut of the acclaimed Twilight series, its fan base has grown worldwide, most notably the subject of pre-teen girls and middle aged women all over, and now the Twilight craze has made its way into theaters, but like most book to movie translations, this one is less than spectacular.
The plot follows the exploits of Bella Swan(Kristen Stewart), a pale lackadaisical teen whose move from Phoenix to Washington is all but endearing til she encounters Edward Cullen(Robert Pattinson), astonishingly handsome and shrouded in mystery. His secret begins to unfold when he supernaturally blocks a car from crushing Bella to death, and with his abnormal tendencies and behavior, Bella soon discovers that Edward is a vampire. Though she is aware that he thirsts for blood, her love for him is unconditional and even the sole fact of him being a vampire couldn't change it.
After having read the book, I was interested in how it would materialize on film. Seats were flooded with fans, mostly screaming pre teens and their moms. The problem I had with the overall movie came in a lot of different forms. My personal grievance started with simply the structure of the movie. Throughout reading the book, I expected it to play out on film in a very mature almost R-rated matter, but mostly in a rather serious tone. What I got was a teeny bopper experience, riddled with goofy sequences, such as the rather silly depiction of Edward's "glimmering in the sun" moment along with most of the other laughable special effects, but in essence some of its lightheartedness came with charm. Catherine Hardwicke's direction in the movie took a lot of queues from Thirteen(2001), another film of hers comprised of the whole teenage angst vibe, mostly on Bella and Edward's part, but that aspect fit the tone well.
The acting in the movie was fair, but I thought Kristen Stewart's almost monotonous portrayal of Bella was the film's downfall. Through the entire movie she seemed emotionless and boring, and her love for Edward didn't seem believable, but artificial at best. Aside from that, the pacing was also a little too rushed. Granted, it would be hard to compact a near 500-page book into a movie, but some scenes, especially major ones just seemed to happen too fast, whether it be the main characters' sudden but stale romance or more dramatic scenes that seem sped up for time restraints, such as Jacob(Taylor Lautner) sharing with Bella the history of the disputes between vampires and their clan.
The most crucial effect of the rushed pacing happens within character development. Because of this, the movie barely develops any of the other characters, albeit minor but still important to the story. There's little interaction between any of the Cullen family or Bella's friends that it's hard to feel any emotion for them seeing as they progress the story only when needed.
Overall, the movie differs from the book greatly, but is enjoyable so long as you do not compare it too much to its novel counterpart. Die hard fans of the Twilight series will be pleased with its realization on film, though it has a lot of flaws, even as a standalone movie. For everyone else unfamiliar with the Twilight franchise, just know that it is not a standard gory vampire flick.