review by someone who didn't read the books

Rating: 5/10 (21 November 2008)

i went to see this movie opening night with my gf and my roommate who have both read the books. (one of them several times) i have heard them both talk about the books but i never read them. one more thing i should point out is that i am a guy, and this movie is obviously geared for the ladies.
with that said, i liked the film more than the book-read friends that accompanied me. and not because i thought the movie was well made or that the acting was that great. the movie was funny intentionally, but funnier when it was supposed to be serious. that is why i enjoyed it. i understand that the book is from bella's pov so a lot of the story is thought not said, but kristen stewart overacts to a point of hilarity at times. the side cast is also hilarious. and when edward first "smells" bella, the whole theatre cracked up. i can't help but compare this to "bring it on" and its several sequels. (note; i liked bring it on...)
all joking aside- as a movie, the timing is terrible. the romance is very rushed when it shouldn't be, and drags on when it could have made the point and moved on. the cullen family is pretty ridiculous, in fact, most of the script is cheesy and totally unrealistic, and the action scenes leave something to be desired. character development is absolutely abysmal. and like i said, although this can be said about most movies based on books, the whole film felt rushed. and like i said before, i cant help but to compare this to "bring it on" as far as the age range this was targeted at.
on the bright side there was Alice, but she was not used to her full potential.
so basically... it wasn't terrible, but it could be a whole lot better. i see the appeal, but it wasn't executed well.
so, what professional wrestling is to 13 year old boys, twilight is to 13 year old girls. it doesn't have to be "the godfather" for it to not have a following.