Lower Class Romeo and Juliet

Rating: 6/10 (16 November 2012)

Romeo, Romeo, how art thou Romeo?
The classic Shakespearean tale has been carried down the generations from centuries ago. As two lovers fall for each other via the 'ye-olde' English language, they realise their romance was forbidden by their families and must meet in secret. This is how it would be accomplished with vampires and more amateurish acting - still a watchable yarn.
As Bella (Kristen Stewart) the ordinary school girl moves back to her previous home to live with her father, she quickly develops a crush on the mysteriously pale Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson). However, Edward's family aren't as 'normal' as we assume and they believe that romance certainly shouldn't be on the cards - but it is!
Co-starring Taylor Launter as Pattinson's apparent love rival Jacob Black 'Twilight' is an interesting and heartfelt take on the novel entailing this vampire-human love franchise.
It's drawbacks are that the novel was seemingly groundbreaking among bookworms yet the movie feels rather low key and one-dimensional. The story has little complexity and for a duration of approximately two hours, very little ground is covered and the movie often feels too stretched and bloated.
Definitely worth a watch from a neutral perspective although lovers of the novel may be disappointed. Decent effort from director Catherine Hardwicke though.