Better than the book

Rating: 7/10 (6 August 2009)

I am a 22 year old male. I read the book, and thought Twilight was pretty bad. It was clearly a book written for young girls, and has almost nothing to entice an older, male reader. It was extremely melodramatic, poorly written, and left out scenes that would be interesting to readers who are not enthralled by extremely hokey and immature teenage "love." That is not to say that I cannot appreciate love stories or chick flicks; I read Pride and Prejudice, and thought it wonderful. I started to read the books after the movie had already come out, and I had already heard the disappointing reviews, but I still was interested enough to rent the film, and invest 2 hours of my life into it. Like the book, the story was almost nonexistent, but that is okay! Like Pride and Prejudice, the relationships and the emotional response of the characters IS the story. I thought the casting was perfect, except for Kristen Stewart as Bella; she was unconvincing and unrealistic, but Robert Pattinson as Edward more than made up for her, which was enough to get me to buy into the romance, and Edward and Bella's real devotion to each other. For the special effects including the fast "vampire" walking, running through the woods, and even the sparkling in the sunlight, could not have been done any better. I have read a lot of complaints about them, but while reading the book, what was done in the movie was exactly what I visualized and expected. It would have been easy to overdo the jumping, and the climbing, and the sound effects when Edward was sparkling, but I think the director blended those effects naturally into the middle of the romance, without drawing too much attention to the effect itself. The soundtrack was excellent. The emo/punk rock sound was perfectly selected to reach out to the teen audience, but it was the sounds of Carter Burwell music that caught my attention, really adding to the eerie feel of Bella's situation. It also seemed to enhance the "falling in love" sequences, with the long scenes of beautiful music, beautiful scenery, and non-audible dialogue. The visually stunning scenery of Oregon really made the whole story seem out of this world, but the realism of all the characters makes it just believable enough be enticed. The writing was below par, and the immature high school scenes were a bit annoying, but did not distract me from the sexual tension between Edward and Bella, and seemed like more of a backdrop for the surreal world that Bella is really living in. Besides, what goes unsaid is far more important and revealing than the dialogue; this only seems to get you caught up in the you-wish-it-were-real romantic passion all the more. The movie appeals to a broader audience than the book, possible at the expense of disappointing its original fan base. It took me a while to return to the real world after spending 2 hours in a world of beautiful romance, which seems just realistic enough for viewers to not automatically dismiss it as too good to be true. Like the newest creation of Pride and Prejudice (with Keira Knightley), when watching Twilight, get ready to delve into a romantic and thrilling world that sucks you in, and makes you wish you didn't have to leave at the credits.