Amazing movie...but it does lack

Rating: 9/10 (21 November 2008)

I went to the midnight premiere and was blown away with the movie. I love the books and was excited to see the movie. I knew it wouldn't be the same as the book but it did hold it's own.
The opening scene is exactly like the book, Bella's monologue about death. Every scene has weight to it, and the camera angles and lighting...well the cinematography in general was amazing. The colors used really brought the movie life while still remaining in the 'fairy-tale' realm.
Kristen's acting was superb, you can tell Bella doesn't want to be in Forks but she's so self-sacrificing that she doesn't complain. Edward really seemed anguished until he made his decision to stay with Bella. He is still uncertain as to his decision but the pull she has on him is truly visible on screen. Kristen and Rob have such a chemistry on-screen that it looks natural when they are having their intimate moments.
Because Edward and Bella are the story's main focus, I expected the other characters to not be as prominent but that didn't mean they had to cut out the other Cullens. The school kids, Eric, Jessica, Mike, Tyler, Angela, etc, are shown as what you really picture them as; they are truly oblivious to the world around them.
The few things that aggravated me were that the Cullen's were downplayed. You do see them throughout the movie but it seemed like all together they only had like 30 or 40 lines. Jasper is the one that I was most disappointed in; Jackson does an excellent job but his power is never mentioned and looks like he was just thrown in to compliment Alice. Everyone else was amazing, the actors and the characters.
It's true that it doesn't follow the book to the letter but it was still an excellent movie. There are many missing scenes but it doesn't feel lacking. Things are kind of out of place or have been cut altogether, like when Bella tells Edward that she doesn't care that he's a vampire and to scare her off he shows what he looks like in the sunlight and his other abilitiesunlike the book where she knows and then on a sunny day he shows her what he looks like or how the biology scene where they type their blood is cut along with the scene in the airport where Bella runs away. Lunch scenes are short and it's never shown that Bella and Edward have lunch together or when she starts sitting with the Cullens.
The movie doesn't seem lacking but true-die hard fans might be disappointed when they don't see a scene because it was cut. All in all, Twilight is a movie that I know I will see again and again in theaters and buy on DVD. It's an amazing movie and I highly recommend it to anyone who asks.