Missing the magic

Rating: 6/10 (22 November 2008)

I have to admit the movie lived up to the low expectations I had for it. How can you capture the intensity, drama, and emotion that the book contains, when most of that goes on in Bella's head? I thought the writers tried too hard to include phrases from the book, but didn't quite know how to do it. Thus, the lines seemed cheesy when delivered. Half of the actors were believable as characters from the book. Others, mainly Robert, fell flat. His gorgeous face was fine, but he didn't show the range of emotion to be a believable Edward. Robert was too weak a character, especially when he talked. Some of his scenes he was absolutely Edward, others he was a gawky teenager trying too hard to be romantic. To give him credit though, how could anyone live up to our expectations of Edward from the book? I give him kudos for trying. My favorite scenes were when Bella and Edward were shown together in the tree while the camera panned around them. That wins for incredibly unique setting. We didn't have to listen to strained conversation while the actors fumbled around. When we can see just their faces, they are very believable. The fight scene at the end was marvelously well done. The mirrored dance studio was far more elaborate than the one Alice sees in the book, but it made for awesome special effects. With that said, I wish they would have stuck to the book a bit closer throughout. Certain small details were changed for no obvious reason. For example, James is supposed to bite Bella's hand, but he bites her arm instead. Not a super big deal, but the bite has significance in the following books. And how will Edward squeeze a giant king sized bed, frame and all, into his tiny bedroom when they make Eclipse? In all, the movie was worth the money to see. And I did enjoy seeing Stephenie Meyer in the film. She's certainly created a hit!