1st half was awful but the 2nd half picked it up

Rating: 4/10 (25 November 2008)

I must say, if I hadn't read the first 100 pages of Twilight before watching this movie, I would've been completely lost.
Most movies tend to be bad because the story drags and the audience can't seem to find reasons to watch the movie. This movie didn't drag. Instead, it dragged me. I ended up being dragged into many different scenes where it was hard to understand who was who to the story. Like I said before, if I hadn't read the first 100 pages, I wouldn't have had a single clue as to what was going on in the film.
The first half of the movie was terrible. The adaptation of the first part of the book was really awful. Scenes kept on jumping from one place to another. The relationships of Bella with her friends were not developed at all. It was so hard to understand who her friends were because she barely said five words to most of them. Bella's relationship with Edward was also terribly developed. Luckily though, everything picked up in the second half of the movie.
The actors who played Bella's school friends were quite terrible at acting. They came in and talked in a very scripted way. It wasn't acting. It was trying to act. I'll have to admit though that Robert Pattinson didn't do such a bad job. He was alright for most of the movie.
The movie was really hard to get in the first hour. The writer and director seemed to have difficulty with the tasks they were left with leaving the first half to feel like it didn't make much sense. The 2nd half though was much better. The 2nd half was a lot smoother than the 1st. It was easier to understand and if the part of the audience that hadn't read the book got the gist of the 1st half, they would've enjoyed the 2nd.
I sure hope they do a better job with New Moon. At least this time, their release date is more than a year away. More than enough time to write, produce and package a good movie.