I can see why it's so popular

Rating: 6/10 (28 March 2009)

I haven't read the books but I went into this movie expecting little based on the hysteria. I was worried I was going to be sitting in a theater surrounded by teenage girls (isn't that the fan base?). I wasn't wrong. But the nature of the movie is that it's romantic and thrilling, so it very cleverly manages to cater to everyone in the audience.
Kristen Stewart is pretty good as Bella Swan, a teenage girl who moves to the rainy little town of Forks, Washington to live with her dad. She becomes drawn to a mysterious boy named Edward Cullen who she later finds out is, surprise, surprise - a vampire.
They fall in love and she joins in with the Vampire war that's going on in the town. It's a bit unsatisfying that they can't have sex - they want to but whenever they get too close he has to stop the urge to bite her. Very convenient for the PG-13 rating! You can fill in the rest.
The movie is successful because it appeals to a lot of things people wish they had in their lives: someone to love and protect them unconditionally, love, with a superhuman, and some mystery and intrigue.
I'm kind of looking forward to the next one but still not tempted to read the books.