Doesn't Live Up to the Hype

Rating: 5/10 (24 November 2008)

This movie wasn't near what I expected it to be. There are lot of things I want to say, but so much so that I am not sure of what to say.
The first forty minutes of the movie felt extremely rushed. I think this is where the director did the worst job. It felt like the first two-thirds of the book was shoved into the first thirty to forty minutes. The acting for the character of Edward seemed almost forced during the first few scenes. Rather than looking like he was bothered by a strong odor, he seemed as if he was going to have a seizure in the school lab.
From there the forced romance only got worse. It seemed like in the first ten to fifteen minutes that Edward absolutely hated Bella, and five minutes later he was saving her life. Five minutes after that, he was telling her he didn't want to talk to her ever. Another five minutes go by, and Edward is telling Bella that he can't stay away from her. The entire bond between Edward and Bella that was built over a very long period in the book, could have been missed with a short trip to the concession stand. I would say this has to do with bad directing.
The visual FX were also a thorn in the side for this movie. I was disappointed with the way that everything was blurred to make it seem fast. Those kinds of FX worked in the seventies, but I mean come on... I agree with the commentators that said the director needs to watch a few more action films before trying to portray these scenes again. It was almost appalling to see some of the "high-school computer lab" FX done in this film.
The only reason I even stayed to watch the rest of the movie, is because I enjoyed the book so much. I can only hope that they don't ruin the next few books with the same horrible directing job they did in this one.
As for the characters, I believe that almost everyone was wonderfully portrayed. Edward was a good pick, except for he looks like a bean pole in some scenes... maybe a protein shake would help this guy out. Bella did a good job as well, and her expressionless face seemed to be what most of us fans expected. The acting of Edward and Bella both could have been improved if it was less rushed. I believe that the best character portrayal of the entire book was Alice; she was EXACTLY what I expected. She was really upbeat, and "in your face" nice. The scene in which she said, "It's okay Edward! Me and Bella re going to be GREAT friends", was perfect. Laurent and Victoria were what I would have expected as well. The only character I really had a problem with was James. I was expecting a slightly older, wiser, and more cunning-like character. James seemed to be a let down, and was EXTREMELY hard to take serious.