Excellent translation from book to film...

Rating: 6/10 (22 November 2008)

Walking into the theater was one of the scariest moments for me. Seeing how the Harry Potter movies have developed and apparently deviated from the book (according to my furious father), I was so afraid that this was just going to be some fluffy teenage angst movie with the only similarities to the book that inspired it being the title slapped on it and characters with similar names to the characters in the books...
And luckily, that wasn't the case. Catherine Hardwicke and Melissa Rosenberg did an excellent job of translating the essence of the first book in the Twilight saga from book to film. Without deviating from the book too much (at least not noticeably enough), they captured visually what Stephenie Meyer captured through written word.
I thought both Kristen Stewart (Bella) and Rob Pattinson (Edward) did great jobs at portraying not only their characters, but the intensely emotional relationship between the 'star-cross'd' lovers. All the supporting cast members, the Cullens and Bella's school friends, were great; in character and spot-on every time. I was especially impressed with Jasper (Jackson Rathbone)'s performance, portraying the restraint and struggle without making it seem overdone and over the top.
My favorite scene was the baseball scene. It was EXACTLY how I pictured it while I read the book. Even better, was the energy of the whole scene was hyped up with Muse's "Supermassive Black Hole" playing in the background...
What I didn't expect was how hilarious the entire movie ended up being! In a (negative) review of Twilight I read in my newspaper, it said that "the witty banter between Edward and Bella about their respective immortality and humanity is completely lost and all that's left is a slog of teenage angst." HOW WRONG THEY WERE! Kristen Stewart and Rob Pattinson deliver the funny and awkward lines with perfect timing... "Edward/Rob: I just told you that I read minds, and you think there's something wrong with *you*?!?" I thought it was hilarious.
And who could forget Charlie (Billy Burke), sweet, protective, Charlie?! From the first time you see him driving Bella home from the airport, awkwardly and stealthily glancing at her, looking as if he's wondering if he should say something or just stay silent, the adorable connection between "Charlie" and daughter is made. One of the best scenes is when Bella comes out to Charlie about her and Edward "dating" and the look on his face is priceless! "Bella/Kristen: I'm going on a date with Edward Cullen. Charlie/Billy: I thought that you weren't interested in any boys in town... Bella/Kristen: *pause* Well... Edward doesn't technically live in town. Charlie/Billy: *silent and continues to clean shot gun* Bella/Kristen: And... he's here now to formally introduce himself. Charlie/Billy: Alright... *snaps shotgun shut and cocks it* Bring him in."
Priceless. Just... priceless.
The only reason I took 1 star off of my review is because of the special effects... they weren't "cheesy" like everyone complains, but the could've been a little better, maybe with more funding. This was a surprisingly low-budget movie. Hopefully when they're filming the second movie for "New Moon" they'll bust out the big special effects for the 'werewolves' transformations, considering Stephenie Meyer describes it as a "pop."