Pretty Good

Rating: 7/10 (23 September 2009)

I've read a lot of negative reviews about this movie. Was the acting a bit cheesy, yes. Was the action over the top, yes. However, I watched the movie before I read the books. I was bored one night so I rented it and watched it. It was pretty good, in my opinion. When I finished the books, I went back and re-watched it just to see what I'd think of it now. This kind of story have never really fancied my tastes, even though I love vampire novels. But I was surprised at the fact that this did pique my interest.
First off, I don't see what all the complaining is about. It's a teenage drama/romance, so we can't expect Oscar gold with it. It is what it is, which is a decent love story that teens (and maybe even adults) can enjoy. So I think all the complaining needs to stop on that front. Of course it's kind of cheesy, but who cares, that's the fun of it.
There were some crucial scenes from the book that I would have liked to have seen put to screen. For instance, in the book, we see Edward and Bella in a meadow where she they're having the "lion and lamb" conversation. As they're preparing to leave, Edward tosses her on his back and inhales her scent from her wrist. Then before running off, he says something about it getting easier to deal with the thirst. The kiss, I think should have stayed in the meadow where it belonged. I didn't see any reason to put in Bella's bedroom.
I really think there should have been a distinction between the prom and the girls choice dance (which is totally left out in the movie). I know they couldn't put everything in and despite my few complaints about the movie, all in all it wasn't as bad as I'd thought.
The cinematography isn't quite to my taste, too many close ups, but still for what it was I did like it.
Though there were somethings that were left out of the movie, I think fans of the books should go see this anyway, with an open mind of course. The main points of the book are covered in the movie, which in the end is what won me over after I'd read them. The meadow scene is a short scene in the movie, in the books it lasts pretty much all day. But it's there and all of Edwards famous lines from the book are there. Including the "world perfect predator" and the "lion and lamb". James and his hunt for Bella are there as well. The things that were left out weren't too much of a disappointment to me. The essence of the story is still there."Human girl falls in love with vampire". They captured the main scenes from the book and made sure that the underlying story is pretty much the same. If you have a Blu-Ray player, I highly suggest getting the movie that way. You'll get some deleted and extended scenes. I would prefer to see a Director's Cut that has everything they've removed put back in.
All in all, I gave it a 7 due to the few complaints that I did have. It's not a perfect 10, but what can you expect? Like I said, I'll continue to go see the movies and buy them when they come out. Pretty good and I'm happy to have experienced the story.