Casting great, too much brooding, "fast" special effects -- puh-leeze!

Rating: 6/10 (22 November 2008)

First of all, I enjoyed reading all the books (well, maybe with the exception of the fourth one - ugh), so I really enjoyed seeing the characters come to life on the screen. The casting was really well done; RP is certainly close to what I pictured as Edward -- very believable.
Secondly, the scene at the theater made me glad I attended opening night -- total mob scene of teenagers! I'm a 48YO mom, and it was just amusing to be so outnumbered. Wow.
I went expecting to be somewhat underwhelmed, but actually the movie was entertaining. A tad too much somber broodiness, which would have been alleviated with perhaps some voice-over POV's from at least Edward in addition to more from Bella. If someone hadn't read the book, they'd be left in the dark on a lot of it. What's going on in the character's heads is extremely important, and explains the why's and how's of the dilemma of this relationship.
What I found most disappointing (and yes, I understand that it didn't have a big budget) was the true cheesiness of the special effects. The extremely fast running (in the woods) and climbing around the trees for the most part just looked like they were flying on a wire, or at best, like the movie was fast-forwarding. And that, I felt, was truly distracting and made certain parts feel like a B-movie. I felt bad laughing and rolling my eyes, but really...! But the baseball scene was better than I thought it would be, and the car/rescue scene as well.
Anyway, I can see why some love it and some hate it. It could have been way better. But all in all, it was an enjoyable film for those like me who enjoyed seeing Stephanie Meyer's books fleshed out (a little) on the big screen.