Great movie (if you've read the books)

Rating: 8/10 (19 November 2008)

I saw Twilight last night at an early showing and really had no idea what to expect. I am a fan of the books but I am also aware of their teeny-bopper appeal. I am not so in love with the series that I was going to be angry when the movie strayed from the books, but I found no REAL errors. The one thing that bothered me was that Edward wore a t-shirt to school and was sitting right in the window on a BRIGHT overcast day. This would never happen. Also, Edward's car is a Volvo hatchback... which it shouldn't be. Another thing that seemed odd to me was that Bella has no real reaction to Edward being a vampire.
Anyways... I felt that Catherine Hardwicke added a certain humor to the film- the audience laughed out loud very often. I was pleasantly surprised with Kristen Stewart- I was expecting to be completely disappointed by her portrayal of Bella. I felt that all of the Cullens were cast very well. I especially enjoyed Robert Pattinson (of course) and Esme. I also felt the cinematography captured the beauty of the Pacific Northwest very well (it is where I grew up and live currently).
The one complaint I have about the film is that Edward and Bella seem to RUSH into a relationship. There is no build up to it. I felt that if a person had not read the books they would not understand how all of the sudden these two young people are so completely in love. The beginning of the movie also seems pretty choppy but it's nothing too serious. I also found myself laughing out loud when Jacob explains the legend to Bella and the movie cuts back to the members of the tribe confronting the Cullens in the forest decades earlier. It was hilarious and I'm sure it wasn't meant to be.
I particularly enjoyed the baseball scene as well as the scene in which Edward sneaks into Bella's room(!). The thing about the movie that bothered me the most was the soundtrack. The lullaby was nothing special (they really had an opportunity to make the song beautiful) and the emo/indie music all throughout the movie made everything seem TOO serious at certain points and NOT serious enough at others. The music (for me at least) distracted me instead of enhanced the experience.
Overall, however, I really enjoyed and loved the movie. I liked that there were parts you could laugh at. Edward and Bella also had excellent chemistry and Robert Pattinson did an amazing job of giving Edward that "outsider" quality. I think the movie was very entertaining and also set up very well for New Moon.