Twilight: tween sensation not all that sensational

Rating: 3/10 (22 January 2010)

Stephanie Meyer's novel Twilight follows the story of Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart), a clumsy, naïve teen from Phoenix, Arizona who moves to the gloomy town of Forks, Washington with her father, Charlie. As she settles into Forks and starts going to the local high school, she notices a handsome, brooding boy named Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) and his family, which includes Alice, Emmett, Rosalie and Jasper. When they're seated next to each other in biology class, they begin to get to know each other. On one cold and snowy afternoon, a car skids through the icy parking lot and nearly hits Bella, but Edward stops it with his hand, denting the car. Bella begins to notice more strange things that Edward can do that don't seem human or normalas they're together more often, Bella begins to speculate about what's special about Edward, and when she does research on the internet, she discovers that Edward and his family are all vampires. As their love for each other grows, Edward and Bella get right in the middle of a fight with a hungry, bloodthirsty vampire named James (Cam Gigondet), and they must escape from danger with help from the Cullens and find a way to live their lives in peace, while Jacob (Taylor Lautner), a boy from an American Indian tribe in Washington, tries to break up their relationship.
After I saw Twilight, I tried to think of good things to say about it, but that was a challenge. The story, created by Meyer, is good in theory. A story of a human in love with a vampire is something that I don't think had been approached before Twilight. Unfortunately, the concept suffers greatly when stretched out. The character of Bella rushes into the conclusion that Edward is a vampire, making the overall story look less realistic. The dialogue, written by screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg, is unbelievable. The conversations shared by the teenage characters of the film sound like what most fifty-year-olds think teen conversations sound like. The "hip" lingo used by the characters seems awkward and forced.
Something that confused me was why this movie was so popular. It won MTV Movie Awards and Teen Choice Awards, and I watched clips from the movie to try and find the appeal. I think the cinematography by Elliot Davis (which shines at times, but sinks into mediocrity at others) combined with the harsh, smooth editing by Nancy Richardson set a mood for this film that gave it a polished look that many found appealing. I cannot, however, understand why Kristen Stewart received an award for her acting in this film. This film was riddled with poor acting, specifically by Stewart, Taylor Lautner, and Cam Gigondet. The only actor in this film that I think has some strong talent is Robert Pattinson, but even his performance was bogged down by bad writing. Christina Hardwick did an average job directing this movie. The direction wasn't great, but it wasn't horrible either.
Overall, I would not recommend seeing Twilight. It has no lasting charm, and the poor writing and acting make it a painfully mediocre film. It's a popcorn movie, fun to watch if you're bored with a group of friends, but not particularly admirable in its own right. If you're looking for a movie that you can think about afterwards, skip Twilight and find something a little heavier.