I liked it, but felt it should have gone longer to get it perfect.

Rating: 8/10 (23 November 2008)

I went first thing Friday (had to work midnight Thurs) to see Twilight, which I had been anxiously waiting for. I was not disappointed by the casting choices, I thought Rob Pattinson was a great choice for Edward, and he did not disappoint in the looks or the acting - I thought he really put a lot of emotion into it. I was also happy with the rest of the Cullens and with the nomads - they all seemed to fit with what I had expected from the book. Kristen Stewart was a good choice for Bella as far as looks, and her chemistry with Rob is electric. However, I have seen several of her films, and as with the others, she just seems to be unable to bring a lot of emotion to the parts - it comes out looking like she is just going through the motions - sort of monotone. I would blame this on the script, had I not seen her other work. It's not bad, just not great. I liked how well they kept to the book, although I think they cut out too much of the development of Edward and Bella's relationship. I felt like they really rushed through all of that - I think had they gone another 20-30 minutes they could have really brought that out and made it more believable. A lot of the school/biology class , parking lot and lunchroom stuff was left out, and I felt this was all part of their relationship building. I also would have liked to have seen more of the Cullens. Overall, I really liked it though. Considering the budget they were working under, I think it was excellent. With what I believe will be a much bigger budget for New Moon, I expect a little more next time. However, I think they will need to find a way to have Edward's character in it more than the book allows in order to get the big draw for that one. I think he is the one who holds the hearts of the crowd. I do look forward to it, though and will be seeing Twilight again at least once more. I definitely recommend it, just wish it had been longer and shown more character development.