They did a good job bringing the story to the screen

Rating: 6/10 (21 November 2008)

**This review may contain spoilers**
I usually hate movie version of books I love. The ONLY two exceptions I can think of are "The Shining" and "Jurassic Park." Otherwise, it seems to be impossible to bring a book to the screen credibly. Twilight will be number three on my list.
The screenwriter and director have done a really good job bringing difficult material to life on the big screen. All the characters and basic elements of the story have been translated beautifully. Edward's love/hate of Bella at first, before he decides to actually love her, was portrayed perfectly by Robert Pattinson. If looks could kill, his would have done so. All the other characters were spot on as well. Alice, Emmett, Jasper and Rosalie couldn't have been better portrayed if some magic had brought the actual words from the book to life! Jacob seemed a little bit polished. He never quite looked like the scruffy kid from the rez who just walked out of his garage. But he did have the warm welcoming that Jacob is supposed to have. And the three bad vampires were EXACTLY right! The movie really came to life when they were on the screen.
The only two problems I had with the movie were these: Kristen Stewart's acting sometimes lacks any emotional range. Her line delivery is really choppy, and she physically seems twitchy in many scenes. But the bigger problem was the score. Music is SO important in a movie. The choice of music can completely change the tone. And the music in Twilight for the most part wasn't that good. The songs that Pattinson sang were probably the best in the film. The music behind the beloved meadow scene sounded like it had been pulled right from a B-movie based on a sappy Harlequin romance novel. The scene itself, if you could keep the music out of your mind, seemed well done. But the music sets such a B-movie tone that it makes you feel like you're watching a worse movie than you actually are. Director Catherine Hardwicke will have a bigger budget for the next movie, so I hope she hires Alan Shore, John Williams, or someone of their substantial abilities to score the next movie. She can still throw in the "hip" songs here and there.
These problems didn't make me dislike the movie, though. I would still say go see it and have a good time