My Twilight Movie review

Rating: 5/10 (1 April 2009)

Okay. So, I have in my possession the remaining 3 Twilight books and the movie, which I watched this morning. My official opinion is: okay.
They FLEW threw the whole first half of the story. As I had heard from friends, they also did skip a lot of important stuff. It was like the reader's digest version. The filmmakers didn't give you any time, or any reason, to care about the characters. They didn't explain the WHYs of why they felt the way they did. It just felt very rushed. I think Pattinson is a good Edward, but he was only working with the dialogue they gave him. It didn't always work; sometimes it sounded stale. As far as Bella, I agree with some other online reviews that I read in that she isn't vulnerable enough, isn't shy enough. Her facial expressions/body language were good, but she was too tough. The chemistry between them is very good in most scenes...but I guess the imagination is ALWAYS better! Casting wise, I was disappointed in the 3 male rivals and their portrayal. Jessica was great, but Angela wasn't what I pictured at all. Rosalie either. The rest were pretty close.
I read that the author Stephenie Meyer said that she had always imagined the story as a movie taking place. I don't believe this movie was written for fans of the books. They just skipped too much, were in too much of a hurry to really tell the love story between them (Edward & Bella), the hows and whys of them falling in love. Not to mention anything about the rest of Edward's family. I would have preferred a longer version that took the time to REALLY tell the story. Sure, some things always have to be cut out for it to work as a movie. But I would have liked a more "Lord of the Rings" style- detailed, full. A long movie is okay- so long as you get to tell the story. (When I saw those, 3 hours in a theater flew by because I was so engrossed!) It was so hard for me to care about Bella enough for Edward to save her, but since I read the book, I KNEW how they truly felt about each other. The movie just doesn't make it real enough.
Final word: I don't think I like the movie as a whole; the way it flows. I prefer individual scenes, the conversations they have. The scenes that are more true to the book. I don't regret watching the movie, but I don't think I would have enjoyed it at ALL if I didn't already know what was going on, simply because they don't explain it. Director change for the sequel (which, from what I've heard, is a slow book and I haven't started it yet), so hopefully the next movie will take more time to develop the characters the way they deserve to be developed. So, there you go!