It's pretty good, but you're probably only ever going to rewatch this if you're in love with Robert.

Rating: 7/10 (22 November 2008)

First off, I liked the Twilight books, but I wasn't in love with them. Face it, a teen romance series involving vampires and werewolves that ends up with a hybrid baby named RENESMEE isn't exactly going to be literary gold. But Stephenie Meyer did a good job appealing to her demographic, and at the very least, it made teens read.
Unfortunately, I thought that the books kind of already didn't set the standard for the movie very high. I can't lie, I LOVE the sound of Edward and secretly sometimes fantasize about him lol, but in the end, neither he nor Bella really have any solid personality of their own. The basic core of the series is just that their love is dangerous because he could kill her, not because one of them is amazingly witty or smart or has any particular special quality to them (not counting being a vampire or having a stupid lack of self-interest or safety).
Sorry, I'll get back to the actual movie now haha.
Anyway, so I wasn't expecting the characters themselves to be extraordinary by any means. Bella, when translated on screen, and though I really love Kristen Stewart as an actress, turned out to seem even more crazy and possessive than she did in the books. I liked Robert's performance better, more so because he changed Edward from ridiculously perfect and romantic to a more nervous and almost insecure guy, which I think would better fit a vampire teenager embarking on a relationship for the first time (that might turn off some hardcore fans though). The problem I had with the two of them together in the movie is that because the filmmakers had to cram so much plot in two hours, the development of their love seemed way too rushed and by the end, puzzling how they could have been so in love that they'd freaking die for each other. And especially in comparison to Bella's friends and the other kids in the movie, Rob and Kristen seemed way too overly serious from the beginning - there was never a light, romantic moment between them at all.
I also didn't particularly like the other vampires. Actually, scratch that, I liked how they were acted (especially Carlisle and Esme, and to an extent Emmett and Jasper), but I think Rosalie was the most miscast. I've seen her in other pictures and I think she's really pretty outside of the movie, but she definitely didn't look like the most beautiful woman in the world in the movie like she was supposed to (sorry for sounding so superficial lol). Neither did Alice, though she was so cute and quirky and fit the role perfectly acting-wise. I think it might have been the make-up that did that; the overly pale and obvious powder and scarlet lipstick was possibly one of the worst movie make-up jobs I've seen in a long while lol.
Other than that little bump, I really enjoyed the rest of it. I loved the humor they put in (I specifically remember Bella and her dad in the diner and Mike humping a bush outside the window ROFL haha), which I think strengthened the movie a LOT and helped better draw in their teen audience (who're all probably already sucked in anyway by Rob's gorgeous smile). That whole crowd of Forks kids, as well as Jacob, I thought were much better acted than either Bella or Edward to be honest.
The best thing about it was definitely the cinematography. The shots were gorgeous and very artsy for a teen film like this, and definitely made the movie more credible and solid than it might have been otherwise. Definitely kudos to Catherine Hardwicke and whoever was the director of cinematography for that.
So yeah, this was a pretty good movie to kill two hours in, especially if you're already a Twilight fan. Still, it isn't something I'd pay to rewatch, though I hoped that it would be. It could have been better, but then again, that could be said for pretty much any film lol.