Pros and Cons

Rating: 7/10 (15 June 2009)

I have probably read the book a good dozen times, and went to see the movie on opening night. I have also reviewed the movie for a film class, as well as multiple times afterward. And with saying all that, I feel confident in my critic of the movie.
Pros; The screenplay lived up to expectation, I realized that not every single detail of Edward's perfection would not and could not be portrayed in the movie, but the script did a nice job dealing with the task of telling the story from a third-person perspective.
Lighting and costuming were nice and fitting. Each of the characters were thought out and planned to the most minor of details.
I liked the extra splash of humor thrown into the mix, such as Edward's reaction to Bella's scent. I also found it a bit humorous for myself that they added in the line "You are a strong, independent woman," when Bella was talking to Angela about asking Eric to prom. The reason this makes me laugh is because I have read so many anti-Twilight blogs complaining about Bella's "submissiveness" and total lack of "female strength and self-reliance." Cons; Not. Long. Enough. If they had made it even half an hour longer, they probably could have stopped focusing so much on Bella and Edward's awkward excuse for relationship progression, and tapped into the other characters. In the book, Carlisle's story, as well as Alice's and Esme's are touched on as well as Jasper's power (which was completely skipped over). But unfortunately, besides Edward, the other Cullens remained one-dimensional throughout the film.
My biggest qualm; Rosalie. Am I the only one that thinks Catherine Hardwicke was more than just a little bit biased when choosing the actress to play Rosalie? And I don't think there was a shortage of attractive, talented blonde bombshells that auditioned for the role.