If you haven't read the book, don't bother

Rating: 3/10 (24 November 2008)

And, if you have read the book, then maybe you shouldn't bother then either, but for different reasons. Those who haven't read the book might get confused, or in the case of my friend, annoyed at the inconsistencies. Some of those inconsistencies wouldn't be a problem if she had read the book. A person shouldn't have to read the book a movie was based on in order to be entertained, or to know what on earth was going on. Those who have read the book will most likely be disappointed, unless you're a tween girl fascinated by Rob Pattinson. No offense tweenies, I was there at one time, too, and I do remember . . .
I've read all four books and took a friend who hasn't read them. I was bored and I knew the story! You can only imagine how painful it was for my friend to sit through the picture. I had hopes (not high ones) that the picture would take care of the things in the books that I found so unessential and annoying to read (disclaimer - I'm not her target audience in fiction, so not surprising I had difficulty with areas of the books). Stephanie Meyers created an intriguing and wonderful fantasy world, and though her characters aren't deep and rich, they're still engaging. The script for this picture failed to capture what's interesting about Edward and Bella's relationship as well as the fantastical world in which they dwell. The dialogue completely fails. It's choppy and unnatural, except for three or four lines scattered throughout.
It's a shame director Hardwicke chose to hang onto large panning shots -by the 20th one, we didn't care! Good film storytelling would have established the world and hinted at the conflict in the first 30 minutes, then hit the ground running with the baseball scene (where in the book, everyone's roles are firmly established and the conflict begins full throttle). Instead, my friend and I had to sit through an hour and forty minutes of melodramatic dreft before the conflict truly began and by then, we didn't care - though by then I was thankful that I had read the book. My friend was ready to leave - but she toughed it out.
The actors all did fine work, more so since they didn't have good material with which to work. They definitely earned their pay, as well as the adoration that's being sent their way (more than likely though, the adoration is not for their fine acting talents).
Finally, a note to the writer and director - if you have to resort to voice over, neither one of you has done your storytelling jobs.