Twilight

First there was Romeo & Juliet, then came Tony & Maria of Westside Story, and now Bella and Edward of Twilight. With every great romance story, there is a boy and girl who aren't supposed to be together for some reason; wrong family, wrong ethnic group, and now the mortal and immortal. Twilight is the latest novel to film metamorphosis.

The movie is a 120 minute summary of the 500 page freshmen novel by Stephenie Meyers. When I say summary I am sincere in using the truest definition of the word. In the novel, she is meticulous in her descriptions throughout the Bella and Edward sagas. Unfortunately the attention to detail is not present in this film.

Some of the support cast seemed to force their character out of themselves. Mike Newton, played by Michael Welch, is one example. Mike Newton is supposed to be a little arrogant and slightly jockish. In the film he is a wannabe cool guy, bordering on moronic (i.e. dinner scene of Bella and her dad with Mike outside the window acting like a complete idiotic fool). I attribute this to the fact that the film was a low budget movie and the casting budget did not allow for well seasoned actors or the problem may have simply been very poor directing by Catherine Hardwicke

So is the movie as good as the book? NO! With that being said let me point out the positives of this film. The cast is almost perfect. Edward is played by Robert Pattinson and his portrayal is what I saw in my mind's eye. Bella however should have been a little more plain than Kristen Stewart who is truly lovely, naturally. (I do understand that plain may not be possible to find in Hollywood.)

Technically the film was shot beautifully. The entire movie seems to have a very romantic and haunting look in every frame which is true to the book. The incorporation of the natural beauty of the film location (Portland, Oregon) is breathtaking. Mountains, rivers, very tall trees and cold rainy winter days, all were spot on to how Ms. Meyers described the scenery in her novels.

I have a few requests for the production company, Summit Entertainment for the filming of the the sequel, New Moon, that is currently in pre-production. First, if you are doing a close up of any of the vampires, please find some better contacts so the audience is not able to see the rims of the lenses. Second, develop the relationships of the characters a little more. Lastly, please don't rush the film. Twilight, the movie, was paced entirely to fast for this very detailed story. Twilight, the novel, takes quite a while to tell. If one book is split into two movies - so be it! Your teenie bopper (and middle aged women) audience will gladly pay full price to see all the books fully come to life on the big screen!

If you are going to see Twilight, read the book first. You will understand and enjoy the movie better!

Is this a full price movie? The answer is yes, if you are a fan of the series. There is nothing better than going to a movie theatre filled to capacity with excited fans cheering and oooing at all the right moments!