I can see why the teenagers would go ga-ga over this movie, or this series. The author of the book, Stephenie Meyers, has created a James Dean of the vampires and director Catherine Hardwicke has brought him to life on the silver screen.

Like Anne Rice’s Lestat; Edward Cullen has that sexy, romantic and mysterious complex going for him. But that’s where similarities end as far as vampire movies are concern because Twilight was innocent and pure in plot, filled with teenage angst and social challenges. The blood-thirsty, horror driven and sexually charged were all little to non-existence.

The lovely Kri sten Stewart came with the right amount of insecurity, curiosity and strength to play opposite Robert Pattinson who must be a household name by now among the girls. Their temptation for each other is strong but their touch is forbidden, and Hardwicke really played to these two extremes to drive her movie.

But when this took up three quarters of the storyline, it became too much of a good thing. The story development for the two leads just kept ploughing on with no end in sight. And it slowed the story progression down really fast and dragged on really slowly.

 

So much so that when the other Cullens appeared onscreen, they were such a pleasant distraction because they brought with them the much needed dynamics to offset what’s being focused on over and over. A bit more focus on the other siblings, or on Bella’s classmates for that matter, would have made the movie a lot better.

And even when the “bad” vampires showed up in the final act, and no matter how condensed they were written in, they were also a welcome to the monotonous.

Rating: 4 / 10

(all images from imdb.com)