I will admit that the only reason I went to see this movie was as a favor to my girlfriend who has read all of the novels. Having said that, watching Twilight was not a horrible experience. I actually found it marginally entertaining. Of course I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more if I were a teenage girl, or had been at some point in my life. But I’m not, nor have I ever been. I have also not read the series of novels the movie is based on. So take this review as one written by an outsider looking in.

This movie follows the story of Belle, who upon her mother’s remarriage & relocation, has opted to move back to her childhood stomping grounds to live with her father. At her new school, she meets & is inexplicably drawn to a fellow class member, Edward Cullen; member of the mysterious & reclusive Cullen family.

After a freak accident, Belle’s life is saved by Edward, with an act that would seemingly require speed & strength that is far beyond human. As she seeks to find out the truth about Edward Cullen & his adopted family, their relationship begins to grow. Meanwhile, a few locals around town fall victim to a series of grisly murders. Are the Cullens responsible, or is there someone/something else causing the carnage?

Like I said before, Twilight wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Then again, it wasn’t good either. The main characters did a good job acting, as well as most of the supporting cast. Those playing the roles of typical teenagers/highschoolers got on my nerves with their insignificant drivel, just like real typical teenagers/highschoolers do. I’m doing my best to view this as a good thing. Also, the movie held my interest despite the 2+ hours running time.

A number of liberties are taken In regards to “typical” vampire lore. Some of them are pretty cool, like the fact that each vampire has his or her own unique power or ability. While others, like the fact that the vampires don’t go out into the sunlight, not because it kills them, but because it makes them all “sparkly,”
Is kind of… well… you fill in the blank.

Now for the fatal flaw: the pacing, or should I say rushing, of key elements in the story. First, there is the development of the relationship between Bella & Edward. On screen, these two go from casual glances (and in some cases, sniffs) to attraction, to being madly in love seemingly in the blink of an eye.

Secondly - The plot structure of a movie or book consists of these key elements: 1) the exposition, 2) the rising action, 3) the climax, 4) the falling action, & 5) the conclusion. This movie tried to cram a major aspect of the rising action and the entire climax involving a second group of vampires into about 15 minutes of the 2-hour running time. WHAAA!?! Also, virtually no background & very little character development time is given to the antagonist vampires.

While I certainly don’t envy the task of trying to cram a nearly 500-page book into a 2-hour movie, glossing over important points such as these is a major deduction. I could have tolerated maybe an additional 20-30 minutes added to the running time if that meant things could have been fleshed out a bit more.

I give this movie 6 out of 10 pretty-boy vampire families that look like the stepped out of an ad for The Gap.