After having heard much hype about it, we decided to watch Twilight last night.
I'm completely unfamiliar with the book it's based on (it's designed for teenage girls!), so aside from reading a quick IMDB review I hadn't really developed any preconceived ideas of what it would be like. Apparently it has a huge cult following so I was expecting something which was interesting, if not necessarily incredible.
It's based on the story of a young girl called Bella (Kristen Stewart) from Arizona who moves to Forks, Washington to live with her Father. After the stereotypical 'new girl at school' sequence, she meets a bizarre 'boy' called Edward Cullen, and after the usual initial awkwardness, he becomes more friendly towards her and saves her from a car accident using his special vamPowers (I called them that). Eventually she figures out he's a vampire, yet decides she loves him anyway, and the story continues from there.
I'm completely unfamiliar with the book it's based on (it's designed for teenage girls!), so aside from reading a quick IMDB review I hadn't really developed any preconceived ideas of what it would be like. Apparently it has a huge cult following so I was expecting something which was interesting, if not necessarily incredible.
It's based on the story of a young girl called Bella (Kristen Stewart) from Arizona who moves to Forks, Washington to live with her Father. After the stereotypical 'new girl at school' sequence, she meets a bizarre 'boy' called Edward Cullen, and after the usual initial awkwardness, he becomes more friendly towards her and saves her from a car accident using his special vamPowers (I called them that). Eventually she figures out he's a vampire, yet decides she loves him anyway, and the story continues from there.
Basically Edward belongs to a family of 'vegetarian vampires' (even though they drink animal blood), but there are some bad vampires on the loose who are killing people. One gets a whiff of our girl Bella and decides he wants to bite her neck. So the rest of it is about the fight to defend her from the badVamp.
There are several things I really like about this movie:
- The soundtrack. It's really very good, and the the end sequence with 15 Step by Radiohead just makes it. I think it could've done with more tension and suspense, perhaps accompanied by a track from Godspeed or the Mars Volta.
- It's very laid back. Some would find it frustrating, but throughout the movie it's as if the director was constantly telling the cast to 'look pensive! Try to look like you've just smelt a freshly laid fart, look as if you're working out who did it' (Friends style). So there's a lot of angsty teenage moments. The actor who plays Edward (Robert Pattinson) is excellent at this.
- I like the setting of a slightly creepy town where it's always grey and it's always raining. The people there all seem slightly disturbed, and it all adds to the atmosphere.
Unfortunately, there are also several things I really don't like:
- Kristen Stewart is depressing. She takes the 'pensive, angsty' thing too far and she has a face like a broken leg. They could've cast someone better for the role.
- Some of the dialogue is far too cheesy.
- The special effects (particular the vampire movements) appear very contrived.
- The film feels like it's always building up to something, as if an epic scene is just about to burst onto the screen. It never happens, and you feel a bit unfulfilled by the time the movie finishes.
Apparently some people think that Twilight is so good that that they will watch it once, then immediately go back to the beginning and watch it again.
These people are easily amused. It's not a bad movie, but it's flawed. Having said that, I will watch the sequel which is currently in production.
There are several things I really like about this movie:
- The soundtrack. It's really very good, and the the end sequence with 15 Step by Radiohead just makes it. I think it could've done with more tension and suspense, perhaps accompanied by a track from Godspeed or the Mars Volta.
- It's very laid back. Some would find it frustrating, but throughout the movie it's as if the director was constantly telling the cast to 'look pensive! Try to look like you've just smelt a freshly laid fart, look as if you're working out who did it' (Friends style). So there's a lot of angsty teenage moments. The actor who plays Edward (Robert Pattinson) is excellent at this.
- I like the setting of a slightly creepy town where it's always grey and it's always raining. The people there all seem slightly disturbed, and it all adds to the atmosphere.
Unfortunately, there are also several things I really don't like:
- Kristen Stewart is depressing. She takes the 'pensive, angsty' thing too far and she has a face like a broken leg. They could've cast someone better for the role.
- Some of the dialogue is far too cheesy.
- The special effects (particular the vampire movements) appear very contrived.
- The film feels like it's always building up to something, as if an epic scene is just about to burst onto the screen. It never happens, and you feel a bit unfulfilled by the time the movie finishes.
Apparently some people think that Twilight is so good that that they will watch it once, then immediately go back to the beginning and watch it again.
These people are easily amused. It's not a bad movie, but it's flawed. Having said that, I will watch the sequel which is currently in production.
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