TWILIGHT ON THE BIG SCREEN

Okay, where to begin?

First off, Friday morning I woke up to an onslaught of negative publicity on the web. Some from friends, and some from national sources stating their opinions about Twilight and how it just didn't meet the mark. They thought it lacked substance and didn't tell the story well.

So I have to admit, Saturday around noon, when my girlfriends and I were on our way to the movie, we were less than thrilled. I mean, we were glad we were going, but we'd all heard such bad things, that we weren't that excited.

Then we watched the movie for ourselves.

And I just have one question. Why all the haters?

I thought Twilight was great. Not fantastic, but pretty darn close. The only reasoning I can come up with as to why people haven't enjoyed the movie, is that they so enjoyed the book, and had such high expectations that they really weren't going to be satisfied either way.

I have to admit, when I first saw who they cast as Edward, I was a little disappointed, because I imagined him to be much, much more handsome. But, just like in the book, the more I watched Edward and got to know his character the more attractive and enticing as a character he became. I really liked Bella and it bothered me a bit that she didn't really act/feel like she was as into Edward as he was into her, and then I remembered that it was just like that in the book. So, I thought the acting (at least with the two main characters) was spot on.

My only frustration in watching was that I wish they had had time to develop the characters more. I remember feeling almost smitten with Edward as I read the book, and I just didn't get that feeling from the movie at all. It's as if they just didn't have time. There was too much plot they had to fit in. It's just hard, in my opinion, to squeeze 500 pages worth of writing into a two hour movie. But I did however, enjoy the music, and the visual backdrop that Washington provided for the movie.

One of the movie's biggest critique with some was it's lack of dialogue. To which I say: so much more, at times, especially in movies, can be said in a look, a moment and a situation. I don't really rely on dialogue when I watch movies, so much as the feeling I get from the characters. The chemistry portrayed onscreen between the actors can say a thousand words. I also really think the people who made the movie, knew that it would be a challenge to get that much writing (500pages) into a movie, so they relied on the movie-goer having already read the book. Which isn't the case in most movies that are based on books. I was concerned about this because one of my friends who came with us hadn't yet read the books (I know, right?), and even she loved the movie. So, in the end, that didn't end up being a problem either.


I don't know. Maybe I'm too easily entertained. I mean I don't think it's going to win any academy awards any time soon, but, let's be honest people, it wasn't THAT bad. All the negative press is a little much. I mean, it wasn't my favorite movie ever, but I think they did a wonderful job turning Twilight into a film. I am glad I went. I had a great time with the girls, and the movie satisfied. So, go see it already. And don't let the Twilight haters scare you.