Ah, Twilight. The series that everyone loves to hate. I broke down finally and decided to see the movie, hoping that all the fuss about Edward Cullen was actually based in fact, and not the fantasies of adolescent teenagers. I was unfortunately disappointed to realize that Twilight is neither substance nor style. It’s a bit more “suck.”I’ll provide a brief plot summary: Bella is an awkward high school girl who has moved to be with her father. There are vampires at her high school and she gets the hots for one in particular named Edward Cullen. Hijinks ensue. A rival vampire tries to eat Bella and Edward wants to eat Bella, but doesn’t at the same time. Lots of drama.
Not to say that Twilight wasn’t enjoyable. But enjoyable in the sense that it was just good enough to give the audience some hope of getting involved in the Bella-Edward love story without reading the series and just bad enough to tear these hopes apart. It’s a good story and all, but the moviemaking is just generally shitty.
The acting is sub-par. Bella is awkward in places when she shouldn’t be and overdramatic and “gaspy” everywhere else. Edward acts stoned and boring. It’s hard to see what’s so admirable or attractive about him when all he does is be mean and overprotective to Bella without showing much tenderness. I don’t get it… But the 14-year-old screaming teenyboppers certainly think differently. The rest of the Cullen family gets very little chance to develop in 2 hours and is also pitifully under-acted, especially Jacob, who indeed looks too much “in pain” to be taken seriously.
The special effects look like they were rejected from the early seasons of “Smallville”. The “glitterface” effect on Edward is awfully embarrassing and the strength/speed effects are boring. But hey, at least it makes for fun inside jokes.
However, there are some redeeming moments. The costumes are badass, with Edward, Alice, and James being the most notable. The direction is generally good, with truly impressive scenes, such as Bella and Edward on the top of the trees. And there’s a decent amount of suspense towards the end, though that in itself poses a problem because it moves too quickly to be stained.
MY RATING: 
Twlight is one of those book-to-movie translations that is mandatory for fans of the series and is decent for 14-year-old girls. For the rest of us “adult” viewers and for film critics, Twilight is decidedly unimpressive
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