THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
The 2000s can be looked at as the era of fantasy book adaptations. When The Lord of the Rings dominated awards season and Harry Potter was preparing to reach conclusion, it was time for another series to be the center of attention. In 2008, teens and young adults created an unexpected phenomenon of Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight.
PLOT
The film follows Isabella Swan living with her father Charlie in the cloudy town Forks, Washington, while her mother Renee Dwyer (Sarah Clarke) goes on tour with her new husband Phil (Matt Bushell) competing in minor league baseball. Although feeling like an outcast, she does become reacquainted with Jacob (Taylor Lautner), son of Charlie’s best friend Billy Black (Gil Birmingham). When she goes to school, she would befriend with a group of five: Mike Newton (Michael Welch), Jessica Stanley (Anna Kendrick), Angela Weber (Christian Serratos) and Ben Cheney (Justin Chon). What sparks her interest the most is a group of teens, the Cullens, adopted by physician Doctor Carlisle Cullen. When she has Biology class with one of them named Edward, he does nothing but scowl at her throughout. Before she could confront him of his attitude, he is absent for a whole week, as he and his siblings are always absent when it’s sunny. When he returns, he actually tries to socialize with her. After school, she is almost hit by a car that loses control, but he quickly intervenes by pushing her out of the way and stopping it with his bare hand. Although she wonders how he got to her so quickly, she asks him to join him with her friends to go surfing at La Push Beach, out of gratitude for saving her. He turns him down, which leads to inviting Jacob. He explains that the Cullens don’t come near Quileute territory, based on ancient rivalry long ago. While he approaches it as a fictional story, she suspects otherwise. So after she buys some books based on Quileute legends, she gets harassed by a group of men, before she could catch up with Angela and Jessica from prom dress shopping. But suddenly, Edward appears and protects her by scolding them all. Once they drive away, he admits that he’s been following her because he’s developed protective feelings for her and claims to be able to read everyone’s mind except hers. When they pass by the police station, they notice Carlisle’s car. They pull up and he shares a friend of Charlie’s was killed from an animal attack. When Bella goes home, her reading material and online research adds up that Edward is a vampire, as is his family. When she sees him again, he admits it by showing that skin sparkles when exposed to sunlight and admit that he consume animal blood, not humans. His confession sparks an intimate relationship between the two. As things get started between them, she meets his entire family: Carlisle, his wife Esme and the pair of foster siblings that are dating; Emmet, Rosalie, Alice and Jasper. All openly welcome her expect Rosalie, who is openly aware that their relationship is dangerous. On a rainy day, Bella and the Cullens play baseball, but get interrupted by a trio of nomadic vampires that have responsible for the animal attacks: James, Victoria (Rachelle Lefevre) and Laurent (Ed Gathegi). When James smells Bella, things get hostile between both groups. Because James is a tracker that hunts for sport, the Cullens agree that she has to get out of the area to be safe. Bella does leave with them, but does make it appear to her dad that he is moving back to her mother's. As Jasper and Alice watch over her, Rosalie and Esme wear her clothing to give a false trail, but James figures it out closely and changes course. Because Alice has premonitions, she shares one with Jasper that she has one involving a ballet studio. When Bella sees Jasper's vision of what she saw, she recognizes it as one she used to go to as a kid. Just as the two vampires exit the room, James calls her and threatens to kill her mother if she doesn't meet him alone at the studio. She does so, but realizes he tricked her when not finding her mother. He takes his time assaulting her by breaking her leg and tossing her into a window, resulting in her being stabbed by pieces of glass. Just as he bites her, the Cullens intervene and kill James by burning him. Edward prevents Bella from turning by sucking the venom out of her. She recovers from the hospital with the cover story that she fell down the stairs and into a window when being convinced by Edward and Carlisle to come home. When Renee visits her, Bella makes the decision to stay at Forks. And when she leaves, Edward promises to stay by her side, despite the fear that she'll continue to be in danger. The film ends with the two enjoying their high school prom night, being watched by Victoria from afar unknowingly.
THOUGHTS
I remember how surprised I was at the time it was released, having arguably hype similar to The Dark Knight and Iron Man. Since I didn't exactly enjoy the book, I was worried that I wouldn't enjoy this film. It pains me to say that this is kind of case because I'm just not sure how to feel about it. It seems that director Catherine Hardwicke is the only one that truly respected the story and wanted to impress everyone, critics and fans alike, but it's clear that this is one meant for the fans. What I think she does best than the directors involved with the follow ups is that she actually tries to make this story feels immersive, to the point where you want to be a part of it. Vampires are known for being both terrifying, yet sexy creatures, but it made things more interesting where the terror is distant and the sex appeal is dominant. I think the reason that this film is so entertaining for viewers, as would the rest of the franchise is that it's a unique fantasy that connects to the teenage spirit. That element where one's significant other is dangerous is dark and dramatic, but it clicks with them because that's how they portray life, like everything is life and death. When you put that in perspective, you can't help but respect on depicting an emotional yet intoxicated version of first love. You're not gonna feel this with a cast that has grown to people so strongly. I am very back and forth with Kristen Stewart because her mannerisms are freakishly annoying. The whole point of that goes to how she's trying to depict her as a shy yet reserved person. The fact that it's solely about her attraction towards a vampire rather than the other way around, which is the number one thing that makes it different from the rest. She grows such a desire/attraction for Edward because it comes from a physical approach and how she is in awe of how someone is willing to risk his self will and identity for her. The hospital scene is the only time Stewart is going for it because you feel the fear of abandonment she refuses to go through. Enter Robert Pattinson, who I think does his best in trying to make this character his own compared to the rest of the cast. It's hard to dig him at first because he is stubborn and chooses to over analyzes things, which comes from his affection towards her. He feels this way because she is indeed different from other humans. He finds her unique because she's not simple. The fact that he is willing to be with someone who is unintentionally causing him pain is something that's hard to not respect. When he locked eyes with Jacob at prom night, this was unexpectedly begin one of the most iconic rivalries in pop culture today. While I've said enough praise thus far, it doesn't ignore my issues that bother me whenever I'm forced to sit through it. Like for example, I'm creeped out with the continuity error that there was no spotted driver in a moving truck during one of the shots showing off the small town. I hate continuity errors a whole lot, but that one just scares me. It distracts me so much that I forget a classmate has a missing vest when Bella pulls up in between shots. I mean if the guy took it off, that could've at least been implied. It then drives me crazy how one van disappears and then reappears when Jacob meets up with Bella at the beach. The confusion only escalates when Edward goes to school on a sunny day. The sun is beaming on Bella's head and he is wearing sunglasses, so you can't deny he is putting himself at risk. My question is why would he do that so early into the relationship when he knows damn well he can sparkle? It just doesn't make sense to me. To top it off, his conversation of his origin pisses me off when they get spotless dry after a rainy day. Don't you dare say it was a different day, because they're wearing the same fucking clothes. Going into the story, I can't be the only one who thought it was weird of how quick Bella gets recognized by everyone within at least two minutes. I know the town is small and word can get around fast, but it's not like she's on the news. Also, did anyone else see Edward sprint over to save Bella? I can buy it if the driver was distracted, but you're telling me no other human saw him? That makes it harder of a sell for me. Also, did Bella have her book on her when she left with her dad after discovering the animal attack? She has it on her when she's home, but I don't see her with it when she enters the police station. The baseball scene was cool, but why didn't Carlisle run home when the ball was in the outfield? I don't want to sound over-competitive but even for fun, I would prefer taking the opportunity to win. The final issue for me is where was Victoria when hunting for Bella? She did split up with James, so where exactly did she go to look? If tabs were kept on her, seeing her at the prom would've been more suspenseful. really wish people good luck if they think they can ignore flaws like this. Going back to the cast, the only other human character I have a soft spot for Charlie. Billy Burke tries his hardest on depicting him as a caring father, who just isn't trying hard enough to connect with his daughter. You just feel bad that he doesn't understand her at all. The remaining list of supporting characters that get my attention are all the vampires, particularly the Cullens. Peter Facinelli was great with Carlisle because he expresses the pure kindness that defines him as the matriarch. It's hard to say him turning humans into vampires is out of kindness, but in his eyes, he knows that it's better than an untimely death. I also enjoyed Esme as well because Elizabeth Reaser does nothing but express her warmth throughout her screen time, being as passionate as her husband. Emmett and Rosalie were an interesting dynamic Kellan Lutz expresses the love behind the intimidation, whereas Nikki Reed shows her to be narcissistic, which explains her attitude towards Bella. And then the pair of Jasper of Alice is memorable because Jackson Rathbone shows off how gallant he is, while Ashley Greene expresses her character as the most optimistic, which comes from having the most useful power compared to the others. Last but not least, the iconic known terror of vampires kicked in whenever James was in the picture. I just felt chills whenever this guy was around because Cam Gigandet was on point making him as sadistic, hence the biggest impression on me compared to the villains after him. To wrap up, Twilight is one of those films where it just doesn't matter if you enjoy it or not because it can go either way. So if you like vampires, good luck getting through this one.
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