Twilight Review

Last night I had the great pleasure of seeing Twilight with Nicole and Linds. The movie started at 9:30 so I thought showing up an hour early would be sufficient for a good seat. Oh boy, was I ever wrong! There were literally 250 people in front of us in line. People had brought folding camp chairs, were wearing 'Team Edward' and 'Team Jacob' shirts and were generally excited to see this movie that we've all been waiting for. On our way to the theater, we stopped at Wal Mart to pick up some necessities (theater food and drinks are way over priced). I picked up the Twilight soundtrack while there and listened to it on our way to the movie. Lindsey and Nicole made fun of every song mercilessly (assholes) and kinda pissed me off. Okay, they really pissed me off. One of the songs on the soundtrack was written and sung by Rob Pattinson. I think it's a beautiful song and it's very well written. Nicole and Lindsey had other thoughts about it. Moving on.
I guess I'll just break up the review into points. Maybe it'll be easier to explain. Warning: if you haven't seen the movie, I really don't want to spoil it for you, and this is going to be full of spoilers.
1. Charlie. Billy Burke did an excellent job portraying Charlie. His uncomfortable relationship is thrown right out there from the very first scene together with Bella in his car when he notes that her hair is longer from the last visit. To which Bella responds that she had actually cut it since then. Cue the awkward silence. I loved the part when Charlie is cleaning his shotgun and Bella tells him that Edward Cullen wants to meet him and that she's going on a date with him. Charlie snaps his gun shut and says, "Bring 'im in". So funny.
2. The students. Mike, Angela, Jessica, Eric and Tyler were great! They fit the description of the characters wonderfully. Although, when Eric Yorkie was introduced, Nicole leaned over to me and asked, 'Since when was Eric Asian?!'. Eh, I thought he did an excellent job. Mike was the overly-protective wannabe boyfriend, Jessica was the jealous bitch and Angela was the kindhearted friend that Bella comes to lean on in Eclipse.
3. The Cullens. Where to start? All around they were excellent. Rosalie was very intimidating, very beautiful and very bitchy. Emmett was the fun loving handsome 'big brother'. Alice was tiny, beautiful and friendly and Jasper was very stand offish and you could tell that he was trying his hardest to control himself around the humans. Esme and Carlisle were great as the parents! There was the scene when Edward is taking Bella to meet the Cullens and they're cooking Italian food for her. Bella tells them that she's already eaten because she knew they didn't eat regular food. Rosalie is holding a glass bowl and shatters it making glass and food fly everywhere. After the little spat is over, Esme looks at Rosalie very sternly and says, 'You're going to clean that up'. Carlisle was breathtakingly handsome with his pale features and golden hair. I wouldn't mind getting sick just so he could tend to me. I was a little disappointed that the Cullens didn't have much of a presence in the movie. But what little parts they had were great.
4. Bella. She was the most disappointing character. Kristen Stewart tried really hard, but her acting skills just lack the flexibility to be feminine and relaxed. She is such a tense actor! But when I thought that she would ruin a scene with Rob, she completely surprised me. The electricity between Rob and Kristen was very tangible. She connected well with the love story throughout, but I wish she would just relax a little more.
5. Jacob. I loved Jacob! His part was very small, but what I did see of him I loved. When Stephenie Meyer says that Jacob is Bella's personal sun in New Moon, Taylor Lautner fits the mold perfectly. Bella and Jacob's relationship is so easygoing and carefree in Twilight. They set it up well for the sequels. And of course, Jacob's father's warning at the end 'We'll be watching' was perfect.
6. Edward. Oh my gosh, Rob Pattinson did a phenomenal job with this character. I have nothing bad to say about Edward. He was absolutely beautiful, intense, funny and just all around perfect. Where Kristen Stewart lacked, Rob picked it up. His little half smiles, his beautiful topaz eyes and his body (oh my god, his body) was just perfect!
Now, some of my favorite scenes:
1. The cafeteria. From beginning, the cafeteria set up the feeling of them vs. us, The Cullens vs. the humans. It introduced each character very well.
2. The Cullen house. I just loved seeing every one of the Cullens and their surroundings being 'normal'. I really liked the scene when Bella and Edward are listening to Debussy's Clair De Lune and Bella tells Edward that she can't dance to which he replies, 'I could make you'.
3. Tree Jumping. The special effects were amazing. Edward throws Bella over his shoulder and proceeds to run up the trees. Awesome.
4. The Baseball field. Everyone seemed to loosen up around Bella and be themselves. That is until Bella declares Rosalie out after she slides into home base. When Rosalie walks passed Bella with that fierce look on her face, it gave me chills.
5. The Kiss. Oh man. I think all of my bones melted and I forgot to breathe during this scene. It was hot, and very intense! I could see Catherine Hardwicke going other places with this scene, but I'm glad they kept it at the kiss. I don't know if I could handle anymore of the love scene in a theater full of 12 and 13 year old girls. Bella is on her cell phone with her mom telling her that she wants to stay in Forks when she's startled by Edward who has just come in through the window. Edward tells Bella that he wants to try one thing and to be very still. Then they move excruciatingly slow towards one another and lock lips. Bella gets a little excited and then Edward pushes her back on to her bed and it heats up even more. That is, until Edward growls and throws himself off the bed next to the wall and says he can never lose control with her again. Whew!
6. The hospital scene at the end was heart wrenching. Edward tells Bella that it's his fault that she's in the hospital with a broken leg, nearly severed artery and vampire teeth marks on her arm. He tells her that he will never put her in danger again and that he wants her to move to Florida with her mom. Bella gets a little hysterical and Edward tells her that he won't leave her.
7. The prom. It was kind of rushed and corny, but it ties things up nicely. Bella tells Edward that she wished he hadn't sucked the venom out of her arm and that she overheard Alice saying that Bella will someday become one of them, so why delay the inevitable? Edward leans Bella back like he's going to bite her neck and ever so lightly kisses her. Love it! Oh, and Victoria's at the prom, very upset. (I smell a sequel in the makings...)
All in all, I enjoyed it. Some of the special effects were corny like the vampires running. Supposedly, they ran so fast, it looked like they weren't running at all. The 'sparkly' part was actually done very well. The effect of Edward's skin in the sunlight could have gone very wrong but it turned out great. Oh, did I mention that Stephenie Meyer made her debut in the film? Yeah, kind of stupid if you ask me.
I walked out of the theater feeling excited and disappointed. Excited that I just got to sit through two hours of Rob Pattinson's glorious face and voice and disappointed in some of the things I mentioned previously (IE Kristen Stewart, the fast paced relationship and some of the effects). They couldn't please everyone, right? I really think that if you've read the book and want to see it, go into it not expecting to be dazzled. Remember that they couldn't fit the 500 plus page book into a two hour movie and that they only had 37 million dollars to work with. I probably won't pay to see it again, but I will purchase the DVD when it's released. So for now, I can listen to the soundtrack and enjoy the visuals in my head from the books.