Saturday, November 22, 2008

Twilight - CAUTION - MOVIE SPOILERS!


*** If you haven't read the book OR seen the movie and don't want to know what is going to happen STOP READING!***

Hubby and I went to see Twilight last night, opening night of the movie here. I've finally finished reading all four of the books (just in time for the movie), so even though I warned him that this would probably be a teen-girl movie and all the teenage girls would be all over squealing, laughing, and giggling, Hubby agreed to go.

Before I left for the theater, I looked up some of the reviews. Overall, from what I saw, it received 3 out of 5 stars, a solid C. While reading the reviews I realized that several of the reviewers were put off by the teenage-girl style of the move while other were bothered by he vampires themselves (one even said they were more like fairies than vampires). Overall, I figured that the first one was a middle aged man who just didn't get the romantic gushy-stuff and the later hadn't read the book and didn't realize that Stephanie Meyer's vampires (or at least this family of them) aren't scary human hunting vampires.

We got there just in time, literally. As soon as I sat down and looked up, the lights dimmed and the previews began...to lots of screaming and squealing by the teenage girls.

Last warning...STOP NOW if you don't want to know how the book is different from the movie...You've been warned.....

Most of the important parts from the book were in the movie, just in a different situation. For example, Bella's truck isn't sitting in the driveway when she gets there, Billy and Jacob bring it to her a little while after she gets there. That is the first time Bella and Jacob meet rather than at the beach at La Push.

Another difference is that Jocob never outright tells Bella that the Cullens are vampires, only that his tribe is decedent from wolves and the Cullens are apparently descended of something "opposing" but wouldn't say exactly what. While in Pot Angeles with the girls, Bella does in fact go into the bookstore to find a book about the Quileutes' legends. Since she isn't sure yet when Edward rescues her from the would-be rapists, that conversation happens later rather than on the ride home.

That night she reads through the book and finds references to vampires with cold skin, speed, and beauty, all which point to the Cullens being vampires. She catches Edward's eye the next day at school and leads him into the woods where she confronts him with what she knows, or believes she knows. That is when the truth comes out, there in the woods. He picks her up and runs her to the top of the mountain above the cloud break where the sun is shining and she can really see what he is in the sun. There was no pretending to go to Seattle, in fact there was no girl's choice dance at all...only prom.

The chase with James didn't last near as long nor did it seem nearly as frightening at is did in the book. It was over all too quickly and they made no reference to the fact that Alice didn't remember being human or that James knew what had happened. In fact, Bella and Alice seem to barely know each other, much less become close friends like they did in the book.

Overall, it was an OK/better than decent movie, not great mind you, but a solid "pretty good." I didn't expect the movie to be quite as good as the book, they rarely are. I had hoped there to be more feeling for the characters, but it moved quite slowly and it never seemed to create too much depth into the characters. It did however, seem to set the scene for the next book to also be created into a movie!
Anyone else see it? What are your thoughts??

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