Twilight

Cast: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Sarah Clarke, Billy Burke, Gil Birmingham, Taylor Lautner, Justin Chon, Anna Kendrick, Michael Welch, Nikki Reed and Ashley Greene.

Director: Catherine Hardwicke

Release Date: 2008

Running Time: 2hrs 2 minutes

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 12

Format: DVD

Synopsis:

 A young girl, Isabella Swan risks her life, to be with a charming vampire! 

Based on the best selling novel of the same name by Stephanie Meyer. Director Catherine Hardwicke delivers one of the most anticipated film adaptions of 2008! After moving from Arizona to Washington to be with her father Charlie, Bella Swan has a hard time fitting into her new school, new town, new friends and a truck that's ancient. Before long, she meets dazzling Edward Cullen (Pattinson), Bella's never met a boy quite like him, before long she finds herself in a deadly romance, does she know his dark and deadly secret though? Did I mention that I'm not the biggest fan of vampire movies? I don't know whether to start picturing Dracula or a vampire bat. Starring Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. The issue that I have with Stewart, is that she doesn't offer an ounce of characterisation, her acting is the same in every single movie that she's in. I'm sorry to say I had the same issue when watching her in "Snow White and the Huntsman", she's not the slightest bit convincing as Bella.

Robert Pattinson was an actor I originally only knew from "Harry Potter and the Goblet of fire", Pattinson's performance is actually rather good, the idea behind his character is that he is a vampire living in a modern world. The concept is really cool, its different. They don't sleep, they don't eat and they love playing baseball during a thunderstorm. It's understandable why so many fell in love with the novels. If I am brutally honest, I can't stand Kristen Stewart, Pattinson and herself don't have an ounce of chemistry on screen together. Aren't they supposed to be in love? Billy Burke who plays her father, delivers a good performance as Police Officer Swan. One of the very few actors in the movie who actually comes across as very convincing.

Contrary to popular belief, Taylor Lautner who plays Jacob does not have the biggest role in this film. His character progresses as the films go on. It's rather difficult to judge his performance from a very tiny scene at the beginning of the film. His character certainly changes as the films go on. There isn't much to his character in this story. The problem isn't the screenplay, but more the actors who are portraying the characters. For some, it'll be exactly how they pictured the characters, for others it won't. I am judging this purely as a film. The acting couldn't be anymore boring. It really puts a downer on the film.

The cinematography is far from impressive. I don't particularly like the grey tint that covers the film. Although the story as a whole is quite dark, I don't know that it was the best choice of lighting for the film. The editing in the second chapter, feels very messy. The special effects don't look fantastic. There are only really a few scenes in the film that look very good, mainly because Director Catherine Hardwicke chose to use some colour for the scenes. It's amazing what the lighting can do to a scene. There isn't enough of it, in this film. Sadly, for me, that s what made the film so unenjoyable. I wasn't captivated, I wasn't thrilled. Besides the beautiful song "Bella's lullaby" that was use in the film. The score irritates me intensely. It makes the story so much darker then it needed to be. If you compare it to the other movies in the Saga, this one looks really poor in comparison. Bland and boring.

3/5 stars