"I'd never given much thought to how I would die — though I'd had reason enough in the last few months — but even if I had, I would not have imagined it like this.
Surely it was a good way to die, in the place of someone else, someone I loved. Noble, even. That ought to count for something."
Surely it was a good way to die, in the place of someone else, someone I loved. Noble, even. That ought to count for something."
What I noted about reviewers who deadpanned "Twilight" into butcher fodder was the aversion for the new, unfamiliar portrayal of vampires as pale creatures with a conscience, an alternative diet, Sweet Valley sappiness and a passion for supersonic baseball. These are elements of the plot which are not to be taken against the movie because, after all, they were all merely channelled from the book...and the book was a hit. What the movie sorely lacked though was the book's subtle hints at depth, such as the underlying theme of an endlesss search for redemption, which were overlooked all in the name of Bella and Edward's love story about a vampire who has sworn off human blood but falls for a human whose scent was, in his words, just his "brand of heroin."
The reel Edward (Robert Pattinson) is not as dreamy as Bella's description of him in the book but then again, Bella is all of seventeen and, just like any other teenager, very prone to exaggeration. He is not as horrid as some fans have initially described but he has just the right combination of "good," "lethal" and "dangerous" to his looks. Add that with pretty impressive acting chops and brooding eyes, it becomes a no-brainer as to why Pattinson is teenage world's newest poster boy. He perfectly captures Edward's dual personality of being both Debussy-sensitive and racecar driver-edgy. He does channel images of James Dean and River Phoenix in some angles, especially in the scene where he stepped out of his now-famous Volvo with Bella in his side and sunglasses over his eyes. Sighing then does become inevitable.
In the book, Bella was not whiny or frilly. Neither was she grungy nor rebellious. She always seemed grounded and balanced, characteristics which Kristen Stewart puts forward rather well in the movie. Emily Browning (The Spiderwick Chronicles), one of the early favorites for the role of Bella, was not an odd choice but she certainly looked a bit too exotic for the Bella I imagined who seemed to be straddling that gray area between plain and pretty. Stewart is far from plain but neither is she movie star gorgeous so she did fit the role pretty well. Her deep voice gives Bella strength, character and maturity which set her apart from her peers in the book. This was perfectly illustrated in one scene where Bella had to pretend to be sick with living with her father in Forks so that she could escape from the nomadic vampire James who was hunting her down. She was pulling clothes off her closet and stuffing them into her suitcase without the usual drama and high-pitched yelling just like Bella in the book - a young girl forced into maturity a little too early.
Central to the movie's plot was Pattinson and Stewart's chemistry which bubbled, frothed and simmered like a fairytale witch's cauldron. I admit to holding my breath more than just a couple of times in the entire duration of the movie, like in scenes where Bella and Edward danced to Iron & Wine in the prom gazebo, furtively swapped microscope slides in lab or talked to each while standing on tree branches way above ground level. However, some scenes were a disappointment, like the famous meadow scene which seemed a bit dated and wanting. Another scene which almost got me wrenching my armrests off the chair was the part where Edward said one of Twilight's most quoted lines: "So the lion fell inlove with the lamb." It was bordering on cheesy and corny that I found myself cringing with embarrassment. Conspicuously absent was Bella and Edward's verbal banter as they picked each other's brains, something I looked forward to as I turned every page of the book. True, Bella was always ranting about how "beautiful" Edward was physically, but I think what brought them together was not really the oggling but the verbal exchange.
Other letdowns included Edward's "sparkle scene," when he stepped out into the sunlight to show Bella what vampire skin would look like uncovered. I did hope for a bit more sparkle, the kind which does not let the audience go looking for it and then end with an "Oh there it is!" The sparkle effect was too subtle for comfort. I also had a problem with some actor choices for the roles. For instance, Rosalie Hale (Nikki Reed) was described as the most beautiful person in the world and honestly, she just did not measure up to it physically. As a matter of fact, I found Alice Cullen (Ashley Greene) a lot prettier than her (I don't think I am biased just because I do love Alice in the book). The movie also started a tad bit too slow for me for the first 1/3 but after that, the pacing did pick up rather well. The speed effects also seemed dated and were reminiscent of a slightly improved version of "Charmed." They also have to work on the makeup blending. The faces of the actors are too white compared to their necks and I vividly remember the very first scene where Carlisle Cullen (Peter Facinelli) appears in the hospital right after Edward saves Bella from being flattened by Tyler's van. The minute he pushed the doors open and walked into the ER, I almost regurgitated my dinner as his face looked as white as the hospital walls. Snorts and snickers then resounded all over the theater. I mean, if a doctor who treated me looked as white as that, I'd have no doubts that he were indeed undead!
Surprises came in the form of Taylor Lautner (the Quileuete Jacob Black) and Jackson Rathbone (Jasper Hale). Jasper had a hidden charm which surfaced as he kicked around a baseball bat in my favorite baseball scene and Lautner proved that he was more than just a pesky kid. I was actually concerned about having Lautner play Jacob since he was a central character in "New Moon" and his relationship with Bella was a prime mover in the second book's plot. Apparently he and Stewart also have a certain charm together which could be good enough for the next movie installment and I could see a lot of Jacob's dry humor in him.
With all that in place and a definitely bigger budget to boost production, 2010's New Moon definitely has to be a movie that the saga's fans can really sink their teeth into. For the meantime, I'll be busying myself with overtaking all the Volvos I meet on the road just to check out if the driver looks a little too pale for comfort.
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