I have read the books and I went into this movie a little skeptical with medium to high expectations. I came out of the theater thinking that they totally could have done better. It was an okay film, entertaining, but left me feeling like there was something missing. I sat there watching it and hoped that it would get better, but it didn't. And as always...the books are better.First of all, the good...
The actors they chose for the cast were perfect. One word....Carlisle...mmm yeah. Anyway, They got to the main points of the story. The action sequences are pretty good. The baseball scene is the best. The costumes and makeup are good. The music was good.
Now the bad...
The Director sucks...she has done a lot of "indie" films and you can see it play out here. The direction of the actors was kind of bad. There were alot of strange akward pauses, actions and the actors seemed to hesitate with their lines. And some of the lines were so cheesy and laughable. The relationship between the 2 main characters wasn't as strong as it was in the books. There a lot of little moments that Bella and Edward share and it hardly stopped on those. The film style is atrocious. Going with the directors favorite "indie" style, Most shots are handheld and there are way too many closeups. The vehicles don't completely match the description of what is in the book, Bellas truck is suppose to be an older Chevy truck. For the sake of time, A LOT was cut out...and I mean ALOT...It seemed like a bunch of clips edited together and it was very choppy. The story didn't flow well and it left alot out. For people who haven't read the books I am sure it was hard to figure out what was going on. The artsy end credits were lame.
What could have been better....
Different director. Someone who has had experience directing an epic type of film. Get a different DP or Camera Operator. Put the camera on a freakin' tripod and hold still!!! Get different screen writers. Make the story flow better and stick to the story for that matter. Develop the characters a bit more and give them more screen time, they barely scratched the surface with the Cullen family. They could have put more emphasis on the song that Edward plays on the piano, or introduce it in a different way and make it the theme for the series, sort of like how Harry Potter has a theme throughout the films. Also Edward hums a lullaby to Bella and that isn't even in the film...that is like a huge part of the books! They should have made this film with a similar style as Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, or even Spiderman and X-men. I mean, it is an epic book! Tons of people have read it and support it, so why did they make this film with such a low budget???
All in all this film needed better direction, camera work and screenwriting.
I give it a rating of 2 1/2 STARS.
Well, that is my review. Take it as you will. Please don't send me hate mail, the expressions and views of this entry are opinions.
