Stephenie Meyer’s vampire saga, Twilight has made the leap from book to film, in a big way.  Hype around this movie has been building for months with a devoted fan base second only to Harry Potter fans.  Selling out hundreds of midnight releases, its stars getting mobbed at malls, and a generous merchandise deal at Hot Topic, Twilight has certainly left its mark on pop culture.

In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past year, Twilight tells the story of a human girl Bella (Kristin Stewart), who falls in love with the beautiful and complicated vampire Edward (Robert Pattinson). 

Their relationship is all about resistance and testing their limitations, as their love threatens to consume them.  Edward must resist the temptation of Bella’s sweet blood, and protect her from other-not so vegetarian-vampires.  Bella must hold safe the secret of Edward and the rest of his family so they are not found out.

The film itself is a lovely adaptation, staying true to Meyer’s beloved novel, while adding a certain depth and light to the characters.  The dialogue is quick and witty, and includes many of the fan favorite lines including, “And so the lion fell in love with the lamb”, and “About three things…”

Robert Pattinson is something of a young Johnny Depp in his portrayal of the mysterious vampire.  His distance and steady gazes make him irresistible on screen.  Already being chased by teen girls (and their TwilightMoms), Pattinson’s stock will only skyrocket after Twilight. 

For a relatively low-budget movie, director Catherine Hardwicke pulls out all the stops to make a compelling narrative.  Flashbacks are seen in a sepia haze, revealing information from inside Bella’s head to the audience.  Also, the internal monologue of Bella’s thoughts is conveyed through voice over.  It’s interesting to see that events are only explained through Bella’s point of view, just like in the book.  The action sequences and rapid-motion vampire moves are well done without being cheesy.

The characters of Billy, Charlie, Eric, Mike, and Jessica provide for comic relief, and to break up some of the heavy romanticism of the Bella and Edward scenes.  For example, when Bella first introduces Edward to Charlie…he’s cleaning his shotgun.  In another scene, Billy tries to relate to the kids in slang, and fails miserably.

As a fan of the saga, I was very impressed with the movie.  It was everything I wanted it to be.  As a critic, I’d say that the movie is good but not great.  I think it will be hard for this film to draw in people who aren’t already fans or at least familiar with the books.  That being said- I still think that Twilight will kill at box offices and make figures in the $50M range for opening weekend.  The good news now then is that Hardwicke, Pattison, Stewart and company have the green light for sequels.  So the real question is…are you Team Edward, Team Jacob, or Team Switzerland?
 

Photos Courtesy of Summit Entertainment