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Let's be realistic here: Twilight was never going to live up to the hype.
After all, the highly anticipated adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's beloved novel couldn't be under more pressure. Readers worldwide have bought more than 17 million copies from the author's four-book series, many of which frantically flew off the shelves at midnight-release parties. First published in 2005, Twilight was the hot new thing for a generation of young adults searching for the next Harry Potter (granted, this reporter has not read the Twilight series).
Then came word of the movie. When Warner Bros. pushed Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince from today to a July 2009 release, audiences pegged Twilight as the season's must-see fantasy flick. Thousands of people went to malls across the country to catch appearances by stars Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and other members of the cast, and hundreds of opening-night shows for the film sold out days in advance.
So does Twilight ultimately deliver the goods to live up to the overwhelming media hype? Not really, though director Catherine Hardwicke (The Nativity Story) does produce a respectable effort. Meyer may have riddled her dark and brooding fantasy romance with tiresome teenage angst, but Hardwicke's stylish-yet-sensible vision for the film is still praiseworthy.
The 53-year-old director coolly guides viewers into a fantastical world of modern myth and legend, keeping the movie entertaining enough for those who aren't hormonal 15-year-old girls. In truth, the forbidden love story between human Bella Swan (Stewart, Into the Wild) and her immortal soul-mate, Edward Cullen (Pattinson, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), is the least interesting thing about the film.
Twilight tells the story of Bella, a 17-year-old who moves from Phoenix, Ariz., to the small town of Forks, Wash., halfway through her junior year of high school. Spending significant time with her father (the amusingly subdued Billy Burke, Untraceable) for the first time since her mother (Sarah Clarke, The Colony) divorced him, Bella finds herself adjusting to the expected problems: connecting with her old man, making new friends and overcoming homesickness. But when she immediately finds a niche among a likeable group of quirky classmates, all seems well.
That is, until she notices the Cullens and the Hales, a group of five pale-skinned outsiders at Forks High School. Frankly, how every single person in that school does not realize they are vampires from the get-go is bewildering - they don't eat or drink, they disappear come every sunny day and their eyes change colors.
Apparently, no one notices this until Edward saves Bella from an oncoming car with a physics-defying stunt. Sparking an intense curiosity, the fateful event inspires Bella to realize the truth about the Cullens and confront Edward with a startling conclusion: He's a vampire.
At this point, Edward says something about how her scent is like heroin to him, but promises to resist his urges and not eat her. Then Bella says something about being completely in love with him for no particular reason. And the next thing you know, they're an item. With sparse opportunity for chemistry, the couple's relationship ends up being little more than a primal attraction that's all buildup and no substance. Oh, and Edward literally sparkles in the sunlight.
So after spending a well paced, eerie opening hour exploring Meyer's mystical world, Twilight loses its way. First, you have the awkward Guess Who's Coming to Dinner storyline where Edward introduces Bella to his skeptical bloodthirsty family. Once that thread loses its luster, a sadistic man-eating vampire (Cam Gigandet, Never Back Down) abruptly sets his eyes on Bella, leaving it up to Edward and his family (who only feast on animals) to protect her. It's not quite as stupid as it sounds, though it's still pretty outlandish.
Hardwicke keeps the film as down-to-earth as she can, even if it means utilizing some underwhelming special effects. Elliot Davis' (Surfer, Dude) swooping cinematography makes for some intriguing visual dynamics, while the work of Meyer's favorite bands - including Muse and Linkin Park - complement the ominous tones of Carter Burwell's (Burn After Reading) score.
Interestingly enough, the Achilles' heel of a film based on a best-selling book is the source material or at least screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg's (Dexter) interpretation of it.
Alas, for all the talk of tearing people apart and sucking their blood, Twilight's heightened adolescent anxiety is the only part that's just too much to stomach.
tfloyd1@umd.edu
RATING: 2.5 out of 5 stars
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