Spring Break
Movie Review - "Twilight" sizzles but squanders dark romance
Amy Wright
Issue date: 12/1/08 Section: Culture
With all talk of relationship aside, so many things are wrong with the actual making of the film.
The special effects are simply laughable. Perhaps a bigger budget (maybe a more intuitive director, too) would have done a world of justice, but I was truly embarrassed watching these vampires jump about. It's very sloppily done, making it even more obvious who the target audience is. High school girls don't really care about that whole technology thing.
And then the actors themselves seem uncomfortable in the action sequences. There's some weird teeth gnashing and some awkward half-crouching, but I was entirely unconvinced. The fight scenes are limp with horrible choreography, terrible filming and a surprising lack of intensity.
Even without those awkward moments, at times the dialogue is absolutely ridiculous. I physically cringed in the theater listening to the actors uncomfortably deliver their string of cheesy lines. It's hard to believe this terrible writing could come from such a finely crafted novel.
The utterly uncontrollable filming is as difficult to describe as it is to understand. Despite a few breathtaking scenes - particularly where Edward pulls Bella up into the clouds on a hundred-foot-tall evergreen overlooking mountains and rivers - the rest is choppy and weak. I felt like Hardwicke was trying too hard to be hip with interesting shots and questionable editing, but failed miserably in so many ways.
Furthermore, the conclusion reeks of cheap thrills. While the plot comes from the novel, I didn't enjoy it then, and I absolutely hated its treatment in the movie. Its childishness is outright unnecessary.
Then again, it speaks volume about the romantic pull of the story when I managed to like it despite all of this.
Stepping back, I think we have to consider a film's goal to determine its worth. In "Twilight," an explosive romance is very clearly the focus. If we can approach criticism of the movie with this motivation in mind, "Twilight" is perhaps more successful than it appears on the surface.
awright@unews.com
The special effects are simply laughable. Perhaps a bigger budget (maybe a more intuitive director, too) would have done a world of justice, but I was truly embarrassed watching these vampires jump about. It's very sloppily done, making it even more obvious who the target audience is. High school girls don't really care about that whole technology thing.
And then the actors themselves seem uncomfortable in the action sequences. There's some weird teeth gnashing and some awkward half-crouching, but I was entirely unconvinced. The fight scenes are limp with horrible choreography, terrible filming and a surprising lack of intensity.
Even without those awkward moments, at times the dialogue is absolutely ridiculous. I physically cringed in the theater listening to the actors uncomfortably deliver their string of cheesy lines. It's hard to believe this terrible writing could come from such a finely crafted novel.
The utterly uncontrollable filming is as difficult to describe as it is to understand. Despite a few breathtaking scenes - particularly where Edward pulls Bella up into the clouds on a hundred-foot-tall evergreen overlooking mountains and rivers - the rest is choppy and weak. I felt like Hardwicke was trying too hard to be hip with interesting shots and questionable editing, but failed miserably in so many ways.
Furthermore, the conclusion reeks of cheap thrills. While the plot comes from the novel, I didn't enjoy it then, and I absolutely hated its treatment in the movie. Its childishness is outright unnecessary.
Then again, it speaks volume about the romantic pull of the story when I managed to like it despite all of this.
Stepping back, I think we have to consider a film's goal to determine its worth. In "Twilight," an explosive romance is very clearly the focus. If we can approach criticism of the movie with this motivation in mind, "Twilight" is perhaps more successful than it appears on the surface.
awright@unews.com
Viewing Comments 1 - 4 of 4
Rebecka O'Dell
posted 12/02/08 @ 12:04 PM CST
I LOVE TWILIGHT. Like my whole room is full of Twilight posters.
Euphoria: Self Improvement
posted 12/06/08 @ 5:15 AM CST
Since I have not seen it yet, I cannot speak with certaintity but it sounds like they could have done a lot better job with a good book like this.
jeffrey
posted 12/20/08 @ 10:50 PM CST
DECODE rockszz.......,
coffee
posted 1/17/09 @ 12:58 PM CST
i don't understand what is the appeal of Robert Pattinson (Edward), his nose looks funny
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