Fans of the Twilight Saga have been waiting months and even years for the film adaptation of the books, and when the film hit theaters on Friday there were mixed reactions from fans. Although the film stayed true to the book for the most part, there were a few scenes that were unintentionally funny and a bit too cheesy.
Twilight was picked up by Summit Entertainment, an independent film studio formed in 1996 that has not had much box office success in the past until Twilight was released this weekend.
The film was produced on a low budget, however this is not necessarily a bad thing, because if a large studio had picked up the film it could have been too over the top and different from the novel.
The film follows the story of Bella Swan, an average teenage girl from Phoenix who chooses to move to the rainy town of Forks, Washington to be with her father. Bella is seen as the "shiny new toy" to her new classmates, except Edward Cullen, the quiet boy she is forced to sit next to in Biology.
Bella and Edward have a rocky start to their relationship because Edward tries to distance himself from her. Bella knows there is something different about Edward and his family, and is determined to find out his secret, although he is reluctant to let her in on his secret. Eventually Bella becomes a big part in his life, and his family's life as their relationship begins to blossom.
The film stars Kristen Stewart (Into The Wild and In The Land of Women) as Bella, and English actor Robert Pattinson (Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire) as Edward. Both of these actors were good picks for the two main characters, and delivered convincing performances. The rest of the Cullen family was casted perfectly as well; all the actors were beautiful and pale and stand out from the other students at Forks High School.
The film is exactly two hours in length, and although there were a few scenes from the book fans were sure to miss, two hours ended up being just the right amount of time.
The first half of the film contained a few scenes that caused possible unintentional giggles from the audience. However, the book does have cheesy romance scenes, so it was expected the film would contain some of the same elements.
In order to make up for the cheesy moments at the beginning, the second half of the film contains a few scenes that allow director Catherine Hardwicke's film-making abilities shine through. Also, the shots showing the lush and green scenery of the Pacific Northwest were beautiful as the backdrop throughout the film.
All in all, Twilight stays true to the novel except for a few scenes that were created to make the movie more marketable. True fans should be pleased with this adaptation, even if it does not live up to their full expectations. Just seeing the characters come to life on the big screen is a fun experience for fans of the book.
The film ended up grossing approximately $70 million this weekend, and clearance has already been given to start production on the next two films in the series. It will be interesting to see where Summit Entertainment goes in the future now that Twilight has given the company more popularity with big box office sales over the weekend.
mleonard@thepinelog.
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