Ok, so I watched the movie Twilight last night, and despite MAJOR changes to the Vampire mythos that I’m used to, I enjoyed it immensely.
Generally, my experience with the genre is that they bite you, you drink their blood, and you’re turned. Sunlight makes them burst into flame, a wooden stake through the heart turns them to ash. They’re strong, fast, and have very heightened senses. They can’t enter a home without an invitation, and any symbol of religion (mainly Christianity from what I’ve seen) crosses, holy water, etc… will hurt/kill them.
Twilight pretty much took the genre, kept the basis of blood drinking and heightened abilities – and then turned it on its head. These vampires sparkle in sunlight, like they’ve gone native with a bedazzler. They don’t have fangs. Sharp teeth apparently, but no fangs. The only way to kill them is to cut them into pieces and burn the remains.
Ok, I could deal with the artistic license taken to a very popular genre. It made things interesting, but I couldn’t peel myself away from the Angel/Buffy similarities (it’s a Vampire love story for cripes sakes). The lead, Edward Cullen (played by Robert Pattinson) pulls off an American accent very well, and nails the role too (again, someone was watching David Boreanaz on Angel to do this role). The girl, Kristen Stewart? Pretty girl, decent actress, but she has a massive flaw…
Get my drift? The girl has like 2 different facial expressions which are not a confused frown. It is absolutely distracting, and takes away from the performance.
Also, what was the deal with Jasper?
Seriously, every scene this guy was in, his expression was one of shock, amazement, or an overwhelming urge to urinate. I hope in the sequel both he and Bella overcome their Bell’s Palsey!
Overall, a good movie, despite having a Calvin Klein underwear ad feeling sometimes. I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes next. Maybe I’ll read the books too, who knows.
