Film Review: Twilight

HAVING finally got round to reading the first book of Stephanie Meyer's hugely successful Twilight saga over recent weeks, I was brimming with anticipation for the film adaptation's DVD release.
What I found was a jumbled, often rushed and downright confusing mess that, quite bizarrely, still managed to provide an excellent two hours' entertainment.
As a standalone film, Twilight is a brilliantly shot, excellently casted and well told story of new school struggles, teenage romance and, of course, vampires.
When viewed as an adaptation, however, all of the tingly and magical moments found in the film's literary counterpart seem to have been wrongfully edited away.
For instance, and without giving too much away, the forest scene which provides a hugely pivotal sequence of events in the novel doesn't receive the focus it perhaps deserves, and seems far too short in the film.
By way of contrast, the infamous baseball game is a wonderfully crafted set piece, which is a real credit to director Catherine Hardwicke.
The performances are all top notch too, especially that of Robert Pattinson in the role of vampiric heartthrob Edward Cullen.
Kristen Stewart's portrayal of Isabella Swan is accurate to the minutest detail, as she struggles with self-deprecation, her undying love for Edward and the very real danger of her neck being the next item on his menu!
Further praise must be given to the beautiful cinematography, a large amount of which was filmed using hand-held cameras, making the movie a real visual treat if nothing else.
Ultimately, it is certainly a film worth watching – for those who have read the novel, it should prove an interesting, if slightly lacking, experience; and for those who haven't, it is a fun-filled and contemporary take on the ancient folklore of the vampire – but there is still a genuine feeling that it could have been much, much better.
Hopefully the upcoming sequel, New Moon, which is due for release in November, will contain a lot more bite than its predecessor!