Twilight

Just got back from watching Twilight and thought I'd share my two cents with anyone who hasn't yet 1) seen the movie or 2) read the book.

A couple of weeks ago I saw a paperback edition of Twilight at Costco. I recognized the title as one I've seen being passed from student to student in my classroom, and they've been excited about the movie coming out. So, I decided to pick up the book and check it out. Halfway through Twilight I went to Amazon and ordered the full set.

Only takes about 200 pages to get hooked.

I finished the series and loved it. Pure escapism at its best. A friend calls it "brain crack." At first the story seems a tad disjointed and shallow, but taken as a whole (all four books) it really fills in nicely. Leaves you hoping there will be a fifth and maybe a sixth book.

Anyway, I was impressed with the stills and trailers coming out of the movie so was looking forward to seeing it, which I did tonight. I have to say I was a little disappointed. A reviewer said it well. Today, most book adaptations are well over two hours in length. This book, produced by a young company (which, one assumes, did not have the capital to do this movie to the fullest) needed at least 2.5 hours to show well on the screen. I missed the development of the relationships within the Cullen family as well as between Edward and Bella at school. I also missed the development of the relationship between Bella and Alice.

On the positive side, however, the casting for this movie was dynamite. Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen is worth the ten bucks admission and the future dvd purchase. I like the fuller Charlie character. Billy is a fuller character in the movie, too; credit to Gil Birmingham for making the most of the few seconds he has on the screen. Carlisle (Peter Facinelli) is terrific. (Are these actors well-known or newcomers? I don't go to movies very often and don't recognize anyone except Pattinson from Harry Potter.) Rosalie's antagonism had too much screen time because they didn't really make a point. Emmett didn't get enough time to develop his devil-may-care attitude.

Sounds like they will go ahead with New Moon. Here's one fan who hopes Twilight is successful enough to get the investors to give the producers what they need to really develop the story as it deserves.

For this one, I would suggest going to the movie first. The locations are useful to getting a visual of the book setting. Because the characters are so spot on, having those visuals wouldn't hurt for the reading, either. Then, with the sketchy movie version of the story tucked away, go read the books and immerse yourself in the full story with fingers crossed that they do better with the next installments.