I did not intend on this posting being a review of Twilight (books or movie). I actually have another point to make, but I can’t really let this opportunity pass by without telling you what I think about the series, so here it is inanutshelll:
Warning: These mini-reviews may contain spoilers.
Twilight:
- Book: Totally and completely amazing. I could not put it down. I read all 500 pages in a span of a few days. I fell in love with Edward and wanted MORE of him as soon as possible!!!
- Movie: Sucked. Low budget flick where the actors had no idea what they were doing or had ever heard of the book series before walking into the audition. Awful piece of filmography. However, Edward and Bella were brilliantly cast (in terms of physical portrayal of the characters). As I read the books, I imagined them acting it out, and they were great… in my head. Check out another review at Screen Rant
New Moon:
- Book: My absolute favorite of the series. I literally cried when I turned the pages “September, October, November” without any word from Edward. I could not stand it. My heart was sinking throughout the entire book. Whenever Bella would do something irresponsible, and I heard Edward’s voice, I would actually get a physical reaction (my heart rate increased, my breathing got heavier, etc). Great book. The best of the whole series.
- Movie: Haven’t seen it yet. I think I’m going to wait until it’s on Netflix so I don’t have to pay double (for the monthly subscription plus the theater). I hope that they really did it justice now that they actually had a budget to work with. I’m looking forward to seeing Dakota Fanning play the role of the pain-inflicting vampire. As a matter of fact, weirdly enough, I pictured her in the role as I was reading the book, even BEFORE I found out she would be in it. Weird… but the part was truly made for her. As for Taylor Lautner, I do not see how he will fill the shoes (quite literally) of the Jacob character, who is supposed to be an overwhelming 7 feet tall at this stage in his wolf development. Check out another review at Screen Rant
Eclipse:
- Book: I thought it was alright. Not very memorable. I think the mystery was OK, but a bit predictable. I could tell the best was behind us, but still entertaining reading. Once you start with the books, you can’t put them down… even if it means just doing it for the sake of getting through them and getting your life back.
- Movie: post-production.
Breaking Dawn:
- Book: Way too gory for me. I thought that the Nessie/Jacob imprinting was a great twist (did NOT see that one coming), and I personally enjoyed Bella’s powers. However, I did not like or approve of Edward’s distance during Bella’s hard time for fear of vampi-babies. I wish he had been more supportive and more on her side. All in all, too long, too gory, I couldn’t wait to get it over with and re-join the ranks of contributing members of society.
- Movie: Has not started getting filmed yet.
Midnight Sun:
- Partial Manuscript: This was probably better than Twilight itself. You get to really see what was going through Edward’s mind, and it’s just dreamy. You can read the very bottom of Stephenie Meyer‘s November 16th, 2009, blog entry to find out more about why it wasn’t completed and when she’ll get to it (not for a while, if ever).
- Movie: No book, no movie.
Now that we got that out of the way, here’s my real point: The actors (Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner) have really big shoes to fill in terms of expectations of an audience who has fallen in love with the books, and, sadly, they don’t fill them.
Ever since I read the books (completed all of them over a span of 6 weeks last June/July 2009), I have searched online on YouTube for interviews that would give me more insight into the characters and the whole movie production of such a great series of books, and I was very much disappointed. Robert Pattinson is a goof. He’s not nearly as cool or insightful as Edward is, so it’s actually quite painful to see him on interviews laughing at his own jokes and being completely clueless as to how to manage the audience. Taylor Lautner is a KID. He was 16 years old when Twilight came out, and I could not picture him as a mean wolf with a strong personality. He still doesn’t do it for me as Jacob. Kristen Stewart is the most similar to her character in real life: she appears shy, she slouches when she talks, and looks completely out of place in a talk show. The only beef I have with her is her choice of hair and wardrobe. She seems to be a punk kid who was just playing nice-girl on screen. I hate the punk look on our dear Bella.
Don’t be shocked: we ALL expect the actors to keep up the fantasy for us. None of us would get excited about seeing an actor who is completely unlike their character talking about their creative process. We want the characters come to life, and this particular cast leaves much to be desired.
ina