Three out of
Five stars
Running time:
122 mins
Destined to be a massive hit with its target audience of teenage girls, Twilight nails its central romance and remains an enjoyably watchable thriller, despite the odd bit of dodgy dialogue and some amusingly rubbish special effects.
What's it all about?
Based on the first in a series of best-selling novels by Stephenie Meyer (the sequel's already been greenlit, based on the film's U.S. box office success), Twilight stars Kristen Stewart as 17-year-old Bella, who moves from Arizona to rainy Forks, Washington in order to live with her police chief father (Billy Burke). On her first day at school, she's intrigued by mysterious outsider Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), who just happens to be really, really good looking.
When Edward rescues Bella by stopping an out-of-control car with his bare hands, she quickly works out that he's a vampire and the two fall madly in love. However, Edward's desire for Bella is so strong that he constantly has to hold himself back for fear of biting her, and if that wasn't bad enough, a band of marauding "meat-eating" vampires (including Cam Gigandet) set their sights on Bella after they find her playing vampire baseball with the Cullen family.
The Good
Stewart and Pattinson have genuine chemistry as Bella and Edward (at least if the lust-crazed screams at the press screening are anything to go by) and director Catherine Hardwicke handles their romance well – the first kiss scene is particularly good. The supporting cast are equally impressive, particularly Burke and all the actors playing the Cullens, though Justin Chon and Michael Welch (as Bella's non-vampire male friends) are extremely irritating.
The Bad
Aside from its dodgy relationship politics, the film's main problem is that the thriller element basically boils down to a single fight scene, the dialogue is extremely cheesy and some of the special effects (notably the vampire piggy-back moment) are unintentionally laughable.
Worth seeing?
Twilight works better as a romance than as a thriller, but it's nonetheless enjoyable and its target audience won't be disappointed. Worth seeing.