Twilight (2008) – 4/5

Like it or not, the relevance cannot be denied

„Twilight“ is the first film from a series of five movies based on the literary works of Stephenie Meyer. I do not want to say this took over from Harry Potter as the big movie franchise as Potter was still running at that point, but it had pretty much the same impact on young people back then. „Back then“ sounds somewhat strange, but the first film is already almost a decade old, so it is an appropriate description. In order to appreciate this film (and the sequels), it is essential what you expect before actually watching them. If you expect a new „Godfather“, you will of course be disappointed. But if you expect a fantasy film that is not scared of going over-the-top on many occasions during its two hours runtime, then you may have a pretty good watch here like I did.

Let us look at the cast: Kristen Stewart is one of the most talented actors from her generation and was a pretty successful child actress before this film already. Needless to say she was the perfect choice for the character of Bella Swan. She carries the whole franchise tremendously and her talent is absolutely visible. Robert Pattinson made Harry Potter fans fall in love with him and that was certainly the turn that gave him a shot at playing Edward Cullen. I do think he is a better actor than he is allowed to show here and despite a couple not-so-good moments overall, he works the part. Thumbs up for him too. Finally, Taylor Lautner: He is clearly the least talented actor from the lead trio I guess. Luckily here, he does not really have that many moments to show us his (lack of) talent, but it becomes painfully visible in the next films when his character’s impact increases, also the one on Bella’s life. The supporting actors, especially Billy Burke who plays Bella’s dad, are pretty good too.

Finally, the story: Yes the writer here, i.e. Melissa Rosenberg, who also worked on Dexter, totally makes sure we never forget Edward is the greatest, fastest, most eloquent and most desirable male on the planet in general. And Bella is the new queen of their school that every male wants to be with and go to the prom with. It is a bit cringeworthy sometimes and there are moments of schmaltz, such as the „maybe I am the bad guy“ quote, but let us always keep in mind for whom this film was made. Young teenage audiences that do not see the ridiculousness of such statements and suck them in, even really love them. Let them have their fun I say, we grown-ups can smile at these parts, but not in a condescending manner, and enjoy those sequences that included better quality. There are more than just a few.

What I liked maybe the most about the film, apart from Stewart’s star-making turn, is how nicely clean-structured it is. The first part is about Bella’s new life in her dad’s town. Second part is about getting to know Edward (and his family) and fall in love with him. Last part is about a gang of actually evil vampires and how the good vampires fight them in their attempt to protect Bella. It’s all a bit predictable, but that is not a problem at all in my opinion, because it is nonetheless fun to watch for the most part. And let’s be honest here, the music in this movie, especially the soundtrack, is truly outstanding. I recommend „Twilight“, a really strong beginning to a good franchise. It’s tough to decide for me if this first film is the best of them all or if one of the final two films still tops this one, but maybe you can make a clearer decision. You really need to check this one out. Highly recommended.

Okay, the above is my review from March 2016 and today (end of 2022) I had the chance to rewatch this opening to the Twilight franchise on the big screen. I was not sure if it would be such a good idea to go, but eventually now I am very glad I went. What a fascinating movie! They initially planned to show it only once and even if it was a really big room with so many seats, it was sold out so quickly. Consequently they added two more screenings and one of those I picked today. There were still many viewers, probably everybody who did not get tickets for the night before. Anyway, the audience members‘ approaches differed, but they all made sense. I heard many people laugh during the screening and I cannot blame them. There were really many moments that you just could not take seriously at all, even if they were meant in a serious manner. No matter if we are talking there about the behavior between the two main characters or about certain quotes coming from them. The idea of Stewart’s character wanting to become a vampire in the end was also surely on the exaggerated side. I already mentioned how they told us in a not exactly subtle manner (for example Kendrick’s character’s comment on Edward Cullen) how amazing and gorgeous the two protagonists are, but this also extends to their families really. I mean Bella’s stepdad is a professional baseball player if I understood correctly, so he makes million in the Major League Baseball? What a catch. No pun intended.

Female viewers were also very delighted to see Peter Facinelli in here and I find it interesting how the actor looks so different without the light blonde hair. He is maybe one of those who did not manage to make huge waves in the years after the Twilight franchise (ended). Stewart is an Oscar nominee now. Pattinson is the new Batman, so these two really stand above everybody and nice casting decision for sure picking them to lead the franchise. But also who would have guessed that Anna Kendrick back then would be the first to score an Oscar nomination from the cast really very briefly after this film here!? Plus she probably even finished second in her category. Impressive. I already stated in my original review that I like(d) Billy Burke here and nothing has changed. He even had the funniest moment for me from the entire film, especially if we are talking about moments that were really meant to make a comedic impact and with this I mean what he does with the gun in his hand when he hears that he is about to meet his daughter’s new boyfriend. There was so much in this film that was unintentionally funny. Just take the sparkling. Do I have to say anything else? If you decide to give this film here a watch, you will laugh every five minutes, perhaps even more often. But I cannot even be mad at them or say it ruined the film because in fact this was still a very exciting watch and this film will entertain you more with its simple formulas than 80% of all other films. Maybe 90% even. When they go up against the tracer or what he was called, it was also interesting dramatically because the entire romance plot was out of the picture for a little while. Besides, „Supermassive Black Hole“ will always be an amazing song. Loved it for years. The use of this song with the baseball scene starts the dramatic conflict that puts Bella’s life in danger. This culminates inside a mirror cabinet in which Bella as a kid took ballet lessons. Makes me wonder why she cannot (or does not want to) dance if she has such a background. Okay, she is just clumsy we get it. This was also repeated on so many occasions, probably to make sure that the girls in the audience back in 2010 would identify with her and too much perfection would have been detrimental. Clearly they did not want people to hate, but to adore her. It comes pretty easy I say.

Of course, there is also this critical love story between Stewart and Pattinson from back then that turned fairly ugly in the end, but as long as the series went, they managed to keep it up. With what happened between them and especially what Stewart did to him. They probably won’t have anything to do with each other again, but I still wonder if we will see the duo in the same movie again at some point. I myself would find it totally interesting to hear what they think about this Twilight movie now in 2022. Or think about the entire franchise even. An audio commentary for the film with these two would be the best thing ever I guess. They don’t even have to record it together, but what an add-on it would be for a 20th anniversary Blu-ray or something perhaps. One person we have not really talked about yet is director Catherine Hardwicke. The reason is that there is maybe not too much to say about her. This was an early career effort here and she had some okay big screen releases before and after this film, but eventually her career led her back to the small screen where she did what she had to do to find work for years to come and also release some decent episodes. It will probably stay this way for a few more years until she retires. Kinda interesting for example to see that she also directed episodes of „This is Us“ not too long ago. With this 2008 release here she did what she had to do. Like with the aforementioned Potter films, this film here is not one that is a director’s movie by any means. It is all about the books it is based on and the audience members crushing on the protagonists.

This film is really the ultimate example of how overacting can be intended in film and it could have turned out way worse for sure. I personally would say that there are not too many films out there with the same guilty pleasure potential like Twilight. Of course, it helps a lot if you watched the film back in the day when it was new, so it comes with a lot of nostalgia for you, but even without such a background, you can enjoy the watch here for sure if you like Stewart or Pattinson in general. Preferably if you like both of course. They are also so young here, which is kinda sweet in a way. I still had the hardest time ever to believe it when Edward Cullen tells us he is 17. Pattinson was clearly older. The synergy between these two when they work together in biology class was another cringeworthy moment how they depicted wit and harmony there. There’s a hundred reasons why this is an enjoyable watch. One of those is definitely the unintentional comedy. „Twilight“ is an absolute must-see.