Whenever a movie is based on a book, I always like the book better. Movies always leave out so many details. For instance, I have only watched the first Harry Potter movie. I liked the book much better. Since I did not like the movie that much, I have not been interested in watching the other Harry Potter movies.
I really enjoyed watching Twilight but more as a supplement to the book. As a standalone, I'm not sure that I would have enjoyed the movie very much. The important details were mentioned very quickly due to time limitation and hardly gave the mind time to process the information. If I had not already read the book, I probably would have been confused. Since I already knew the premise and story, I fully understood what was happening.
The result is that I loved the movie. For the first time, I found Edward intriguing. Stephenie Meyer was never able to show me why Edward was appealing to Bella. She said it many times, but I never felt it. Since I was never able to see Edward as appealing, I did not enjoy reading about Bella kissing him, etc. It did absolutely nothing for me.
I loved the way the Cullens were introduced in the film and how they entered the cafeteria. They were quickly shown to be different and not of this world. Edward's mannerisms also showed him to be not like other people. I enjoyed watching him and the other Cullens.
I noticed how the movie quickly explained why Bella left Phoenix and moved to Forks at the very beginning, which is a flaw in the book. Stephenie Meyer waited until well into the story to explain why Bella was in Forks, which only made the book confusing.
Another problem I had with the book was Edward's reaction to Bella. On page 23, when Edward smells Bella's blood for the first time, he is "hostile, furious." Those descriptions are wrong. It is not hostility. Edward is struggling to resist drinking Bella's blood. Edward has the perfect reaction in the movie.
He looks like he is trying not to smell something bad. We know that he is actually smelling something good and is trying to avoid it. He looks like he might throw up. This is the perfect reaction. Edward's reaction is not hostility or anger.
I felt like the movie really brought the characters to life, which Stephenie Meyer failed to do in the book. I like both the book and the movie equally for different reasons.
5 comments:
Jennifer-
I noticed this when I watched the movie after reading the book, and saw it again your pictures. Edward looks like an angel in this scene, due to the wings of a stuffed bird sitting benind him. Bella is so intrigued by him, and the irony the filmmaker brings with this image is kind of fun. Does Bella, due to her naivette, see him as an example of heavenly perfection?
She very well could. I found Edward's portrayal to be intriguing in the movie. He was kind of creepy but kind of alluring at the same time. In the book, I felt none of that due to the poor descriptions, which is why I found Bella's desire of him to be repulsive throughout all four books.
The movie did bring out the 'romance' angle a lot better than the book. But what do you think of Bella? Do you think she is all that fabulous that Edward should be so nuts about her? I just don't care for the actress. I don't find her that appealing. She is too hard. It is probably masking her shyness, but Edward doesn't seem to bring her out of it at all. Edward's sisters are much more attractive. But then I'm not a vampire and it may all be in the smell of the blood?
Mike
I did think that Bella could have been better. She was okay, but not as good as she could have been.
I really liked Alice, and I think that actress portrayed Alice perfectly. I loved how Alice hugged Bella and then commented on how good Bella smelled.
I'd love to see New Moon, but I'm going to wait for the DVD. I don't enjoy going to the movies. I like to watch movies in my home with the luxury of being able to pause and rewind whenever I wish. I'm probably one of the few people who seldom goes to theaters.
I seldom go to the movies also, and prefer to watch them at home, but I have 'vampire' friends who dragged me to see TWILIGHT and NEW MOON.
NEW MOON, to me, was slower and even more yuckily romantic, but the wolf boys were good and the Italian vampires too. My friends who like this stuff are all in their late fifties and early sixties, so the appeal is across all age lines. One gal travels regularly to Paris, France, and Bucharest, Romania, to hang out with 'vampires' there, the real Anne Rice types, yet she thinks TWILIGHT is fantastic, so it obviously has great appeal to those who obsess over the genre.
Mike
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