1 of 3

Twilight Our rating: Your rating:   MPAA rating: PG-13 (for some violence and a scene of sensuality) Genre: Romance, Thriller Theater release: November 21, 2008 by Summit Entertainment Directed by: Catherine Hardwicke Runtime: 2 hours 2 minutes Cast: Kristen Stewart (Bella Swan), Robert Pattinson (Edward Cullen), Billy Burke (Charlie Swan) Related: Talk About It/Family Corner

Because of immense buzz for this first film adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series of novels, some have compared this tween and teen phenom to Harry Potter. Like the last two Potter movies, this vampire romance film made Fandango.com's top ten list of all-time advance ticket sales—thanks to a rabid fan base whose hearts were set on swoon ever since they first saw images of the vampire and werewolf dreamboats they've fallen for in the books.

But this is not Harry Potter. As Entertainment Weeklyreported last week, the seven Potter books have sold 400 million copies; Twilight's four books have sold 17 million. And the most crucial difference: The Potter books—and movies—seem to draw all ages and both genders. Twilight captures young girls. So, can Twilight satisfy the teen girl devotees of the books and reach a bigger audience too?

Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan

Well, I think most Twilight fans will eat this up like vampires at a blood bank. The movie, directed by Catherine Hardwicke (The Nativity Story, Thirteen), is very true to the book in telling Meyer's soap opera of forbidden love and angst with passion. I saw the film at a public screening with many young girls sporting Twilight shirts and even vampire regalia. I overheard them saying things like, "That was amazing," "I wish it would have gone on forever," and "It was everything I hoped for."

But on the flip side, the adults nearby were saying things like "That was horrible" and "I thought it wouldn't end." I'm somewhere in the middle. While I think the adaptation has some great touches, I don't think the film does much for the uninitiated or adults. Boys will really only like the big fight at the end—if they're still awake.

Twilight is a simple love story—with a twist right out of Buffy the Vampire Slayer—that taps into the longings of lovesick girls. High schooler Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) moves to Forks, Washington, to be with her dad and feels alone and miserable. That is, until Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) mysteriously enters her life. There is something different about the ridiculously handsome, pale, and moody Edward and his brothers and sisters. And that something is that they're vampires who've chosen to live as a family and be "vegetarians"—in other words, only eat the blood of animals. Still, Edward craves human blood. So when he is drawn to Bella romantically, he knows he should keep a distance because of the temptation she presents to the killing monster inside him. Is their love worth the danger?

Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen

Meyer, a Mormon, interjected her book with moral themes with which Christians resonate. For more on this, see this story from teen mag Ignite Your Faith about the books' handling of the supernatural, romantic love and temptation. (While the use of vampires and other "evil" creatures can be offsetting to some Christians, they are not symbolic of demons here. They are merely a story device to create a forbidden and mysterious love interest. In fact—save for about 10 minutes of vampire action at the end—the Cullens could just be a lightly-pigmented family with superpowers.)

In some ways, Meyer's thematic nuance is lost in the movie version. But still, it is pretty clear that Edward's temptations to attack Bella, his chivalrous setting of physical boundaries for them, and Bella's complete willingness to let go of her soul (literally in the vampire mythos) to give Edward her eternal love are all big metaphors for sex, lust and the allure of the forbidden. (By the way, Meyer chose an Eden-like apple as Twilight's book cover image for a reason.)

Cam Gigandet as James

In the book, this is an interesting look at dealing with temptation and boundaries, but the movie's love story is pretty much all about sexual attraction. I'm also not sure why the movie's Bella is fascinated by Edward. He's hot, he's a bad boy, and he wants her. Well, he wants her for dinner. But for this lonely girl, being wanted at all is enough. And of course that idea of being wanted, being known, and being passionately loved has really tapped into the desires of the books' teen audience—and the movie does that too. After all, the film seems tailor-made to showcase how good-looking and tempting Edward is. His over-the-top, slow-motion, and dramatic entrance could be accompanied with subtitles reading, "Swoon now!"

next page... |  1 of 3 | last page