Review of Twilight (1994) by Jed G — 12 Oct 2013

A male teenager like myself is not the kind of person you would expect to get into something like Twilight, and several reviews hailing it as a riotous unintentional comedy didn't raise my expectations either. But I gave the film a try nonetheless. And, to my immense surprise, it's actually a strong and intriguing romance. The actors were, admittedly, very good in their roles; Kristen Stewart was fascinating and at times three-dimensional as the love-struck and pretentious heroin, and Billy Burke was soft but firm as her father. Robert Pattinson looked and sounded great in his role as the creepy lover boy vampire, giving a very convincing American accent and offering some engaging chemistry with Stewart as her obsessive love interest. The Cullens were all convincing vampires, although I wish I could have seen a bit more of their dark sides (after all, they are vampires). It is also worth pointing out that this is the only Twilight where Taylor Lautner is legitimately good.

The way the story was set up and the buildup of the romance was very well executed and interesting, even if it is wildly unrealistic that Bella would make such an assumption about Edward being a vampire so fast. The cinematography was bold and beautiful, with lots of dark lighting to represent the mood and tone. Plus, what is it with everyone talking about how god awful and laughable the dialogue and scriptwriting were? I thought they were fine, for what the story was trying to accomplish. The film also has a wonderful musical score and an entertaining action climax.

In truth, I think I enjoyed this film more because I had very low expectations for it. I walked in expecting exactly what NC and all the other critics thought of it. But I found the film to be a highly pleasant surprise.

And Diego, I have only one thing to say: bite me.