The Collegian

Issue date: 11/25/08 Section: Detour

Media Credit: Photo courtesy of www.rottentomatoes.com

The first movie adaptation of the series of four novels, by author Stephanie Meyer, Twilight begins the fantasy love story following the character Isabella Swan (played by Kristen Stewart), who is forced to move back in with her dad Charlie (Billy Burke) in Forks, Washington. Bella, as she likes to be called, moves from Phoenix because her mother, Renee (Sarah Clarke), remarries a minor league baseball player and subsequently moves to Florida.

As Bella gets acquainted with the small town of Forks, she stumbles upon the most mysterious family around, the Cullens. Bella learns quickly that the Cullens are one-of-a-kind, and makes it her prerogative to find out their secret. The movie stays true to the book, starting out slow and building the story and action as the film progresses. The casting crew should be given acknowledgement in choosing actors that were relatively new, thus avoiding big names who would have taken away from the story as a whole.

The story slowly develops its fantasy side, as we learn that the Cullens are in fact vampires, and that each of them are gifted with inhuman speed, strength and above all a thirst for human blood. The Cullens represent a special breed of vampires whom do not touch humans, but eat animals for sustenance. The climax of the story occurs when the "vegetarian" Cullens meet the terrorizing group of three vampires, James (Cam Gigandet), Laurent (Edi Gathegi), and Victoria (Rachelle Lefevre). This blood-sucking trio stumbles upon the Cullen clan and Bella. The situation becomes immediately dangerous as the threesome tries to attack Bella.

The key to any movie is a good script, and a good story. In this case it is important to note that the actors had a full plot to develop thanks to author Meyer. In no way does the movie try to be more than the book, and the special effects were well executed and engaged the audience without overwhelming them. The movie was characterized with a dark undertone, and much of the movie takes place in dimly lit locales. This helped to enhance the pale-white skin of the Cullens and Bella.

Overall, the film succeeds in portraying the book accurately, much to the delight of its fan base. Twilight is like those adaptations that precede it, the book always contains more detail than its film counterpart. Fans of all types should enjoy this vampire love story just as much.   Grade: B+

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