I confess, I am a big fan of the Twilight Saga books by Stephanie Meyer. It took me about a day to read each of them. Unfortunately, once again, the magic of the book has not quite corresponded to film.
Catherine Hardwicke directed the film which follows Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) as she moves to the small town of Forks to live with her father. Once there she encounters the Cullens, a group of vampires, and quickly falls in love with Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson). However they are not the only group of vampires in Forks: when James (Cam Gigandet), Laurent and Victoria arrive they threaten their way of life.
The speed, strength and beauty of Meyer’s vampires prove difficult to recreate and the special effects which attempt it come off looking pretty shoddy. A lot of the story line is also necessarily cut out to condense the book into a two hour film with the result that if one has not previously read and enjoyed the book they are unlikely to really get the film.
On the upside there is a good relationship on screen between the stars Stewart and Pattinson, making the romance believable, and much of the acting is quite good. However overall, I think you would have to be a pretty big die-hard Twilight fan to enjoy this film.
The film is now out on DVD and you can watch a trailer here.
Frederica Dixon