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I reviewed Twilight after I read it in early July and today I got the chance to pay $11 to see it in theaters. Aside from the absurd ticket price—that’s NYC for you—I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by the movie in comparison to the book. On its own merits, the movie is a decent C+/B-, but honestly: it’s like the book without all the stupid stuff. And all the stupid stuff is left out because they just didn’t have time for it. That is, there’s less “Edward is amazing/perfect/beautiful/perfect” and more actual storyline (gasp!). Still, it needed more Jacob, Alice, and Angela and less Rosalie. The minor characters (Bella’s high school friends especially) were perfectly portrayed.

I’m not a “OMG TEAM EDWARD!” kind of girl (or a “NO, YOU BI-OTCHES, TEAM JACOB” girl, either, for that matter), but Pattinson really gave me a turn in the leading role. He’s pretty good at brooding, in any case. Two reactions I’ve read that seem to be at odds are Sahar‘s and Kelaina‘s. Sahar is interested in why girls (and guys) are so taken with Edward Cullen and discovers that many believe he’s more gentlemanly toward women than modern society condones. Conversely, Kelaina points out that he sneaks into Bella’s room just to watch her sleep. That’s sweet, but in a really, really creepy way.

Also, a couple of side notes. First, I was extremely impressed that the producers cast real Native Americans in the Quileute roles. Second, this is also a decent read about both the book and movie, if you’re interested. Finally—and this doesn’t have to do with the movie so much as the movie theater—why the hell do people need to inform me that there’s no Easter egg at the end of the credits just because I’m still sitting there? I didn’t ask them. Haven’t they ever thought about maybe just staying to read the credits themselves? The movie isn’t over ’til it’s over, fer Christ-sakes.

Worst scene: Edward-in-the-Sun Lion/Lamb thing. Ugh.
Best scene: Baseball in the field, hands down.
Worst character: James because he’s so two-dimensional, though it’s debatable.
Best character: Bella’s father, Charlie Swann.
Most underdeveloped character: Jacob and Jasper.
Most annoying character: Rosalie.

EDIT 8 Dec. 2008:
I was reading the production notes on the website and had an “oh my God, you’re kidding me” moment when I read:

What drew Mooradian to the story was not its exoticism, but rather its universality. “There have been thousands of vampire films made,” he says. “What sets this apart is the love story. Vampirism in this story is simply a metaphor for teenage lust, for that feeling of ‘I want you, but I can’t have you.’ I thought that was such a wonderful metaphor to express teenage longing.”

… I wanted to scream “O.M.G. BUFFY and ANGEL FOR CHRIST-SAKES!” [facepalm]