Twilight Movie Review Part II

The Cullens

The cast were each brilliant but the sparkliest stars for me were Peter Facinelli and Jackson Rathbone. I know Stephenie Meyer's characters only exist in the imagination and I'm not a believer in reincarnation, but Peter gave me reason to believe that in a past life he actually was Carlisle. Dr. Cullen has always been a point of interest for me in terms of his history... as opposed to his hotness. Seeing him on screen in the flesh was a dream come true for me. I so admire the patriarchal wisdom and pure humanity (for lack of a better term) that this particular character possesses and none of that was lacking. Dr. Carlisle Cullen may be immortal, but it was Peter Facinelli that brought him to life! 

Jackson Rathbone though quiet and tense for the majority of his scenes made Jasper Hale's uncomfortable presence amidst humans intense. The strain of self control was evident on his face at all times but was not over done in any way. I found a renewed appreciation for Jasper and his daily struggle in the "vegetarian" life he chose to live though it goes against everything within his vampire instincts.

Poor Nikki Reed. She is such a perfect Rosalie that I hate for fans to dislike her on a personal level because they cannot separate the actress from the character. Nikki did an amazing job. I think she gets Rosalie. She gets the jealousy and the over protectiveness. She gets that Rosalie has a past and was greatly impacted by certain events that took place. Without possessing any of Rosalie's harsh personality traits herself, Nikki was able to portray the scorned beauty to a tee!

Kellan Lutz is the embodiment of Emmett. Enough said!

Ashley Green is the perfect petite pixie-like Alice. I look forward to seeing the dynamic in the relationship between Alice and Bella develop in the future. 

And Elizabeth Reaser captured Esme, the matriarch of the Forks coven, with all her kindness and maternal presence beautifully. 

And now to the legend that is Robert Pattinson. (I say that jokingly.) What am I supposed to say? I was a doubter in the beginning... and I was proved wrong in my doubt. He was an amazing Edward. He was funny, angsty, intense, vulnerable. He is an excellent Edward. And that's all I'm gonna say because fans will find out for themselves. 

The Quileutes

I can't say enough about Taylor Lautner's portrayal of Jacob. I adore this kid! I'm as much a Jacob lover as I am an Edward lover and to see justice done to Jake was just icing on the cake! New Moon can't come soon enough!

Gil Birmingham as Billy was a perfect fit. And though the intro to Sam and the rest of the wolf pack was brief, Solomon Trimble made an impression. Again, can't wait for New Moon! 

THE Kiss

"Don't forget to breathe" is my advice for viewing this scene in its entirety. Have mercy! The first kiss between Edward and Bella was the most AMAZING kissing scene I've ever in my life witnessed. It left me (and every female in the audience) wide eyed and death gripping the drink holder because of the severe intensity and passion. Catherine Hardwicke could have just sandwiched that scene between "once upon a time" and "the end" and I would have walked out of that theater a fully satisfied woman! Seriously, bring a fan along cuz the theater is gonna heat up!

Over All

I really enjoyed the movie. I loved the indy feel to it (even watching the credits was fun!) I loved that it was true to the most important elements of the book. Was it better than the book? No. Stephenie Meyer's imagination is larger than life and will never be sufficiently captured on film. But they sure did a great job capturing what they could. Twilight the movie had the difficult job of condensing an enormous amount of content and character development into just a small space of time without deflecting from the overlying love story and did so on a relatively miniscule budget. And I think they did a fabulous job! The best part about having the personalities of key players of the story established and out of the way in this film is that following sequels will not have to deal with that and will be able to focus even more on story line which gives me even more confidence that it's only gonna keep getting better!