visually striking but slow plot and mundane dialogue
I didn't enjoy this film which was visually striking but had a slow plot and mundane dialogue.
The vampire diaries on tv is way superior to this.And a lot scarier.

Brilliant piece of viewing!
I bought this film after seeing the trailers for the second one in the series (Blue Moon). What a fantastic story, I absolutely loved it. Watched it a couple of times already can't wait to receive the next addition that I have since pre-ordered. Watched it with my teenage boys, they thought it was good too. I would highly recommend it.

Fantastic Movie!
Fantastic movie, watched many times since arriving on my doorstep. The only draw back with this copy is that it doesn't have any of the deleted scenes which are always fun to look at! As must for any twilight lover!

All the actors are well suited to their characters and play them so well. I was recommended to read the books and then went on to watch the movie which is fabulous!

Will be watched many more times to come! Well worth the money!

entertainment value
What a lot of people dont seem to get about this movie is that it is first and foremost a romance film! It is not an action film and does not conform to the steriotypical vampire ideals, but this is one of the things that i love about this film! I have read all of the books and yes i do agree that the books are better, but that is always the case as there is just not enough scope in a film to add all the details that come with the book; that does not make this a bad film! If you are looking for a feel good, romance type then this is your film. I would say one of the downsides to the film is that Kristen Stewart appears to be somewhat of a lazy actress and perhaps does not "give it her all", but that can be over looked as the general story and visuals are enough to detract from this. My best advice is not to compare the film to the book and just enjoy the story!

A solemn and tiresome teen romance that happens to have some vampires in it
My other half has read all the Stephanie Meyer Twilight series and is a big fan .I cannot be bothered to invest that amount of time reading something that in all probability I will almost certainly dislike. You see I hate this modern trend of making vampires romantic ciphers. All pale brooding hotties with trembling fulsome red bottom lips and weirdly hypnotic eyes that are meant to convey some deeply troubled romantic conflict hidden within the bloodsuckers soul but In actuality are more like they have vamp flu. I abhor all that even when it is done well like in True Blood .I want my vamps nasty and rapaciously thirsty for blood , not love , you know , like they are meant to be.
Anyway despite this decided to watch the film version to see if anything about this tale would appeal on any level and well it doesn't . Twilight is a truly terrible film. Badly acted , with a terrible script it is also despite one or two unintentionally hilarious scenes ( where he carry's Bella up the mountain at super-speed I could not stop laughing - it was like Benny Hill crossed with the Vampire Diaries goes trekking ) thumpingly dull In truth it's not really a vampire film anyway . This is a solemn teen romance that happens to have some vampires in it. No attempt is made to establish the accepted mythology of the bloodsuckers( in this film they can move around in daylight and sunlight makes them all sparkly .WHAT????) and the alleged will they /won't they tension between Bella (Kristen Stewart ) and Edward ( Robert Pattinson ) is non-existent because we know they will get together but the film spends an hour brooding over this and boy , is it boring.
Once they do get it on ...well sort of and Bella is introduced to the rest of the Cullen clan who live in a house in the woods that looks like something of Grand Designs they bond over a game of Vampire baseball ( I swear I am not making this up ) but then some other not very nice vamps i.e. proper vampires crash the party and the film hots up for the last third but still not enough to make it interesting , something not helped by second rate special effects. One of the vampires gets a taste for Bella because he gets a sniff of her hair which brings new meaning to the phrase because you're worth it.
I guess I am not in the target demographic for this bilge not being female and having long ago waved tarrah to my teenage years ( which to be honest were wasted on me anyway ) but even taking this into account I am still able to ascertain whether a film is well made in a genre specific way and Twilight most certainly is not. Pattinson is pretty enough in a constipated way and has the swarthy hair thing going on but he is so flat and lifeless as Edward I almost expected Bella to cry "I haven't fallen for a vampire , I ,ve fallen for a zombie " . Not that she would ever utter anything so compelling and in fact they are on one level well matched as she is no great charisma fountain either. She matches the dull drippy wet weather perfectly as the twitchy awkward Bella who seems unhappy about things when there is very little to be unhappy about . The only thing the pair do well is stare longingly at each other .Olympic standard their staring .Good at smouldering too .
The script is arguably the most dreadful part of this debacle . Lines like "I'd rather die than to stay away from you." and "I dream about being with you forever." are dropped like tired confetti though I did laugh when Bella says to the foreboding Edward "You know, your mood swings are kinda giving me whiplash." . That's a rare moment of inspiration in a film devoid of anything real, tangible or empathetic. If you want to see a great film about a relationship between a vampire and a human watch Let The Right One In [DVD] [2008] . That is everything this is not.
Twilight is "Dawson's Creek " or some other teeny tripe mixed with The Lost Boys [DVD] [1987] but no where near as good as that sounds , and it sounds pretty terrible to me. Director Catherine Hardwicke and screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg have removed most of the sentimentality and Mills & Boon bosom heaving from the source book out of the mix so I'm told , but Hardwicke's "Twilight" is still an empty shallow vessel.

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