Twilight Plot Overview
Young Isabella "Bella" Swan (Kristen Stewart) has made a move from sunny Arizona to the darker, cloudier climes of Forks, Washington. Since her mother (Sarah Clarke) is following her stepfather around the country on his minor league baseball career, Bella has moved to live with her dad (Billy Burke), the local chief of police.
The odd newcomer at the local school, Bella soon catches the eye of mysterious and pale local student Edward Cullen, a member of a reclusive yet well to do family in Forks. Bella and Edward have a few chance meetings in classes they share, until one day an out of control student's van threatens to flatten Bella when it skids out of control. Without s second thought about the matter, Edward races across the parking lot and stops the van --- with one hand --- and saves Bella from certain death.
This event obviously causes Bella to question who --- or what --- Edward is, and how he could pull such a feat. Soon thereafter, Edward throws caution to the winds, and brings Bella into the secret that is the Cullen family: a coven of vampires, who have lived amongst humans, but who have decided to feed only on animals, out of respect for the humans they live amongst.
As the Cullen family welcomes Bella, entrusting her with their secret, the slowly begin to trust her, and out of love for Edward, even come to protect her, especially as a trio of nomadic vampires come through town, and opt to chase after the Cullens' most precious asset: Bella herself.
The most dangerous of these passing killers, James (Cam Gigandet) has his sights set on the young human, and will stop at nothing to catch his prey...unless Edward and his brood can stop him first.
Twilight Overall Analysis
The success of this film clearly won't rest solely on its storyline, as millions of young female readers will no doubt flock to theaters, to watch this vampiric story of forbidden love, with obvious references to the Shakespearian tale of Romeo and Juliet. British actor Robert Pattinson, who was recently seen on the big screen as dashing Hogwarts' student Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, plays Edward Cullen as a mysterious, seductive, and dashing brooder, in other words every mother's nightmare, as a would-be bad boy with lustful intentions on the local damsels. He effectively carries the Edward character to the screen, exuding the required degree of maturity expected from a teenager of 17 years of age, who really is in fact 108 years old.
Kristen Stewart (Zathura, The Messengers, In the Land of Women) does her best to embody Bella Swan, a fish out of water who doesn't really know how to fit into this new crowd at school, until she realizes that only the local stranger makes her feel normal, and interesting. Her attraction to Edward is unavoidable, and drives the story forward.
As to the villains in this tale (Cam Gigandet, Rachelle Lefebvre and Edi Gathegi), they certainly appear to pose a threat at first, impeding on both the Cullens' territory, and soon thereafter their loved ones. Given the uneven odds (The Cullen brood outnumber the baddies 7 to 3), the audience never really fears for Bella's safety, and so the ultimate showdown between James and Edward (so often replayed in the latest ubiquitous clips promoting the movie) feels forced, and the distribution of drama versus suspense hurts the film's flow.
For certain, there are moments in the film where much needed exposition of character plays out, such as when Edward takes Bella for a piggyback ride, flying through the air, climbing trees to heights unreachable by humans, and displaying his inhuman swiftness and supernatural aura. Despite these great powers, they seem of little relevance, in what amounts to a cute tale of forbidden teenage love, with the exception that one of the lovers is undead, and doesn't eat or sleep.
Much could be said of the wasted potential in not making more of this tale than could be shown, but after all this film is an adaptation of a popular teen novel, and so it respectfully stays within the bounds of the romance at hand, and leaves the horror and action scenes to bigger, more R-rated fare.
Look for hidden hints at possible sequels, such as local characters being hinted as being "the wolves coming out" to see Bella, which is in a way a show of thanks to the fans, and a nudge towards a very likely sequel, Stephanie Meyer's follow-up novel, New Moon.
7 out of 10 for being a simple and enjoyable vampire teen romance film, which squanders its villains too unevenly
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