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Bella Swan, Books and Literature, Eclipse, Edward Cullen, Films/TV, Kristen Stewart, New Moon, Robert Pattinson, Twilight, Twilight Saga
Edward Cullen: Say it… out loud. Say it.
Isabella Swan: Vampire.
I would never have written about Twilight, but I guess I couldn’t stop myself. This is because I really don’t know how the series got as famous as it got. In this post – I’m talking about the films – not the books. I have read 1/3 of Twilight (the book of course) and though it’s slow and painful to read at times, it is much better than the movies (I suppose). But then just to be fair, I’ll talk about the films.
I know there are hordes of fans who’d want to wring my neck for saying this, but I can’t help but dislike the series. When I watched the first film, I found it to be pretty bearable. It wasn’t something I would have wanted to watch over and over again, or it wasn’t something that would have gone down on my list of favourite films, but to be honest, it was quite bearable.
There’s a human and a vampire and they fall in love. And this vampire (Edward Cullen) turns out to be ‘vegetarian’ – he only drinks animal blood. However, his love for the human Bella puts her in danger when another vampire clan discovers that she is not one of them. Thirsting for her blood, they hunt her and then we have a final showdown in a dance studio – la di da.
What’s wrong with the story? Well at this point it works alright. We have a vampire-human love story and vampires have always been enigmatic so as I said – the first film works alright – just alright. But that doesn’t make it good.
Firstly let’s get into the acting. Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan is definitely very pretty but I found her acting very wooden – particularly when she is bitten towards the end of the first film. Let’s also not forget her inability to act when Ed leaves her in New Moon and when she discovers she may have feelings for Jacob in Eclipse. Robert Pattinson aka Edward Cullen was first Cedric Diggory to me (from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) and I thought he could act when I saw him in HP, but in Twilight, he’s barely acting. All he does is – he sparkles. Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black does not have such a huge part in this film, but he did an okay job of being Bella’s close friend. I thought the best actor was Billy Burke, who played the role of Bella’s constantly suffering father, Charlie Swan.
TWILIGHT – The Story
In the first film, we see Bella move to Forks, a very small town to come and live with her father (her parents are divorced). There have been unexplained disappearances (which we discover is the result of a vampire clan looking for human victims).
When Bella joins school, she is intrigued by the Cullen family – a pale-looking mysterious family that basically sticks together and doesn’t talk to others. One of the Cullen family members, Edward, keeps looking at Bella in an unexplained manner and even tries to change his seat so that he doesn’t have to sit with her. When she does sit with him, he holds his breath, trying to block her smell. Bella does not understand this behaviour and finds it very strange.
After a series of classes together and many days later, the two are on talking terms. One day, when Bella proceeds to the car park to go home, another rogue car almost hits her, but in a flash of a second, Edward saves the day by pushing the car off. Bella is dazzled (no pun intended) by his ability to move that fast and by his super-human strength.
She deduces, after her friend Jacob tells her of a legend involving shape-shifters and vampires, and after reading a number of books, that Edward is actually a vampire.
She reveals this to Edward, who tells her he is a vegetarian vampire. The two fall in love and there is a final showdown where another vampire clan hunts Bella. Edward saves her with great difficulty. The film ends with Bella and Edward dancing at their school prom, and a remaining member of the evil vampire clan seeking revenge for the death of her lover.
I thought the first film was pretty conclusive – apart from the other vampire seeking revenge. They could have just stopped the story here and it would have been a bearable film. Alas! Stephenie Meyer had already written other books. Therefore, we had New Moon after this.
NEW MOON – The Story
I gave New Moon a chance as well. This to me was an utter waste of time. Here, we see Bella become 18 years old. She has a dream that she is an old woman, but that Edward is just as young as she has known him to be (he’s immortal and does not age). This thought makes her uncomfortable that she is now 18 but Edward is 17, and she will keep on growing.
The Cullens throw a birthday party for her in their house, but she has a paper cut and one of the new vampires in the family is unable to control his thirst for her blood and almost injures her seriously. Perceiving the threat vampires are to Bella, Edward decides to leave Forks and Bella for her own safety.
However, this makes Bella depressed, and she seeks solace in Jacob. She also discovers that doing adrenalin-rush activities make her ‘closer’ to Edward – she is able to see him that way.
When Jacob starts meeting Bella less, she discovers that he has become a shape-shifter, a werewolf – sworn enemies of vampires. The werewolves have formed a pack to seek and kill the remaining member of the vampire clan that almost killed Bella in the last film.
Edward hears wrong information that Bella has died and therefore he decides to end his life too. There is one way of doing this – to go to Italy where the Volturi (vampire authorities) are. By enraging the Volturi by revealing himself to be a vampire in front of humans (that’s easy because all he has to do is take off his shirt and his skin will sparkle like diamonds in the sun), he will give a reason for the Volturi to destroy him.
However, Bella hears of Edward’s plan and goes with one of the Cullens, Alice, to Volterra (where the Volturi live – Duh). She stops him just in time but because the Volturi discover that Bella is a human and knows about vampires, they say they will either kill her, or she needs to become a vampire herself. It is decided that she will be made a vampire after leaving Volterra.
ECLIPSE – The Story
Gah, like this wasn’t already more than enough to take in, and then they had to release the next movie, Eclipse.
Then without going into detail about this film, let me summarise the main events. Edward sees that Bella is in danger without him and returns to Forks. Meanwhile, remember our vampire fiend from Part 1 (who survived the dance studio massacre?). Well she (Victoria) is still seeking revenge on Bella for the death of her lover.
Edward tells Bella that she will have to marry him first and only then will he turn her into a vampire. She refuses because she thinks she is too young for this.
We learn that Jacob loves Bella too and he kisses her forcibly, and she punches him on the face but gets an injured fist in return.
At the other end, Alice has a vision that Victoria is making an army of new vampires called newborns (who are even more destructive and cannot resist blood) and that they are coming to hunt Bella down.
Since Bella is everything in this series, the wolf pack (to which Jacob belongs) decides to protect her, along with the Cullens (remember that vampires and werewolves don’t get along, but because it’s Bella, they’re working together).
While protecting Bella in her tent, Edward and Jacob have a not-so-mean conversation, but the thaw in their cold war ends when Jacob overhears Edward and Bella discussing plans for their engagement the day after.
Jacob goes off angrily, saying he wants to be killed by the newborns, but Bella stops him and asks him to kiss her. She then returns to Edward and reveals to him that she also loves Jacob but that her love for Edward is stronger.
Blah – after some action, Victoria and her gang of newborns are killed. The Volturi reach this place where the fighting is happening and find out that Bella is still not a vampire. Bella tells them that the date for her transformation has been fixed.
Jacob is wounded in battle and Bella goes to meet him to tell him that she loves him but wants to be with Edward. At the end, Edward and Bella discuss their wedding plans.
MY PROBLEMS WITH THE SAGA
What I do not understand is why the whole world has no idea about vampires and werewolves existing, but Bella (who in my opinion does not even possess any praiseworthy qualities) seems to have attracted the attention of both clans. Oh well, even if that’s the story, I’ll accept it slightly.
Secondly, everything revolves around Bella’s protection. She’s always being hunted by the bad vampire clan (like there are no other humans to go after). Bella’s always attracting weird non-human attention and I have no idea why – and she has to be saved by one shape-shifter fond of roaming shirtless – and a sparkly vegetarian vampire who loathes the shape-shifter.
It is never obvious WHY Bella and Edward fall in love. All I gather is if you’re in class and a guy blocks his breath with repugnance when you go to sit next to him, you either need a good long bath, or he’s a vampire.
Perhaps Edward and Bella fell in love because they both share similar characteristics – both are pallid, both seem to lack emotion, both have no depth as characters. Jacob’s love for Bella however is more believable.
Isn’t it weird that Bella is 18 and she feels too young to get married to the guy she loves, but she’s totally alright with changing everything she knows about herself and becoming a vampire? I mean she’s going to thirst for blood after this and become immortal. She will be alive and watch everyone else she knows die as time passes. She will be distanced from her family. She’s ready for all this to be with Edward, but she feels too young for marriage? Where’s the logic in this!
Also, the vampires and werewolves are sworn enemies. They will never want to work together. But of course Bella is a goddess so they decide to put aside their differences for some time and save the damsel in distress – even if it means risking their own lives. I can understand if Jacob and Edward want to do that – but all the members of their clans? Seriously?
I do not see human aspects in these films. I find a barrier between me (as a member of the audience) and the characters on screen. I do not feel for the characters at all. I cannot care less to what happens to Bella or if Edward is injured. And all this after actually liking Robert Pattinson.
Let’s review a bit. Bad vampires want to kill Bella in Twilight. In New Moon, a good vampire wants to kill her during her birthday party. In Eclipse, the same baddie vampire who survived in Twilight wants to kill Bella again. I never knew it was sooooo difficult for a vampire to kill a human. I thought they had super sharp senses and could travel so fast that they become almost invisible. But I guess those things don’t apply when Bella is the prey – because she has two non-human hunks to save her.
I could go on about this – and the Twilight Saga is supposed to be more mature. For whom? 10-year-olds? And then they’re splitting the next book ‘Breaking Dawn’ into two parts (Deathly Hallows anyone?). God save the world. I’ve read the synopsis for Breaking Dawn and I realise that one thing is constant for this movie series; it started off alright and has kept the standards high by making sure that each subsequent film gets worse and worse.
I really do not understand why the Twilight Saga is so famous. The only good things I found were good background scores by Carter Burwell (for Twilight), Alexandre Desplat (for New Moon) and Howard Shore (for Eclipse), and some eye-candy. That’s practically it.
Well everyone compares Twilight and Harry Potter and though I usually refrain from doing that, I could not stop quoting Stephen King on this one!
“Harry Potter is about confronting fears, finding inner strength and doing what is right in the face of adversity. Twilight is about how important it is to have a boyfriend.”
You said it Stephen!
Roshni said:
I loved the quote by Stephen King. I absolutely LOVED this post…because it says exactly what I think about the series. I read all 4 books in the series and had more than enough. Which is why I didn’t bother watching the movies (except Twilight). I really don’t understand the whole concept…and, honestly, of all the books I’ve read so far, I haven’t seen such weak characters who are devoid of depth, quality or anything that likeable characters should possess. I don’t think I’ll stop! Anyway, great post! 🙂
Anarya Andir said:
Thank you so much :). Stephen King nailed it. I tried reading the books just to see if they were better than the films, but apart from pages and pages of nothing happening, I didn’t really see much difference. Meyer could have just fit everything into one book and it might’ve been slightly readable. And the movies – ah well. You’ve already watched the first so this should come as no surprise that the subsequent ones are even more terrible. You’re so right about the weak characters – I thought that was a problem particularly in the movies but it seems like it’s a book problem too. Even I can never stop talking about the uselessness of Twilight so feel free to join in :D.
Tamar Najarian said:
^^ CONCUR on the Stephen King post! Jeez! Furthermore, they used this sadly emotionless Bella as a character for Snow White and the Huntsman. God Almighty, please save us! And then people wonder why the new generation is more obsessed with having a romantic or plain sexual partner instead of the more intricate details of life. When we have garbage like Twilight, that’s what we get. At least in True Blood there’s the political aspect and the use of the vampire minority trying to integrate into human society as a blatant reflection of real world problems. Furthermore, the characters have personalities, are palatable and are not always in need of protection, contrary to what the men in the series believe. For teens and young adults, Vampire Diaries is an amazing series to replace Twilight. The emotions run deep, an amazing plot exists and there’s a reason why a single human seems to attract the attention of nearly everything supernatural. She holds the key to breaking or making a curse! Furthermore, no sparkly vampires or cheesy terrible love scenes! The love triangle is believable, the heroines have spark and the plot is engrossing. The characters grow amazingly. Bella will always be the same static character, apparently no matter what sort of role she plays.
Anarya Andir said:
Ah I haven’t watched Snow White and the Huntsman. I was hoping she’d get better for that one but it doesn’t look like she did after all. I don’t see what the fuss about Twilight is – it’s such a stupid story (garbage as you’ve rightly called it). Ah I haven’t watched True Blood – would you suggest it? And I suppose I should watch Vampire Diaries too. I’m very tired of sparkly vampires. I mean what’s the point behind it? To show that women are attracted to shiny objects? Sheesh. Bella is pathetic
Tamar Najarian said:
True blood is about Vampires coming out to the world and trying to integrate in mainstream 😀 it’s very realistic, really… the first seasons were better and I’m hoping the latest gets better (they seem to love making sookie look helpless half the time with currently 2 vamps in love with her) However, she IS special, something you find out later on in the seasons as to why 😀 Plus, she does her fair share of saving her vamp lovers too 😉 Furthermore, REAL eye candy in the mature verson, no sparkly shirtless boys LOL… Vampire Diaries has deviated immensely from the books and has such an interesting plot at the moment. Everything’s interwoven and emotion are very pronounced. Each character has a full story, and development is vivid, as it should be 😀
Anarya Andir said:
Wow, they both sound great. I’m more attracted to the emotional side of things so maybe I’ll like Vampire Diaries more (but I can’t say that until I’ve watched both, right? :D). Thanks for the recommendations! I’ll surely check these out. More stuff to watch :D. Hahaa – and I’m happy they don’t have sparkly shirtless boys 😛
Tamar Najarian said:
thank god for that! LOL!… Twilight ruined vampires… Vamps should be like Angel and Spike from Buffy.. like the ones in Underworld, the secret societies we grew to love in the olden shows and movies. They should most definitely be like Anne Rice’s creations! Vampire Diaries is supposed to be teenager but I think it crosses with young adult very nicely as it lacks the immaturity of Twilight and some other shows/movies of the same light. True Blood is very mature, with lovely sexy moments 😀
Anarya Andir said:
Hehehe…you’re making all of these sound awesome. So I guess that leaves just one thing to be done – I must get hold of these immediately :D. I need alternative vampire films/series to make me remember what original vampires are supposed to be like 😀
Tamar Najarian said:
yep!!! Interview with a Vampire and Queen of the Damned style baby!!! Nothing can beat those!
Anarya Andir said:
Then watch them, I shall 😀 (as Yoda would say)
DJ said:
First the reason that the warewolfs and the vampires work together in eclipse is not just because Edward and Jacod are in love with Bella it’s also because the Cullens thinks of Bella like family and the Quellettes are sworeen to protect humans and kill vampires.
Second if you read all the books you wouldn’t be saying any of this because the books are so much better and how would you compare Twilight to Harry Potter? I mean I like Harry Potter better then Twilight but you can’t compare them. One is about saving the world from an evil sorcerer and the other is about saving a human from monsters. You really can’t do that because it’s not a fair comparesn.
DJ said:
I think that Twilight is a great movie and book and that Stephinie Meyers did an amazing job.
Anarya Andir said:
Thanks for your comment. I respect your opinion but just that honestly I don’t like the films at all. When the first film came out, I thought it was alright. But I never saw the point of stretching the stories for 4 more movies. Throughout the post I didn’t actually compare the Twilight series to Harry Potter at all. It’s just Stephen King’s quote at the end where there’s any real comparison. I agree that they cannot be compared story-wise but since both are so famous, they end up being compared. Anyhow, I suppose the films are worse than the books, that’s why I made it clear in the post that I wasn’t talking about the books since I hadn’t read them. But you are definitely entitled to your own opinions 🙂
DJ said:
I agree that the movies are bad and the books are a little boring at times but I still like them and as you said your entitled to your own opinion.
Anarya Andir said:
That’s alright. That’s your opinion of course and no opinion is wrong :).
aplaceforrene said:
Thanks for the summation. I truly needed that. I have not read one word, and only saw a clip of one of the films (which was more than enough for me.) I suppose if I were 16 again I’d have a different (selfish) take on the whole thing.
Thanks again for saving me countless saved hours of my life.
Anarya Andir said:
I’m glad this post saved hours of your time. Trust me – watching that one clip is more than enough. You’re not missing anything at all. But in case you ever feel slightly curious, you could give the first movie a go. At least you won’t feel like killing yourself for wasting that time (though you might want to reprimand yourself for watching it). 😀
Thanks for your comment :).
DarkJackal said:
I agree with all of your reasoning. First movie=sort of quirky. Bella’s dad=best part. But if it wasn’t for a friend who drags me to the films, I wouldn’t watch the rest of them.
Anarya Andir said:
Thanks for your comment. Bella’s dad was always the best thing in the films. Poor guy, I wish the movies were about him and not about Bella and Edward and what’s-his-name Jacob. I’m sorry you’ve had to watch these films in that manner. I watched them after their DVDs came out, just to see how bad they were.
DarkJackal said:
Now that is a much more sane way of approaching them! I will try that with the last one.
Anarya Andir said:
I’ll watch the last one too – (after the DVD is out). I’ll rent it or something. I don’t want to spend so much watching it in a theatre
segmation said:
Please don’t stop blogging!! Can’t wait to see another one from you!
Anarya Andir said:
Thanks a lot 🙂
segmation said:
Have a great thanksgiving. http://www.segmation.wordpress.com
Anarya Andir said:
Thank you! You too 🙂
A Carnival Of Rust said:
LOL. First of all, I want to salute you on actually writing about these movies. I mean, I tried to do it once but I just kept saying “This is stupid!” and gave up.
I still remember the first time I heard about Twilight was when one of my friends picked up one of the books saying that it was the next Harry Potter. I don’t read books so I believed him 😐 So with this memory I watched the first film. I am also a fan of the whole Vampires & Werewolves storylines so I was expecting something good.
As I was watching the movie, I kept thinking why isn’t Bella showing any emotions? Honestly, at that time I thought it must be some character trait that was probably explained in the books…you know, like semi facial paralysis or something 😀 . Later I went to the internet and realised I was wrong!
I also kept waiting for some cool vampire/werewolf action but slowly realised that it was just another teen romance. Just to keep it different though, they threw in an unemotional robot, Sparkling vampires and Clean shaven werewolves. It is because of movies like this that I have trust issues. All I wanted was a few blood ripping scenes with some vampires and/or werewolves but instead what I got was a romance, a stupid one at that. I mean, I had way better romance in MY real life and my real life has zero CGI effects!!
Anarya Andir said:
Thanks for your comment :D. Yeah I just HAD to make a post about Twilight and why I totally dislike it. I had to rant somewhere. The next Harry Potter? Never :/. Not even close.
Hehheeh – semi-facial paralysis sounds about right. I wish she’d also shown some emotions in Snow White and the Huntsman but apparently she has that frozen stare everywhere. They should’ve made her the Snow Queen.
I know what you mean – they could have made it a nice kind of romance instead of this teen-bleh-romance. I almost threw up watching Part 4 of the series. It was gross. I haven’t watched Part 5 and honestly, I really don’t know how I managed to watch 4 parts of Twilight. o.O I need to get some awards for doing that.
Maybe you should make some movies out of your romance stories and market them as the next (not) Twilight :P.