Hey HP!
Hope quarantine is treating you well. With everything crazy and transitioning to online classes the rest of the semester, I have found that, like everyone else, I have a lot more time on my hands. Because of all that extra time, I decided to invest my time into a series I really missed the boat on- the Twilight Saga by Stephanie Meyer. For years I have kind of dismissed the series, having seen a few of the movies here and there years ago, but I decided now is a better time than any to just dive deep and read it. After reading all the books and rewatching the movies, I can say that, well, while it isn’t the most thorough/ plot driven series I’ve ever read, it definitely provided me with a good Corona distraction.
Did I buy all five Twilight movies for $15 at Target? I definitely did. Do I regret it? Absolutely not. Let's dive in.
The whole story revolves around Bella Swan, a clumsy and quiet seventeen year old who just moved to Forks, Washington to live with her dad. The town is the epitome of dark and gloomy, and everyone seems like they are in dire need of some vitamin D. Bella’s life shifts when she meets Edward Cullen, a *gasp* 100 year old vampire in a seventeen year old body. Edward is mysterious, a little off putting at times, and good at pretty much everything. (Although with 100 years of practice, wouldn’t we all be pretty skilled at just about everything?) The whole series follows their Romeo-and-Juliet-esque forbidden love story, and even though it was pretty cheesy and didn’t make sense at points, I’ve gotta say I really didn’t hate it.
The four books of the series/ five movies include:
1. Twilight
The book: This book was pretty average, but I’ll give it to Stephanie Meyer because she had to do some introductory world building and I respect that. Personally I found Bella to be funny as she was introduced to the vampire world. 7/10
The movie: Umm… No disrespect to Robert Pattinson or Kristen Stewart but this movie was not great. But, I’ll give them props because they did this movie on a shoestring budget… but it kinda shows. Some of the scenes were a bit painful to watch.I hate to be negative so that’s all I’ll say about that. 5/10
2. New Moon
The book: If I’m being honest I did not even read this book per my mom’s recommendation. The plot is kind of halted with Edward staying away from Bella, and Bella going to Jacob, a werewolf and family friend, to develop his side of the “love triangle'' If I was team Jacob, maybe I would’ve read it, but I really don’t have any regrets. NA/10
The movie: I kind of vibed with this movie. The Jacob plot was definitely boring, and it just makes you feel bad for Bella because she is in post-Edward depression, but I liked how it emphasized that Bella thinks so highly of Edward that he is ‘there’ with her in every decision she makes. Also the ending scenes were kind of action heavy and I was pleasantly surprised about that. 7/10
3. Eclipse
The book: This book was straight up a good time, possibly my favorite of the series. I really really liked this one, but after I read it I kind of forgot everything that just happened. Does that ever happen to you, HP? I was like: wait… what did I even just read? But, this is the first time the werewolves and vampires both team up and form an alliance to protect Bella, and I love a good sappy teamwork story. 8/10
The movie: I’m not trying to be a hater but this movie was not spectacular. The CGI was pretty cringe and I felt like they changed a lot of the good parts of interaction from the book, and it was a little slow at some points. Also the acting was a bit stale, but no disrespect. 4/10
4. Breaking Dawn
The book: I had a love hate relationship with this book. Part 1 was a little slow, but I was torn because the characters were all really happy so therefore I let it slide. Also this was the first time we shifted perspectives from Bella for any period of time, and Stephanie Meyer, you’re telling me you chose Jacob as a narrator? But why?? Truthfully sometimes I cannot stand Jacob’s character. But that’s a whole other can of beans. The second half of the book was a little hard to get through, because there was just a lot of nothing that goes on. Sometimes there were 5-10 pages of meaningless conversation, and also Stephanie really clowned us leading the readers to believe there would be a huge epic battle and then everyone literally just… walked away. And nothing happened. 6/10
The movie (Part 1): If anyone from this movie deserved an Oscar, I’m giving it to Robert Pattinson. In the other movies, it kind of seemed to me that Robert Pattinson did not enjoy being a part of this series in any capacity, and he perfected the scowl/broody look in movies 1-3. But Breaking Dawn? This man came alive. He was smiling, he was laughing, he started to finally build some of that chemistry with Kristen Stewart, and he was living his best life. I was really feeling the Robert Pattinson magic. 9/10 (due only to Robert Pattinson)
The movie (Part 2): Again, good job Rob. He went all out for the fifth and final movie of the series, and I was here for it. As for the rest of the cast, I was also really impressed with Kristen Stewart and her transition into a new sort of role *no spoilers*. The fight scenes were good, and I liked seeing Bella and Edward’s romance mature and feel more authentic and domestic rather than broody teenage love. 8/10
I know that was long, but there was a lot to unpack there so hopefully you can forgive me. Even though this series was maybe mediocre at best, I would say at least try reading Twilight, and watching the movies to witness the glow up of Robert Pattinson.
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