Here's the thing (that's how I would like to start off the majority of my posts but seem to always convince myself to save it for that one special post)--
I am a mediocre Twilight fan. Fair weather Twilight fan. Middle of the road Twilight fan.
Don't get me wrong I really liked the first book. I sat and read it one afternoon. Something about it drew me in, but the writing style started to bug me. Still, I went and read the second book, irritation rising a little more. By the time I got to the third book,
Eclipse I was totally impatient and quit reading it in the middle. I knew there were four books and wanted to skip to the end.
The romance aspect got old for me-- I mean, really? I didn't like how Edward was a bit controlling and how codependant they became, and how syrupy it all was. It was like that infatuation stage of a relationship that eventually deepens into a more mature sweet love was stuck at infatuation for a realllllly long time and that was all there ever would be. Some may argue that this is due to the no pre-marital relations issue, but I beg to differ. It was flat to me. Probably because the author ran out of words listed in the thesaurus to describe their feelings.
But still I tried. The final book was ok, didn't rock my world or anything and I actually struggled to get through it. I hate the name Renesme or whatever it is. The intense relationship remained flat for me-- just in a bigger, economy size package. Bella's dad's blind acceptance of her situation seemed like an easy fix. The whole Jacob imprint thing seems a little too easy also. Whatever.
I still wanted to see the first movie. It was alright. The make-up was awful, the sparkles and tree climbing were humorous, and I couldn't get over the contact lenses and fake American accent. I tried again at the second movie. The writing and acting lacked depth and I found myself bored. I liked Jacob because he actually smiled once in a while and seemed the most relatable (for a werewolf).
So yesterday when Sara called and asked if I wanted to go to the midnight showing of Eclipse I agreed because I keep going back hoping to find that interest I had when I read the first book. I want to feel that when I see the movie. I have to admit, this one was the best of the three so far. Maybe I liked it better because sun seemed to shine a bit more. But it still lacked in character to me. The actors were looser than in the first two, but still too stiff and unrelatable. Edward's make-up was much better, and the contacts looked a little more realistic (or maybe I'm used to them now) but there was at least one instance when one of his black pupils didn't match up with the other eye. And as an owner of an occasional googly eye myself, I found that distracting.
It's funny, I find Robert Pattinson (or however you spell it) much more charming during his talk show interviews than I do in the movie. I wish it was the other way around. And don't get me started on Kristen Stewart, she needs a PR rep to coach her for her interviews. It's possible my dislike for her translates to my dislike of her version of Bella in the movies. I get tired of seeing her same five expressions throughout the film.
But don't get me wrong-- I had a great time. We totally lucked out with our seats-- some friends had inadvertently saved two extra so we were able to have a prime spot. I think we were some of the last people to arrive (11:45) with some of the best seats. I don't think I'll pull another midnight showing again for a long time though, I still woke up at 7:30 am and have been dragging all day.
Don't worry... I will still be there for the final two movies (can you say Harry Potter?), but at least now I will be prepared for the disappointment of mediocrity.
