by Patricia Gilliam

Created on: December 27, 2008

The Twilight movie is very similar to the book with the exception of a few minor details in the plots, mainly the string of events involving the rival vampire group led by the character named James and a little on how Bella discovers Edward's secret. Neither of these are enough to completely diverge the two from lining up with each other. They're otherwise the same.

To get the most out of the movie however, it would be a good idea to read the book prior to watching the movie. My husband and I were invited to watch the movie by friends prior to reading the book, and though we still found the movie good there were a few scenes where the back story in the book would have been helpful. We have since seen the movie a second time, and the experience was a lot better after learning those details.

For the most part, all of the main characters are portrayed well in the movie. The book goes a lot more into the supporting character's backgrounds, with a lot more information given about mainly Carlisle, Alice, and Jasper than the movie had time to include. What I think the book also helps with is knowing a lot of details of what was going through Edward's mind in several sections of the story. The book also has a lot of sarcastic humor in it, something that is still done in the movie but very quickly. In the theatre, you could tell the people who had read the book first from the people who had not by who was laughing, remembering a related moment in the book.

Stephanie Meyer has a very easy-to-read writing style, and though the books I've read so far appear long they are page-turners many adults can get through in a matter of days. You can find a lot of extra information on the books and the movies at her official website by clicking here. Though not required, her website does have "outtakes" from the books that give you more character information that was not always included in the published versions. She also has a lot of extra information for every book in the series so far.

Overall the movie was a good portrayal of the book, given the attention span that confines most movies. Like most situations where you read the book and then watch the movie, there are almost always things you wish could have been included. Since the movies are going to be a series as well, this first movie was a great foundation to launch the future movies. The production quality and special effects were solid, with the panoramic scenes of Edward and Bella up in the trees and the actions scenes standing out as being very well done.

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