Team Edward Takes A Bite Out of Hollywood

Twilight debuted on Friday to huge box office takes. It made more $$ on Friday than the entire movie cost to make. By last night, it had drawn in an estimated $74 million bucks. Now, that is some good ROI. Good enough for the sequel (three more total need to be turned from books to movies) to be greenlighted by the production company.

That is the money behind Twilight. So, was it everything that fans wanted? Did it deliver the romance and suspense of the book? Well, that depends on who you ask.

I am a closet Twlilighter. (Guess I am coming out of the closet!) I have read the books and actually reread many of my favorite parts. I have read online the 200+ pages that Meyer (the author of the books for those who are not fanpires) has written of Midnight Sun. That is the "character development gotten way out of hand" that Meyer wrote retelling Twlight from Edward's head...Twilight is told from Bella's head. I am quite certain I have Googled Twilight on almost a daily basis recently just to check the news. I also have a quote from Eclipse (Book 3 of 4) on my wall. Yep, I am one of THOSE people. I did draw the line at the "Team Edward" t-shirt...but I did think about it...I have to admit it. I suppose that coming clean about this obsession is the first step to recovery...or further obsession...hard to tell.

Anyway, back to the movie. It was OK. I think folks who have not poured over the books will like it more than those of us who have the books committed to memory. I will say that I wish the director had had more money to work with on the film. The "special effects" weren't all that special and were, at times, chessy. However, at its heart still lies the beginnings of the story of accident prone Bella and the tortured soul Edward. I will admit this here but you guys reading this keep it under your hats. The first time Edward appears in the movie I really could have screamed like a teenage girl! I mean there he was...Edward Cullen brought to life! Kudos to Robert Pattinson and his extremely weird and overwhelmingly sexy hair! It is more than the hair...he also has this intense gaze that is at once both wonderfully romantic and more than a bit scary. He makes the perfect Edward. The 22 year old Brit will never have a normal life again. Girls (OK...and women my age who might have a momentary lapse and want to scream at him) will be screaming his name for years to come.

I could hash and rehash what was or wasn't in the movie and give you my opinions. It is my blog after all. BUT, I think everyone should form their own opinion of Twilight. Some will never get the "it" factor that hooked millions of readers. The closest way to describe the "it" factor that Twilight has is it is love without reason or fear. It is Romeo killing himself when he thinks his Juliet has died and Juliet doing herself in once she awakens to a dead Romeo. At the heart of it all, it is about unconditional love...a very hard thing to find today. How many of us love anyone unconditionally? It is a Godly thing to do...perhaps the most Godly thing any of us can do on Earth. That is what makes Twilight special...it holds to the most basic need in all of us, the need to be loved and accepted by another person no matter what we are inside or out.

OK...so enough of my waxing poetic. The chemistry between those playing Edward and Bella is good. The one serious kiss they have heats up the screen better than the half porno sex scenes that appear in a lot of movies. It had punch...and it needed it because (if they stay true to the books) we aren't going to see much more than kissing for a long time.

So, bring on New Moon! (For those of you that are not Twilighters, that is book 2...and will be movie 2.) The production company has its release tentatively scheduled for 2010. How will we all endure the wait? I suppose the support groups and shock therapy will help.