Following it’s recent cinema re-run, Twilight has definitely consumed a lot of my time over the past few weeks with rewatching them, talking about it, and laughing at it. With the first in the franchise releasing in 2008, a whopping 17 years ago, I have come back to watching it a fair few times with my partner. With each watch, it somehow manages to get better. I watched these when they released way back when, and I have to admit I hated it. All of them. I genuinely thought nothing I would ever watch would be that bad. That possibly could have remained true if it wasn’t for Madame Web. I went in initially trying to understand why every girl in my class was obsessed with it and why it was so important to the culture at the time. Fast forward to 2025, it might be even more significant than ever.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t believe for a second that these were ever intended to be cinematic masterpieces. They were cash grabbers because of an incredibly successful book series, and from what I have been told – is a million times better. That, however, doesn’t take away from the fact that it has been so successful in so many aspects and has gained the cult following and is possibly even considered a cult classic now. I have seen these films multiple times and I hate to admit, they do actually get better. The bones of it are there which is partly due to the story already having been written, but you can clearly see what they were trying to achieve cinematically. The tone, style, and writing for the characters is unique to each. No character in any of them feels like another or recycled. It is clearly unique on that front.
But how has it gotten better?
Well, to start with, I don’t think it has necessarily got better. I think it is more to with me understanding why it is so loved. Realistically, it is just so funny to watch because of how poor the lines are written. I, along with EVERYBODY, was shocked to see Robert Pattinson become Batman because he was and will, in part, always be Edward Cullen. That is him. He is so synonymous with this character that I think the perception of what he was originally written to be will be pictured solely as Pattinson. I don’t think that is a bad thing… maybe for him actually. It is amazing he has managed to shrug off so much of that by being in the films he has been in the past decade. We can look to The Batman, Tenet, The Lighthouse, and even more recently – Mickey 17. He has also managed to land roles in Dune: Part 3 and The Odyssey. His calendar is stacked and rightfully so, he deserves it because he mastered his craft and is so fluid with his performances, he draws you in. As so for almost everybody else, since Twilight, their careers haven’t had the same trajectory. I haven’t seen Taylor Lautner in a film since Grown Ups 2, a really bland and robotic outing from Kristen Stewart in Diana, and a slight resurrection (pardon the pun) for Jamie Campbell Bower in Stranger Things. These actors won’t ever shake being Bella Swan or Jacob, but that is fine for the viewers because, somehow, we love them for it.
Bella is, without question, the single most irritating character I have ever seen in a movie franchise and I have had to endure Vin Diesel for over 20 years trying to keep the Fast and Furious franchise alive. She is the worst written in the whole franchise and it is about her. The choices thy make for her as so laughable, especially her lines. I feel for Kristen Stewart having to try to act these, and whatever she got paid, it wasn’t enough. But here I am, writing about how I somehow have a weird love for Twilight. It is because it makes me laugh. It makes me feel young still. I only ever want to watch it if I’m asked and I will instantly get the popcorn ready because I know for the next two hours, I am going to laugh. I know it was never intended to be this way, but I don’t think Tommy Wiseau’s The Room was either. Both are terrible but both are classics. I can’t sit through a Twilight film and not be in tears laughing, and it actually provided me one of the best movie theatre experiences of my life, because everyone was laughing in unison throughout it. That is why I love it. It doesn’t mean anything to me other than it’s unintentional comedic value but that lands so well and that’s all I need it to do.
I do adore Charlie though, what a guy.
Twilight (2008)
Blog written by Jack Roberts who has previously ran their own page (Instagram @jackreviewsfilms) and is passionately finding their way back into the conversation to keep talking about what brings us all together in cinema, to keep learning from each other and discovering more about the silver screen and everything that goes into making it happen.
