WhileTwilightwas widely successful in many ways, the saga was still panned by critics at the time of its release, and the vampire franchise’s worst-rated movies explain why it was so unpopular. TheTwilightmovies famously have a bad reputationfor many reasons, whether that be due to “wooden” acting from stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, the story’s generally mellow vibes, or its predominantly teenage target audience. However, it still proved lucrative, withfiveTwilightmoviesbeing released between 2008 and 2012, spawning a romantic vampire trend and a rather impressive nostalgic legacy.
The movies follow the story of Bella Swan (Stewart) as she becomes swept up in a dangerous supernatural world, finding herself in a love triangle with vampire Edward Cullen (Pattinson) and werewolf Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner).Initially a book series by author Stephenie Meyer, the movie adaptations earned over $3 billion altogether at the box office, cementing itself as a major franchise in the 2010s. However, despite theTwilightmovies' impressive box office earningsand history with audiences, critics still heavily disliked the franchise, and a ratings trend suggests the real reason why.
The Franchise’s RT Scores Show Critics Favored Action
Custom Image by Milica Djordjevic
When you examineTwilight’s lowest-rated movies onRotten Tomatoes, a clear trend becomes apparent, indicating that critics only liked certain aspects of the franchise. The highest-rated installments by critics areTwilight,Eclipse, andBreaking Dawn - Part 2. In contrast, audiences rated the franchise much higher, with an average 64.6% Popcornmeter across the five movies. There is also not much variation in score, showing a real consistency in enjoyment for fans ofTwilight. However,it is interesting that critics apparently likedNew MoonandBreaking Dawn - Part 1the least.
Twilight: Breaking Dawn - Part 2(2012)
49% Tomatometer, 70% Popcornmeter
Twilight: New Moonis the second movie in the franchise and deals with the repercussions on Bella when Edward decides to leave Forks. The 2009 sequel has a few interesting elements, with Edward being a hallucination for Bella throughout much of the film, Jacob finally becoming a werewolf, as well as theintroduction of the Volturi.Twilight: Breaking Dawn - Part 1was also badly rated by critics, the fourth movie in the franchise. The film maintains a different focus, which is somewhat controversial, with the newlyweds Bella and Edward dealing with a sudden impossible pregnancy.
Twilight: New MoonandTwilight: Breaking Dawn - Part 1are also the lowest-ratedTwilightmovies on IMDb.
While most fans of the franchise rated the first and lastTwilightmoviesas the best, the other films maintain steady scores. However,critics seemingly disliked the more romance-based stories of the vampire saga as the three highest-ratedTwilightfilms via Tomatometer all have some elements of actionto them.Twilightgears up for James' (Cam Gigandet) fight,Eclipsehas a battle with Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard) and the newborns, andBreaking Dawn - Part 2delivers a large-scale skirmish for its conclusion, therefore demonstrating that critics disliked the “brooding” and slow romance stories and preferred the franchise’s action.
Twilight Could Have Been An Action-Fantasy Franchise Instead
The Saga Would’ve Been A More Mainstream Success
According to Rotten Tomatoes data,ifTwilighthad focused more on fighting and developing its interesting world instead of its small-scale romance plot, the franchise may have seen more mainstream success, reversing critical opinion.Twilight’s romance storyline somewhat limits its target audience, despite its popularity. So, ifTwilighthad shifted its focus, the saga could have potentially become one of thebest action-fantasy moviefranchises of the 2010s.
WhileTwilight’svisual effects were nowhere near the level of other blockbuster movies at the time —New Moonand James Cameron’sAvatarwere released in the same year — the franchise’s fight scenes are dynamic, and theCGI isn’t always as bad as Renesmee(Mackenzie Foy) suggests. In fact,Twilight’sfight scenes demonstrate real potential for the sagaas they offer an enjoyable level of action amidst the romantic plot. Therefore, it’s not hard to see why critics favoredTwilight’smore action-based movies, due to their brilliant execution, and I could definitely see it as a major action-fantasy franchise.
Why The Twilight Saga Still Works Better As A Romance
Twilight’s “Bookish Tone” Is Why It’s So Great
However, there’s a reason why the franchise was a historical box office success, and whyTwilightis considered one of thebest romantic vampire moviesdespite critical reviews. Book-to-movie adaptations are always a challenge. Yet, theTwilightsaga did its best to mimic the tone of the books, accurately reflecting the romance (regardless of how “toxic” Bella and Edward’s relationship was in retrospect), even including Bella’s narrations of events.This devotion to book accuracy is whyTwilightworked, especially for teen audiences, and why the fan-favorite franchise holds up, despite its goofs, even today.
While aTwilightaction-fantasy franchise would have been interesting, and may have even beaten its $3 billion box office earnings, making it more accessible to a wider audience, the saga still works better as a romance. Ultimately,Twilightis a book adaptation and a well-loved one at that. While theTwilightmoviesmade a lot of changes to the books, they are fairly faithful, due to Stephenie Meyer’s involvement. Therefore, the things that critics disliked, like the franchise’s penchant for a slow-moving plot, were actually the same elements that book fans enjoyed aboutTwilight’smovies.
