Twilight Hit for the Same Reasons Knight and Day Flopped
7th July 2010
Steve Sailer does the comparison. His conclusions seems to be that Eclipse is a pretty bad movie that nevertheless tunes in to the zeitgeist more effectively than Knight & Day. (Full disclosure: Herself and I did Date Night with Knight & Day and had a great time; while there, we saw a trailer for Eclipse and weren’t impressed.)
A weaker novelist than Rowling, Meyer less understands the adolescent girl’s mind than shares it. Her Bella epitomizes teen self-obsession, the ambition to have every boy fight over you and every girl hate you for it.
Today’s butt-kicking babe films are particularly odd because current audiences also prefer girlier leading ladies than back in the Golden Age of such formidable femme fatales as Joan Crawford, Barbara Stanwyck, Marlene Dietrich, and Katherine Hepburn.
Ah, those were the days.
In Eclipse’s funniest scene, Bella is livid after beefcake Jacob tries to kiss her, even though Jacob knows perfectly well that she loves Edward. So, like an Angelina Jolie heroine, Bella hauls back and socks Jacob on his square jaw. Jacob, whose neck is wider than his head, doesn’t even flinch, but Bella sprains her own wrist, leaving her whimpering in pain.