It's been almost two decades since the first Twilight movie came out, and while the saga's lasting cultural impact is undeniable, there are plenty of aspects of the series that have aged quite poorly. In a series rife with upsetting relationship dynamics, wonky CGI, and straight-up weird age gaps, it's really is a testament to the storytelling that the Twilight franchise has continued to stick around as long as it has.
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More than one Twilight remake project is already in talks, so that's not to say some of these issues can't be amended in future adaptations. Fans will continue to love the Twilight films in perpetuity, but like any other classics, there will always be problematic elements that just can't be ignored.
8 The Volturi Leave a Lot to Be Desired as Villains
Their Plot Was Bare Beyond Belief
Considering they're supposed to be the most powerful council of vampires in the world, the way the Volturi are handled in the Twilight Saga's plot left fans wanting a lot more. Now that the initial hype of the series has long worn off, many viewers have noticed that the Volturi's presence was pretty minimal, despite their power and huge implications for the series' overall vampire lore.
Looking back, many fans wish their involvement had been included much earlier on in the franchise and that they had had a larger influence on the direction of the story, especially after Edward roped them into their family affairs in New Moon. After raising the stakes so high in the series' second entry, it feels strange that the Volturi falls away for much of the rest of the plot.
7 The Controlling Relationship Dynamics Would Not Fly Today
Jacob and Edward's Behavior Are Inexcusable
Dark romance has really taken off over the past few years, and there's certainly an argument to be made that the genre wouldn't be what it is today without Twilight's influence. That said, the fact that this series is billed as a straight-up romance has left many viewers giving it the side-eye. Both Jacob and Edward treat Bella in endlessly questionable ways throughout the movies, especially when it comes to their controlling behavior.
The real issue here is that this behavior is painted as romantic rather than off-putting, which many fans are concerned could give young viewers the wrong idea. Romance is a complicated genre that can handle themes of desire, temptation, and power in nuanced ways, but when it comes to how the Twilight Saga in particular handles this subject, many viewers don't think the depictions of how Edward and Jacob treat Bella would fly today.
6 Charlie Was Not a Good Parent
He Is Entirely Absent For Most of the Series
Being a parent isn't exactly an easy task (especially when there are supernatural beings running around town), but even the most passive observer can see that Charlie's parenting style was nothing short of detached. He had a hard time connecting with Bella, sure, but there are stretches where Charlie appears to be totally absent from his daughter's life.
Viewers may be able to do a bit of handwaving for the sake of a salacious story of a normal teenage girl falling in love with a vampire, but within the logic of the story itself, Charlie feels like he's mysteriously missing a lot of the time — especially knowing he didn't get to spend a lot of time with Bella when she was growing up anyway. Despite his parental shortcomings, though, Charlie's character has become one of the sleeper hit among the series' cult following all these years later.
5 Bella Shouldn't Have Forgiven Edward So Easily
His Actions in New Moon Were a Bigger Issue Than She Makes Them Out to Be
In New Moon, Edward completely abandoned Bella and left the country, which caused her to spiral into a months-long depression. This has to be one of the most dramatic moments in the entire series for both Bella and Edward, and after the situation is finally resolved, Bella is ready to go back to normal as if nothing happened at all.
Plenty of fans have argued that Bella forgave Edward all too easily, considering not only the fact that she was ready to end her own life due to his disappearance, he was ready to do the same. Such drastic measures deserved more time for both Edward and Bella to talk things over, and what it all meant for their relationship moving forward. Instead, Edward's abandonment of Bella was swept under the rug, much to the detriment of the rest of the series.
4 Bella and Edward's Age Gap Can't Be Ignored
Looking Back, It's an Ick For Sure
It's a classic of the vampire trope: an immortal being falls in love with someone who is hundreds of years younger than them. The main difference when it comes to the Twilight series, however, is that Edward is depicted as the hero when he does it. The story makes it easy to forget just how old Edward really is, but if viewers stop and remember how much older he really is than Bella (he is canonically 104 years old when he meets her, when she is 17), it does nothing short of make their skin crawl.
The creators of Twilight easily could have fudged Edward's age, making him a newly-turned, age-appropriate vampire instead, but it seems that this is one piece of lore that they decided was better if kept true to the books. If they ever decide to remake the Twilight series, this is a plot point the creatives will reconsider.
3 The Werewolf Lore is More Than Questionable
A Not-So-Sensitive Depiction of Native Americans
The culture has changed a lot since the Twilight movies were initially coming out, but even then, tying the werewolves' lore to the real-life Quileute Native American tribe felt nothing short of distasteful. There's a mysticism that surrounds the whole thing, especially any time they get into the werewolves' ancient treaties and rules. It feels more like a caricature of old Native American tropes in media than a real, respectful depiction of the culture.
Some fans have suggested that detaching the werewolf pack from a real tribe would be the most tasteful option, but of course, the lore as is will be attached to the series forever, mostly for the worse. At the very least, it seems like most of the new fantasy stories that are coming out today have mostly learned from Twilight' s mistakes.
2 The Notorious Renesmee Doll and CGI
Some of the Most Hideous Abominations to Curse the Silver Screen
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Supernatural beings like vampires and werewolves beget plenty of CGI and other movie magic across a film series, and some instances have aged better than others. One of the most notorious examples of special effects gone wrong, not just in the Twilight films, but in the entire film canon as a whole, is absolutely Bella's baby Renesmee. When she is first born, Renesmee's face is CGI'd onto a real baby — to seriously uncanny effect.
Then, as she starts to age rapidly (as vampire babies tend to do), a toddler-sized doll is wheeled out that is so creepy, it rivals anything from the Chucky franchise. In a series that has spawned a near-infinite amount of memes, Renesmee's doll may have taken the cake for most-mocked. Twilight already requires quite a lot of suspension of disbelief, but the depictions of baby Renesmee in Breaking Dawn are something beyond the pale.
1 Jacob Imprinting on a Child Was Completely Unhinged
This Is Probably the Worst Part of the Entire Franchise
Speaking of Renesmee, her character is unfortunately tied to another stain on the franchise that has gone down in infamy: Jacob falling in love with a baby. The Twilight lore tries to make it less weird by explaining that imprinting is an involuntary, all-consuming connection that happens when a werewolf meets their soulmate, but fans weren't entirely convinced when the series came out, and they're certainly not convinced now that they've had even more time to think about it.
There's already plenty of weirdness when it comes to the Twilight canon's understanding of romance (wanting to eat your partner isn't exactly healthy), but the fact that Renesmee was literally a baby when Jacob imprinted on her cannot be excused away. Further tying the rivals of vampires and werewolves together via Jacob's imprint certainly made for some juicy drama in the story, but of all the Twilight series' sins, this one is absolutely the most egregious.
- Release Date
- November 21, 2008
Cast
-
Kristen StewartBella Swan -
Edward Cullen -
Billy BurkeCharlie Swan -
Peter FacinelliDr. Carlisle Cullen
WHERE TO WATCH
- Runtime
- 122 minutes
- Director
- Catherine Hardwicke
- Writers
- Melissa Rosenberg, Stephenie Meyer
- Producers
- Mark Morgan, Wyck Godfrey, Greg Mooradian
- Sequel(s)
- The Twilight Saga: New Moon, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2
- Franchise(s)
- The Twilight Saga
