Kristen Stewart’s career proves one Twilight movie criticism has always been ridiculous. Stewart has a lengthy career with 50 films spanning more than two decades. Even before her breakout role as Bella Swan in Twilight, Kristen already had a few movie roles under her belt, including Sarah Altman in Panic Room and Jess Solomon in The Messengers. However, the TwilightSaga, based on the books by Stephenie Meyer, really made her career take off. The Twilight films premiered at a time when young adult fantasy was making a massive comeback for teenagers.
Along with Harry Potter, these two franchises were the face of teen pop culture and young adult fantasy literature for several years. Twilight was a huge phenomenon that continues to have a cultural impact even today. As time passed, Twilight began receiving a lot of criticism, ranging from Jacob’s imprint on Renesmee to the terrible CGI. Furthermore, the movies include many issues that prove the Twilight films have not aged well. One of the most famous critiques revolves around Kristen Stewart, but her post-Twilight career proves how wrong the critics were.
Kristen Stewart’s Career Proves Criticism Of Her Twilight Acting Was Always Way Off-Base
Kristen Stewart’s career has only developed since the Twilight Saga , and critics often praise her skills as a performer.
One of Twilight’s biggest critiques involves Kristen Stewart’s portrayal of Bella Swan. Many critics believe Stewart’s acting skills are subpar and one of the franchise’s problems. However, her career since the TwilightSaga has proved the complete opposite. She has starred in numerous films, ranging across many genres and challenging roles. Kristen Stewart’s career has only developed since the Twilight Saga, and critics often praise her skills as a performer. She even has an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in Spencer. Kristen Stewart has proved her talent, which suggests the issue was never Stewart’s acting. Instead, it was about her character, Bella Swan.
Kristen Stewart Wasn’t The Problem – Bella Swan Was
Kristen Stewart was never a bad actress, but the movies’ protagonist, Bella Swan, is a deeply flawed character. Stewart did her best, but there is only so much a talented actress can do when playing a role. Despite all the drama of the stories, Bella Swan is a fundamentally uninteresting protagonist. She has no motivations or desires other than being with Edward Cullen. Although Edward and Bella’s romance is legendary, with many of the best Twilight quotes about love involving them, Bella, as an individual character, cannot stand on her own. She has no personality outside of her relationship, limiting what Kristen Stewart could do with the role.
The narrative only raises the stakes when it involves Bella’s love life, such as Bella rushing to Italy to save Edward from the Volturi or Edward and Bella’s relationship being on the line because Victoria wants to kill Bella. Edward and Bella break up in The Twilight Saga: New Moon, leading audiences to see Bella as an independent character for the first time. However, nothing is compelling about her storyline. Bella Swan does not maintain interest without the Cullen Family, and when protagonists cannot stand on their own, it is usually a recipe for mediocre storytelling.
Kristen Stewart’s Best Post-Twilight Movies To Watch
Thankfully, Kristen Stewart has a slew of films she has starred in since her Twilight days. Her two most notable performances are in the Academy Award-nominated films Still Alice and Spencer. Still Alice is a drama based on a book about a woman who is diagnosed with Early-Onset Alzheimer’s. Julianne Moore plays the main character, Alice Daly Howland, but Kristen Stewart has a supporting role as one of Alice’s children, Lydia Howland. Stewart played the lead role in Spencer, a movie about Princess Diana Spencer during her marriage to King Charles.
Although the BAFTAs snubbed Kristen Stewart’s Princess Diana role, she was still nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Other films Stewart has participated in since the Twilight Saga include Charlie’s Angels, Certain Women, Happiest Season, and Love Lies Bleeding. While Kristen filmed the Twilight movies, she starred in other films such as The Runaways, Adventureland, Snow White and the Huntsman, and On the Road. There is no shortage of roles that Kristen Stewart has played, encompassing a broad spectrum of genres and stories. She has certainly proven her talent as an actress, cementing her place in Hollywood.
Kristen Stewart may have faced backlash for her portrayal of Bella Swan in the Twilight Saga, but she has since proved the critics wrong. Kristen has an upcoming film called Sacramento, and she will star in the upcoming limited series The Challenger as Sally Ride. Furthermore, Kristen Stewart will return to the vampire genre alongside Oscar Isaac in the new film Flesh Of The Gods. These roles, and her post-Twilight career, prove that her performance as Bella Swan will likely no longer be considered a defining role. The Twilight Saga helped Kristen Stewart burst onto the scene, but it does not define her.
