In seeing the highly-anticipated “Twilight,” one might expect a typical teen romance drama with the addition of vampires. While this is how many explain the plot, it is certainly not representative of the film or the story.

“Twilight,” based off of Stephenie Meyer’s best-selling book of the same name, follows Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) as she moves from Arizona to live with her dad in rainy Forks, Washington. While starting at her new high school, she comes into contact with a family of outsiders, the Cullens. They are all “foster” brothers and sisters and have all paired off with the exception of Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), who takes an extreme interest in Bella.

Despite Edward’s warnings that he is dangerous, the two teens start a relationship, driven by Edward’s strange behavior, which includes stopping a van with his hand. Of course, Bella becomes suspicious and theorizes about what he could possibly be. She eventually guesses what he really is (caution: spoiler): a vampire.

Catherine Hardwicke, the director, definitely succeeds in capturing the essence of the novel. Although some Twihards (those hardcore “Twilight” fans) may be disappointed by the amount of the book that is left out and the narrative bits created specifically for the movie, most fans of the novel will be able to look past those inevitable changes and see that the book is still all there in spirit.

For those non-fans out there, “Twilight” can be a little confusing. The book is completely told from Bella’s perspective, which can be a problem when transferring it to film. She explains Edward’s effects on her, and how she feels about him at the different stages of their relationship. Bella begins the movie narrating and adds thoughts at various points, but there are times when her emotions aren’t clear on screen, which might cause a little confusion to those who haven’t read the book. These confusions, though, are small and somewhat insignificant to the plot as a whole and won’t ruin your overall enjoyment.

Certainly, this film is jam-packed with romance. For more than half of the movie, the story concentrates on Bella and Edward and how their relationship develops. Their romance is chronicled without being too cheesy, although it does border on strained at times. The action that populates the rest of film is also very well done. It is fast-paced, chock full of vampire fighting, and complete with dramatic twists and turns.

This all sounds like a teenage drama, but one place where “Twilight” really departs from the stereotype of the genre is its cinematography, which sets the camera moving and tilting in ways you wouldn’t expect from a run-of-the-mill teen flick. Also, the images of wide expanses of treetops, covered with fog, that are sprinkled in at various points are rather breathtaking.

With a relatively modest budget, what “Twilight” has in cinematography and setting, it lacks in special effects. Those looking for amazing effects of the vampires speeding away and leaping through the air will be disappointed. The effects come off slightly cheesy and low-budget, which make them a little more unbelievable. Despite its minimal special effects and possible confusions, “Twilight” is an engaging movie that is visually pleasing and narratively enjoyable.