Robert Pattinson so over the Moon

Robert Pattinson and, below, in his role as vampire Edward Cullen.

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Robert Pattinson, who plays vampire heartthrob Edward Cullen, has revealed he wasn't overly impressed by either the first flick or the latest instalment New Moon.

And he claimed that when he read the books the series is based on, he thought novelist Stephanie Meyer made his character Edward sound ludicrous.

"I've watched the movies twice but they didn't wow me," the 23-year-old admitted.

"I read the first book and found it quite good.

"But the description of my character is, from the first page on, completely ridiculous.

"It says: 'He enters a room and his beauty is almost painful'."

Whether he rates The Twilight Saga or not, the movie franchise has made a mega star of the English actor, who was previously best known for playing Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter.

New Moon has topped box office rankings worldwide and broke the record for the best opening in New Zealand.

It grossed NZ$2,640,000 in its first weekend, knocking The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King off its perch as having the biggest opening of any film in Kiwi history.

The second movie has shamelessly catered to female fans, with plenty of topless shots of both Pattinson and co-star Taylor Lautner, who has the role of werewolf Jacob Black.

Black is the secondary love interest for female lead Bella Swan, played by Kristen Stewart, and 17-year-old Lautner had to bulk up his physique for New Moon.

"It was incredibly annoying when I saw Taylor's transformation," Pattinson, who has been dubbed `RPattz', said.

"I realised just having a pre-pubescent girl's body wasn't going to work for me any more.

"In fact, I saw him and thought `Jesus, I'm going to get fired!"'

The third instalment in The Twilight Saga, Eclipse, is set to hit New Zealand cinemas in July 2010, but once he has fulfilled his commitment to the franchise, Pattinson wants to explore a different career path.

The former model appears as the singer of two songs on the Twilight soundtrack, Never Think and Let Me Sign, and is keen to release some music.

"I'll record a few tracks as soon as I finish the promotion for the movies, but before (that) I won't do anything," he said.

"I don't want to release an album which has a sticker saying `By the vampire of Twilight' on it."

While Pattinson is said to be dating Stewart, both stars have steadfastly refused to confirm their romance.