The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2

Hello, Hello all, I'm here with another movie review. This time I'm covering the latest in the Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2, and I hope to shed some light on the final episode of the series. Now you've seen plenty of debate in this series with many hating everything about this series, while others think it's the best vampire series to ever exist. With all the bias towards this series, it may be hard to determine whether this movie is worth spending time in the theater or should just be blown off. Let's see if I can shed some light on the subject.

With last year's rather over-hyped prequel, I'll admit I wasn't looking forward to the second installment of Breaking Dawn. Although the trailers showed some interesting direction, I had my doubts that they could actually do something to extend the last few pages of the book. However, the directing team was able to accomplish their goal, in what may be the most impressive movie yet to hit the series. Just what makes this movie so great though. My first strength was the dialog. While most of the movies lines are overemotional, lovey dovey, one dimensional quotes from the book that made me roll my eyes, this one was a little different. I found this installment to have more balance still sticking to some of the classic lines, but throwing in some well-timed comedy. The insults and banter between Jacob and the vampires were quite entertaining to the audience and me, and I thought some of the extra characters even had some funny moments with the parts they played. Charlie (Billy Burke) in particular had me laughing the most, with his awkward comedy and real facial gestures combining to be very funny. Aside from the comedy, the movie did have some good dialog play on other parts, particularly when it involved making plans involving the Cullen's battle against all odds. Of course being Twilight, this movie also had its share of romantic dialog, many being lines quote from the book, which should comfort die-hard fans of the series. While some of the romance was captured in these mooshy quotes, some of it still made me laugh or roll my eyes at the cheesiness that still remains.

Aside from the dialog what else was good about this movie? I guess my next biggest thing is the balance this movie has. While this Twilight still has that romantic feel that will have fans crying awe, this film had other things to keep the movie going. For one thing there was some suspense to the movie, as all the behind the scenes of the book were brought to life on screen. The Vultori's movements, the attempt to control hunger, and even the training scenes were all well shot to keep the suspense building. Between these scenes, fans are certain to enjoy the love dynamic not only between Edward and Bella (which includes a seven minute love scene), but spread amongst the other members of the family, especially Renessmee. I felt that there was actually a family dynamic between the Cullen's this time instead of them all just being in the same room and just hugging each other's mate and giving that Abercrombie and Fitch smolder. Throw in the extra vampire's backstory and loyalty, and well you have quite a story builder that keeps the movie going forward much faster than the other films. Yet there was still another dynamic thrown into the mix that helped bring this movie to a full circle, the action. Now many reviews and commercials are going to say it's the most action packed, which is true, however don't think this means its Cullen slam fest 2012. Most of the 105 minutes stays true to the romantic soup I previously mentioned, but there are a few scenes of fast running and fighting thrown in to pick up the pace. However, the action to mention is the battle at the end, which takes up ten minutes of the film and has plenty of impressive moves that impressed me, and some simple punches that didn't. While the fight is impressive, there are some things that needed some work to make it better, the biggest being some rather spastic camera work during the fight.

Still not impressed with the movie? I have a few other points to cover that might change your mind. The soundtrack for this movie was rather good, with many of the musical scores fitting the scenes' emotions perfectly. As for the acting, well it has somewhat improved, but still remains the same model poster, cardboard acting that has made the series famous. Kristen Stewart continues showing her unemotional acting skills off delivering most of her lines in that awkward monotone way, and fails in her attempts to be angry, which is rather funny. However, most people going in know the acting isn't the best, but go for the looks of the characters. Yes, my fans there are still plenty of hot body scenes to go around, as both Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner are still present. Unfortunately for you girls, Lautner keeps his tight shirts on for most of the movie so you might be disappointed in that aspect. Guys , you're not out of the loop on this one though, as the new vampires not only bring guys, but a few beautiful girls as well, especially the blonde cousins.

Breaking Dawn 2 finally has the balance the series has needed and wrapped up the series impressively. Although the acting, editing, and dialog still need some tightening up, most of the mistakes from the previous films have been corrected or improved upon. My opinion is to catch this movie in theaters as it is worth a second trip for me, but definitely hit it up on Netflix. My scores are: Adventure/Drama/Fantasy: 8.5 Movie Overall: 7.0-7.5 Series: 9.5 Contact me at rkarim11@su.edu for more discussion or constructive criticism.

People are weirdly bitter about this saga. It's a great adaptation of the book. The whole series of movies does a good job. Some of these reviews are from people who've not even seen the other films let alone read the books. These movies are for the book fans. They are cast perfectly; the acting is exactly what it should be, overdramatized and slightly disjointed but perfectly in tune with the awkward Bella, hot tempered Jacob and out of his element Edward. Even the poorly animated baby still goes with the book. It's not meant to look like a real baby. People are just taking these movies way to seriously for what they are; young adult fantasy movies made for fans of a book series.

Whew! I just finished watching an advanced screening of Breaking Dawn Part 2 and I must say, the second half of the series' final installment is better than the first. Director Bill Condon knew what the audience crave and gave it to them. Jaw dropping scenes (especially for Twihard fans) will keep you glued and might stop you from reaching for that popcorn. Let's just say that some Twihards in the cinema with me was shocked and some even cried as the latter part of the movie unfold then, BAM! The presentation of the baby Renesmee in my own opinion is necessary so as to be consistent with how the girl looks later in the film. Just watch it and be entertained. I enjoyed my evening watching it with some newfound Twihard friends. :)

Although this was not my favorite movie of the Twilight Saga (New Moon was!), I loved it. Far better than Breaking Dawn Part 1, it offered complete satisfaction with the culmination of the saga. I sat in the theater enthralled with the movie, enjoying every moment of it. It was fun to watch Bella the vampire and Bella the new mom. I finally grew to appreciate Jacob and his connection to Bella. I actually cried at one pivotal point in the movie and was sad when Breaking Dawn Part 2 was over. No more Twilight movies! I will re-read the books and have my own Twilight Saga marathon. I was not disappointed and don't believe any true 'Twihard' could possibly be. Cudos to the entire cast and crew for giving the viewers what they wanted in this movie!

It's with a hint of sadness that the Twilight franchise has come to an end. Sure, they're terrible, terrible films (and books I assume), the popularity of which paints a sorry picture of the tastes of today's youth, but now that all is said and done, on reflection it was worth enduring the first three insufferable disasters (Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse) to get to the unbridled mayhem of Breaking Dawn (my thoughts on part one can be found here).

After seeing part one, it was difficult to see where the story had left to go. We had seen the unending wedding of Edward and Bella, the banal South American honeymoon, the shocking and genuinely upsetting pregnancy/birth, and the werewolf falling in love with the baby. It seemed like an appropriate place to end it, but Summit and Stephenie Meyer obviously had other ideas, hence we have Breaking Dawn, part 2.

While perhaps not as off-the-leash nutty, Breaking Dawn, part 2 maintains a lot of the weirdness of the preceding chapter. Picking up exactly at the point where part one ended, Bella (Kristen Stewart) finds herself having to adjust to her 'newborn' vampire status, learning to control her superhuman strength and fighting the urge to hunt humans. Edward (Robert Pattinson) begins to assume a mentor role, but for whatever reason Bella learns so quickly that the learning plot is pretty much dropped.

Here's the first and biggest of the many problems of Breaking Dawn, part 2. For at least the first two thirds of the film, plot threads and characters are introduced with enough fanfare to make one think they're going to be important cogs in the larger machinery of the story, only to be forgotten or abandoned with zero explanation. Perhaps it's fan service, and people familiar with the novels will be able to link things up, but for newcomers it becomes increasingly hard to keep track of who everyone is, why they're involved, and what on earth is happening from one scene to the next.

The character of Alistair (Joe Anderson) is a good example. Following the development that the Volturi, the ruling council of vampires last seen in New Moon, are coming after Edward and Bella's daughter Renesmee, the Cullen clan assemble a team of vampires from across the globe to defend the child, the last of which is the enigmatic Alistair. Yet after an introduction to suggest he will be a character of some importance he merely ends up lurking in the background, and popping into one random and pointless scene with Bella. He's always there, but doesn't actually do anything significant.

It's this scattered and overloaded approach that really damages an already abysmal film. On top of the lack of charisma in the stars, the questionable storytelling is a real hindrance for anyone set on enjoying Breaking Dawn, part 2 at all, not to mention how simply ugly the thing is. There's an over-reliance on terrible green-screen work, shoddy visual effects, and whatever lunatic decided that an almost completely CG Renesmee was a good idea needs to be removed from the business of movie making.

However, much like the last film, a part of me loved Breaking Dawn, part 2. As I said, it may not seem as insane as part one, but in some ways that's a good thing. I loved part one because I was caught completely off guard by the madness, but was appalled by it because much of the content really shouldn't be part of a film made for pre-teen girls. Part two dials back the more troubling aspects of the previous film and just revels in the stupidity of Meyer's writing. It's weird as hell, but really pretty harmless, aside from all the decapitation. Oh boy, there's a lot of decapitation.

Director Bill Condon and his cast seem to be having a lot more fun here. The most ridiculous thing about the first three films in the series is how unwaveringly serious they are, but with both parts of Breaking Dawn, it feels like Condon and Pattinson in particular are winking at that portion of the audience who, like myself, are simply there to see how off the reservation this daft franchise can go. It manages to achieve a delicate and kind of wonderful balance of satisfying the true fans (the Twi-hards) with its creepy romantic melodrama, while clearly acknowledging the bizarre and quite frankly awful story Meyer has crafted. The awareness of this final chapter is perhaps its greatest asset, and if you're willing to abandon all logic and actual critical appreciation, then Breaking Dawn, part 2 delivers a great time at the cinema.

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