The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Parte 2

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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To be quite honest, this final installment of Twilight was not as bad as most people have made it to be. The only kicker is that you need to know some background story. If you're a guy following your girl to the cinema because of obligations, chances are you're going to not get this movie and will likely give it a very bad review. But if you would just play along with the plot, listen to your girlfriend for info and accept the supernatural aspect of the story, you might just enjoy it. Just sayin' guys. Don't be hatin' just for the sake of hatin'.

All in all, I thought Breaking Dawn Part 2 did the Twilight series justice. It was a great finale, and dare I say, surprising good too? It was.

I was a bit worried after watching the trailers that they may have somehow made this into boom-boom-bam movie filled with action scenes to please the I-need-insta-gratification crowd. But no. It was very true to the book, despite the proclaimed twist. It was, really, a very clever representation of the story from a different perspective. Bill Condon did an excellent job. And I am also glad that the Twilight Saga is finally over. Phew.

This was the best movie of the series since twilight itself. Clearly people who have not read the books are at somewhat of a disadvantage, but if you watched the series from beginning to Breaking Dawn Part I, then I would definitely not miss this one. It is obvious that Lionsgate's influence on this movie had a positive result and I wish that influence extended to the others, because of Summit's former 'make it cheap' attitude. The books deserved better, because the movies focused more on character relationships and less on an important theme from the books which was you can choose to be a predator, or not and the results of those choices. For me, bringing the books to life was very fun and being an old person, a nice diversion. If you haven't seen the prior movies, or read the books, then I'd skip the movie as it won't make much sense. (Hence a prior review comparing it to X-men. Really?!?!) Otherwise I think it tied in twilight's original feel and look, which made it best movie since twilight. I will be going back again to watch in in theater and buying the DVD.

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. :)

I'm not a twilight fan, but I loved the ending to this movie. Out of all the series, this one was the best.

Bella is new and improved as a vampire after childbirth killed her mortality. And although her union with Edward was fully accepted amongst the vampire community, their new baby Renesmee (a composite name of Renee, Bella's mother, and Esme, Edward's "mother") wasn't so lucky. After a false accusation, the new family is in grave trouble with the powerful Volturi who only happen to be the largest vampire regime. Even still, the Cullen's are prepared to use their special gifts against anyone who threatens their family.

There are certain details of this film that one has to accept in order to appreciate it. First, aside from the vampires' requisite to drink blood, the Twilight saga movies focuses on the majestic viewpoint of vampires rather than their dark side. And, when assessing the situation in that way, it might make it easier to digest that teenage Bella was literally dying to be a vampire in order to be with Edward, unbeknownst to her parents and only has to loose her soul to do it. Furthermore, even with Bella and Edward being married, there's no way around the fact that Twilight glorifies teenage pregnancy.

If these details can be accepted or moved past for the sake of fiction, this film is awesome! I've seen the previous films in the Twilight saga and I thought they were captivating at times but I've never been impressed this much. For starters, it continues to evolve the intense Romeo and Juliet type romance, with a twist. However, the writing in Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 2 seems to be the best yet. I found myself laughing out loud. The storyline is more witty, interesting, cleverly done and the action scenes are completely unexpected.

Even the actors gave better performances. The highlight performances for me were from the beautiful Kristen Stewart, who plays Bella Swan. Not only did she give a believable performance as an incredibly strong vampire in such a tiny frame, but she made it funny and fascinating to watch. Also giving an always reputable performance was Michael Sheen, who plays Aro, one of the three leaders of the Volturi. There's something about his malicious depiction that is so grimy, yet you'll love to loath him! Robert Pattinson, who plays Edward, was funnier than I ever remember him being. Taylor Lautner, whose character is Jacob, gives another vigorous performance and the other wicked actor that amplifies inhumanity is Dakota Fanning.

I saw this movie surrounded by a packed theater of energetic Twilight fans. It was almost as equally entertaining to watch the film as it was to be amongst the energy of the crowd for Team Edward vs. Team Jacob. And especially all the boisterous fans who were anti- Volturi. Of course the second Jacob took off his shirt, girls in the audience went bananas. Aro and his crew got an equal amount of rowdy boos.

Regarding the topic of appropriateness for young impressionable teens, this film warrants at the least a conversation to your youngsters on issues like intense sexual content, violent murder and teen defiance.

Overall, if you've never seen any of the Twilight saga films, this is the one to see. If you're a fan already you will be blown away with how this final movie goes out with a blast. Go see Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 2; it's worthy! Surprisingly, one of my favorite films this year!