Twilight: Chapitre 5 - Révélation, 2e partie

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.

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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This is the first time I sat in a theatre to watch a Twilight movie. I think the theatre experience maybe helped me enjoy the film more than I should have. Nevertheless, Breaking Dawn Part II is not only the best entry in the franchise, it's also the worst. How can that be? For a good 20 minutes, the film tries to be daring and does something different. Yet it is all undone by playing it safe and ruining what came before it.

I have to stress that yes, this film did NOT have to be broken up into two. The first film was an hour and a half of filler, followed by 20 minutes of awesomeness. This entry is an hour and a half of build-up, followed by 20 minutes of awesomeness X10, followed by the worst decision the series has ever made to date.

I have seen every Twilight movie, I'm not a fan, nor am I a hater. I'm always objective when it comes to these movies. The highest rating I've given one of them is a 5, that went to Eclipse. Breaking Dawn Part II could have easily gotten a 7 from me, had they had the balls to go through with what we were witnessing. A twist so inane, that it actually made me boo at the screen. I don't think I've ever booed at any movie in the theatre before, so congratulations Breaking Dawn Part II, you achieved something.

Now, that awesomeness that I was speaking of, it is indeed awesome. I was cheering, I was laughing, I was having a blast. The people around me, I'm assuming fans, were gasping at the carnage they were witnessing. I had a giant smile on my face. Did the creators finally take the series in a bold direction? Did they finally have the balls to do something different? Yes, they did, but then they ruin it. I can't stress how awful that made me feel.

K-Stew, finally has something to do other than swoon over Edward, resist the urges from Jacob and act like a whiny teenager. She is a vampire, so she has to learn to be one, although it seems she has no problem with the thirst and heightened senses. There is no struggle for her, which makes this whole aspect a bit shallow. Jacob, unfortunately has nothing to do in this entry other than glare at everyone who comes near Renesmee. So the character shifts his focus from one girl to the next, nothing more for him to do, yawn.

Speaking of Renesmee (stupid name), we have what is probably one of the creepiest babies to ever grace the silver screen. Why they chose to use CGI for the face of the baby, other than using a normal one is beyond me. It looks unnatural and comical. The movement doesn't flow and for some reason they decide to keep this CGI face with the kid as she grows older until they finally have the older actress in the role.

As with every Twilight film, there are moments of unintentional laughter, bad acting, dialogue and CGI. Michael Sheen seems to be having fun acting like a complete weirdo and the others seem to be happy they are finished with this series. Now, to be completely honest, this entire saga could have been told in three movies. Twilight for the set up, Eclipse for conflict, Breaking Dawn for the closure. Eliminate the pointless New Moon and condense these two movies into one.

Twilight is finally over. No more sparkling vampires, no more team Edwards or team Jacobs and no more shirtless scenes of young men. Good bye Twilight, I do not look forward to the inevitable remakes.

'The Twilight Saga' comes to an end in possibly the most subversively underwhelming way. However, you can't really hold it against this franchise for at least being very consistent with its quality.

This movie is treating its moments of culmination as if it's been highly anticipated when, in actuality, the series has not been building up to the conclusion it reaches, which only happens due to a misunderstanding that's slowly resolved. The CGI baby is freaky, distracting, and just so perplexing that it's best left ignored. Bella apparently has a brain now, and with it a problem with Jacob imprinting on, and therefore protecting, her baby, as she's constantly leaving it in anyone else's protection other than her own. Edward has lost all of his appeal at this point, being left as one of the least compelling characters in this instalment. Carlisle, Alice and Charlie are my personal stand-outs, and are each noticeably absent or sidelined in favour of newer, more uninteresting characters. Michael Sheen's presence is felt more here than in maybe any other instalment, but still so brief that he's hardly all that interesting even though he's supposedly the primary overarching antagonist. The effects, score and camera work are on par with the previous films, which isn't saying much but there's not much else to say.

A suitable end to an overly broody, dramatic franchise, with improved acting compared to the other films, and a resolution that just let's you know it's all over now.

The only reason the movie is better than the book is for one reason. Even though it was a fake-out, at least they gave us an action scene instead of them showing up, they say two lines, and just leave!