It’s over. Whether you find that a reason to cry or celebrate is entirely up to you.
Monotone acting, brooding stares and some actual good moments round out The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2, the very strange and somehow captivating finale to the five-part Twilight saga.
This installment picks up where Part 1 left off — Edward (Robert Pattinson, Cosmopolis) and Bella (Kristen Stewart, Snow White and the Huntsman) have just had their half-human, half-vampire daughter, Renesmee, and Bella adjusts well to her new life as a vampire. But when a fellow vampire incorrectly tips off the Volturi — a terrifying group that controls the vampire world — that the Cullens are breaking a vampire rule, the Cullens form a group of allies to face-off in a final battle.
For those who (justifiably) disliked the previous movies, this edition contains many of the same frustrating components. Stewart remains every bit as unenthusiastic and downright uncomfortable as an actress as she’s always been. In one great early scene, Bella is supposed to be a crazed, bloodthirsty monster learning to hunt, but Stewart’s attempts at appearing vicious and calculated come off as a strange attempt to seduce her frightened prey.
Director Bill Condon (The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1) clearly appeals to his audience of romance-minded Team Edward or Team Jacob cultists, taking every possible opportunity to include sex, lengthy make outs and the requisite Taylor Lautner (The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1) strip tease (cue the woos and shrieks), all set to a hip indie soundtrack. And, of course, there is an abundance of scenes of actors smoldering intently at one another rather than supplying any dialogue. All the elements are in place for your typical Twilight film.
But, to be honest, it’s not as bad as it sounds.
It’s downright funny in some parts — and for possibly the first time in the history of the series, it’s actually supposed to be funny. Stewart, Cullen and Lautner all have moments that will make audiences laugh out loud. Most humorous, as usual, is Billy Burke (Freaky Deaky), who plays Bella’s father. Burke perfectly pins down the role of a clueless but well-meaning father and his line deliveries are spot-on.
The film also succeeds in making light of its own weirdness. Jacob’s announcement that he has “imprinted” on infant Renesmee — essentially fallen in a creepy kind of protective love with her — is every bit as strange as it is in the book. But the way the movie pokes fun at itself in this scene, clearly pointing out everyone is aware how weird it is, works both as a funny moment for all of the characters and a way to make light of a rather uncomfortable plot point.
Furthermore, the final battle may well be the most interesting part of the entire film. Without giving too much away, it’s gripping, heart-wrenching and surprising, to say the least.
At the end of the day, it is still a Twilight movie. It’s by far the best of the series — straying from the plot as penned by Twilight author Stephenie Meyer is a wise decision on the filmmakers’ parts. It retains all the elements that made it popular while interestingly expanding beyond the re-re-recycled plotline of the vampire-werewolf-human love triangle that could only exist in the Twilight universe. All in all, it’s a mildly-better-than-average film.
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