I know I'm supposed to, but I don't hate the Twilight franchise. I read the books (mostly to get brownie points from my now-wife, so obviously it worked) and got caught up enough to feel legit animosity toward Jacob. I also know that the movies aren't great, but they are familiar, and my viewing of them is inevitable, so I make a point of enjoying what I can.
It's odd, but despite Eclipse's record-breaking success, most of the buzz around The Twilight Saga has been the forthcoming fourth and fifth installment, based on the fourth novel, Breaking Dawn. Some people are talking about the actors' increased salaries, others are discussing the whorish decision to split the movie into two movies, and many are speculating on the best way to depict the infamous uterus-munching birthing scene. With all of this kerfuffle, the third film has gotten lost in the shuffle. If these were better movies, I'd consider calling it a shame, because Eclipse is probably the best one so far.
Among the improvements to the series is the increased believability of Bella and Edward's relationship. Near the beginning of the film, they are seen hanging out in their meadow, being a couple. They are cute and flirty and sporadically kiss each other. I buy it. I wouldn't describe it as life-altering-forever-devotion, but they're actually a couple, instead of a couple of people creepily staring at each other.
The two sides of the couple also get a chance to breathe. Robert Pattinson has gotten a pretty harsh rap for his acting. The narrative of Eclipse allows for a greater variety, allowing RPattz (or however he kids are saying it these days) to be quaint, unreasonable, charming, furious, and resignedly jealous, all to a believable degree.
'Tother: Kristen Stewart, also gets to break away from her so-harshly-criticized brow-furrowing, most notably in a scene between Bella and her mother. Unbeknownst to Mom, this is the last time Bella is planning on seeing her mother before she gives herself over to become a vampire. When her mom presents her with a nostalgic gift, Bella smiles widely and then clings to her mother with seemingly genuine affection. It's a good little scene made all the more special because of Bella's usual woodenness.
Unfortunately, while there is a better case made for Belledward's relationship, he still also hasn't kicked that pesky semi-abusive restraining habit. Case in point, he breaks her truck so that she can't drive off to see Jacob. Furthermore, about 4/5th of the movie are dedicated to explaining why it is a bad idea for Bella to become a vampire. Attachment to her parents, her friends' valedictorian speech, and seemingly every other scene has an undertone that seems to challenge Bella's decision. While this does make the point of solidifying her conviction, the arguments are made strongly enough to convince the audience that she is making a mistake. Then, when at the end, she finally does explain her choice (it's because she feels "different" from everyone else) you want to shake her out of frustration.
And then there's Taylor Lautner...
Moving on, much of the rest of the cast just did what they always do. Esme and Carlisle stood in the background a lot until someone got hurt. Emmett had fun hurting stuff. Jasper (Jackson Rathbone) was enjoyable in his expanded role, while his chemistry with Alice (Ashley Greene) made for the best couple in the series. Rosalie (Nikki Reed)'s origin story is told, and while it gives her character depth, it also makes her seem naive. Charlie (Billy Burke)'s protective father schtick continues to be one of the best parts of the series. And Jacob's pack is acted better by CGI wolves than the actual people.
On the vampire side of things, a new mini-boss bad guy vampire, Riley (Xavier Samuel) showed promise earlier on but by the second half had me thinking that he would be better suited for a guest stint on Smallville. And, of course, there's Bryce Dallas Howard, who takes over the role of main-baddie vamp, Victoria. With her limited screen time, Howard's Victoria is menacing, crazy, and vicious. Her investment into the role ignores the temptation of half-assing her way through a what-the-hell-am-I-doing-here job.
Quite possibly the best thing about the movie was the big fight scene. Whoever choreographed and designed that sequence deserves a pat on the back for (however briefly) bringing out the kind of fanboy-ish delight that I usually reserve from more epic fare like 300. Watching those vampires and shape-shifters tear each other apart in the film's climax was like the guys' reward for taking their girlfriends to the movie. I'm still undecided about how I feel about the creative decision-making process behind having vampire dismemberment look like breaking a ceramic doll, but it does allow for some pretty brutal violence without any of that pesky R-rated blood. Assuming that the Breaking Dawn script is going to stay pretty true to the novel, I made sure to enjoy this battle as much as possible, considering the enormous non-violent cockblock that awaits at the end of the last book.
So yeah, that's about it. I was late seeing this movie, so chances are if you were planning on seeing it, you've already done so, at least twice, and if you weren't, I'm not going to be changing your mind anytime soon.
Rating: 2.75 stars
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