Courtesy of cinemaassassin.com
Directed By: Bill Condon
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Dakota Fanning and Michael Sheen
What It’s About: After giving birth to her vampire daughter, Bella Swan, now a vampire herself, must protect her daughter from the clutches of the evil Volturi.
Rated PG-13 (for sequences of violence including disturbing images, some sensuality and partial nudity)
Runtime: 115 minutes
By Shelby Clemons
16 November 2012
Another chapter of a beloved film and book franchise has ended. On November 15, even the most closeted “Twi-hards” like myself awaited the premiere of the final installment of The Twilight Saga, Breaking Dawn Part II. Lines going in every direction held fans eagerly and anxiously waiting for the moment the theaters would open and allow them to witness the end of an era.
When we last left Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and the Cullens, a vampire coven, Bella was deathly ill from the birth of her love, Edward Cullen’s (Robert Pattinson) vampire child. Somewhat inconsistent with the cliffhanger of the first part, Breaking Dawn Part II opens with a strange montage of red and white images that seems irrelevant. But that didn’t stop the entire audience from erupting into screams at the sight of Taylor Lautner’s name in the opening credits.
In part two of the final movie, based on the novel by Stephanie Meyer, audiences see the newlywed, new mom and new vampire Bella Cullen recover from her near-death experience and raise her half-vampire/half-mortal child with Edward. The only problem is that the Vulturi, the ruthless and supreme rulers of the undead, are falsely informed that the child was a mortal illegally turned into a vampire by the Cullens. Alice Cullen (Ashley Greene), the psychic sister of Edward, sees that the Vulturi are coming for the Cullens with the intent to kill.
The child Renesmee (Mackenzie Foy), has the blood, heart and growth of a mortal child, as well as the powers of her immortal parents. In an attempt to prove their innocence, the Cullens seek out a wide variety of their vampire friends from all over the world. Most amusing are the vengeance-seeking Vladimir and Stefan (a.k.a. Dracula One and Two), complete with heavy accents thick with rolling r’s and old-fashioned Dracula threads under super cool leather jackets. But back to the point! The Cullens prepare themselves a sort of army, incorporating Jacob’s (Taylor Lautner) giant werewolf pack, meant to stop the Vulturi from simply killing everyone and try to get them to listen to the truth.
Courtesy of www.aceshowbiz.com
At last, the time comes for the Vulturi to descend. Following an attempted explanation of the truth comes perhaps the biggest plot twist of the century. Maybe that’s an exaggeration, but Twi-hearts were breaking all across the room. Luckily, hearts were mended (or possibly shattered more?) with a montage of Edward and Bella’s eternal love as the grand finale.
Aside from the frightening plot twist, the movie didn’t steer too far from the books or previous movies. Unlike the other movies, there was a minimal amount of sparkly vampires and almost no shirtless Jacob (although the one time he was without clothes, 40-year-old women screamed as much as the teenage fans). Staying true to the other movies, the acting was pretty terrible. Surprisingly though, Kristen Stewart did well—at least for her. She branched out a bit from being the awkward actress she usually is, and didn’t clumsily fix her hair a single time.
The filming style was, as usual, a dizzying headache—so much so that at times you couldn’t see anything that was going on. The special effects were a far cry from good, but then again, there’s nothing like seeing a vampire’s head torn off at 12 in the morning.
Whether you simply enjoy the series or are such a Twi-hard that you bear Edward Cullen’s profile on your chest, the movie ends on a good note. If you are not a fan of the series, I wouldn’t recommend seeing it unless you want a good laugh. Despite the steady decline of the Twilight series as it’s grown, Breaking Dawn Part II wasn’t terrible, and the ending made even the heart of a critical, closeted fan break just a little bit.
5.5/10
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xOSoONDpY4