Four years ago this epic supernatural love triangle began with Isabella Swan (Kristen Stewart) moving to a quiet town called Forks. There she met the Cullen’s and fell deeply in love with Edward (Robert Pattinson), a brooding vampire. Being in love with a vampire is full of drama by itself but things get even more complicated when feelings brew between Bella and her childhood friend Jacob Black (Taylor Launter), who turns out to be a hunky werewolf. Last Thursday at midnight the Twilight saga finally came to its end with The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part Two, killing the box office competition this weekend by raking in over $141 million dollars. This seems to be the most successful of the franchise which has in total grossed over two billion dollars!
Being a fan who actually read all four books years before there was talk about creating the first film, I was very critical of the film series. I remember hearing raving reviews about the first Twilight film and the great anticipation I felt before seeing it. But after I finished watching the movie I was disappointed. To be honest, I hated each and every single one of them. I was not a huge fan of the acting, the quality of the dialogue or the overall appearance of the films, but I felt obligated to see the rest of them.
One positive thing I can say about the franchise as a whole is that each film did exceed the last, which is why I was so excited to see Breaking Dawn Part Two. Anything would have been better than the two hour make-out/ stare-deeply-into-each-others-eyes session that was Breaking Dawn Part One. Even though I was curious and giving the side eye to everyone who raved about the movie, I fully expected to hate the finale too. But I have to say I was impressed.
From the start this movie set itself apart from the rest of the franchise. Bella and Edward do have their moments of intense passion and breathing but most of the movie is interlaced with action and visually stunning scenes. We are introduced to a lot of new vampires and wolves, even though we only skim the surface of their characters. There is a brief moment in the movie (mid-plot twist) that I see this Twilight movie becoming a completely different animal, exceeding my expectations of what the twilight franchise could deliver to someone who is over the gooey love stuff and is looking for bit more grit, but before I got too excited this Twilight ended true to form. But I was very proud that this movie really stepped it up. It really was the best Twilight movie.
Over all I would say this was a decent movie. It’ll be great for a Friday night movie with the girls, especially if you are a twilight fanatic. If you are on the fence about the series like I am, you won’t leave the theater too upset but save your Friday night movie for something else and see this on a Saturday afternoon.