The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2

Whew! I just finished watching an advanced screening of Breaking Dawn Part 2 and I must say, the second half of the series' final installment is better than the first. Director Bill Condon knew what the audience crave and gave it to them. Jaw dropping scenes (especially for Twihard fans) will keep you glued and might stop you from reaching for that popcorn. Let's just say that some Twihards in the cinema with me was shocked and some even cried as the latter part of the movie unfold then, BAM! The presentation of the baby Renesmee in my own opinion is necessary so as to be consistent with how the girl looks later in the film. Just watch it and be entertained. I enjoyed my evening watching it with some newfound Twihard friends. :)

I'm not a twilight fan, but I loved the ending to this movie. Out of all the series, this one was the best.

Bella is new and improved as a vampire after childbirth killed her mortality. And although her union with Edward was fully accepted amongst the vampire community, their new baby Renesmee (a composite name of Renee, Bella's mother, and Esme, Edward's "mother") wasn't so lucky. After a false accusation, the new family is in grave trouble with the powerful Volturi who only happen to be the largest vampire regime. Even still, the Cullen's are prepared to use their special gifts against anyone who threatens their family.

There are certain details of this film that one has to accept in order to appreciate it. First, aside from the vampires' requisite to drink blood, the Twilight saga movies focuses on the majestic viewpoint of vampires rather than their dark side. And, when assessing the situation in that way, it might make it easier to digest that teenage Bella was literally dying to be a vampire in order to be with Edward, unbeknownst to her parents and only has to loose her soul to do it. Furthermore, even with Bella and Edward being married, there's no way around the fact that Twilight glorifies teenage pregnancy.

If these details can be accepted or moved past for the sake of fiction, this film is awesome! I've seen the previous films in the Twilight saga and I thought they were captivating at times but I've never been impressed this much. For starters, it continues to evolve the intense Romeo and Juliet type romance, with a twist. However, the writing in Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 2 seems to be the best yet. I found myself laughing out loud. The storyline is more witty, interesting, cleverly done and the action scenes are completely unexpected.

Even the actors gave better performances. The highlight performances for me were from the beautiful Kristen Stewart, who plays Bella Swan. Not only did she give a believable performance as an incredibly strong vampire in such a tiny frame, but she made it funny and fascinating to watch. Also giving an always reputable performance was Michael Sheen, who plays Aro, one of the three leaders of the Volturi. There's something about his malicious depiction that is so grimy, yet you'll love to loath him! Robert Pattinson, who plays Edward, was funnier than I ever remember him being. Taylor Lautner, whose character is Jacob, gives another vigorous performance and the other wicked actor that amplifies inhumanity is Dakota Fanning.

I saw this movie surrounded by a packed theater of energetic Twilight fans. It was almost as equally entertaining to watch the film as it was to be amongst the energy of the crowd for Team Edward vs. Team Jacob. And especially all the boisterous fans who were anti- Volturi. Of course the second Jacob took off his shirt, girls in the audience went bananas. Aro and his crew got an equal amount of rowdy boos.

Regarding the topic of appropriateness for young impressionable teens, this film warrants at the least a conversation to your youngsters on issues like intense sexual content, violent murder and teen defiance.

Overall, if you've never seen any of the Twilight saga films, this is the one to see. If you're a fan already you will be blown away with how this final movie goes out with a blast. Go see Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 2; it's worthy! Surprisingly, one of my favorite films this year!

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!

People are weirdly bitter about this saga. It's a great adaptation of the book. The whole series of movies does a good job. Some of these reviews are from people who've not even seen the other films let alone read the books. These movies are for the book fans. They are cast perfectly; the acting is exactly what it should be, overdramatized and slightly disjointed but perfectly in tune with the awkward Bella, hot tempered Jacob and out of his element Edward. Even the poorly animated baby still goes with the book. It's not meant to look like a real baby. People are just taking these movies way to seriously for what they are; young adult fantasy movies made for fans of a book series.

Hello, Hello all, I'm here with another movie review. This time I'm covering the latest in the Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2, and I hope to shed some light on the final episode of the series. Now you've seen plenty of debate in this series with many hating everything about this series, while others think it's the best vampire series to ever exist. With all the bias towards this series, it may be hard to determine whether this movie is worth spending time in the theater or should just be blown off. Let's see if I can shed some light on the subject.

With last year's rather over-hyped prequel, I'll admit I wasn't looking forward to the second installment of Breaking Dawn. Although the trailers showed some interesting direction, I had my doubts that they could actually do something to extend the last few pages of the book. However, the directing team was able to accomplish their goal, in what may be the most impressive movie yet to hit the series. Just what makes this movie so great though. My first strength was the dialog. While most of the movies lines are overemotional, lovey dovey, one dimensional quotes from the book that made me roll my eyes, this one was a little different. I found this installment to have more balance still sticking to some of the classic lines, but throwing in some well-timed comedy. The insults and banter between Jacob and the vampires were quite entertaining to the audience and me, and I thought some of the extra characters even had some funny moments with the parts they played. Charlie (Billy Burke) in particular had me laughing the most, with his awkward comedy and real facial gestures combining to be very funny. Aside from the comedy, the movie did have some good dialog play on other parts, particularly when it involved making plans involving the Cullen's battle against all odds. Of course being Twilight, this movie also had its share of romantic dialog, many being lines quote from the book, which should comfort die-hard fans of the series. While some of the romance was captured in these mooshy quotes, some of it still made me laugh or roll my eyes at the cheesiness that still remains.

Aside from the dialog what else was good about this movie? I guess my next biggest thing is the balance this movie has. While this Twilight still has that romantic feel that will have fans crying awe, this film had other things to keep the movie going. For one thing there was some suspense to the movie, as all the behind the scenes of the book were brought to life on screen. The Vultori's movements, the attempt to control hunger, and even the training scenes were all well shot to keep the suspense building. Between these scenes, fans are certain to enjoy the love dynamic not only between Edward and Bella (which includes a seven minute love scene), but spread amongst the other members of the family, especially Renessmee. I felt that there was actually a family dynamic between the Cullen's this time instead of them all just being in the same room and just hugging each other's mate and giving that Abercrombie and Fitch smolder. Throw in the extra vampire's backstory and loyalty, and well you have quite a story builder that keeps the movie going forward much faster than the other films. Yet there was still another dynamic thrown into the mix that helped bring this movie to a full circle, the action. Now many reviews and commercials are going to say it's the most action packed, which is true, however don't think this means its Cullen slam fest 2012. Most of the 105 minutes stays true to the romantic soup I previously mentioned, but there are a few scenes of fast running and fighting thrown in to pick up the pace. However, the action to mention is the battle at the end, which takes up ten minutes of the film and has plenty of impressive moves that impressed me, and some simple punches that didn't. While the fight is impressive, there are some things that needed some work to make it better, the biggest being some rather spastic camera work during the fight.

Still not impressed with the movie? I have a few other points to cover that might change your mind. The soundtrack for this movie was rather good, with many of the musical scores fitting the scenes' emotions perfectly. As for the acting, well it has somewhat improved, but still remains the same model poster, cardboard acting that has made the series famous. Kristen Stewart continues showing her unemotional acting skills off delivering most of her lines in that awkward monotone way, and fails in her attempts to be angry, which is rather funny. However, most people going in know the acting isn't the best, but go for the looks of the characters. Yes, my fans there are still plenty of hot body scenes to go around, as both Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner are still present. Unfortunately for you girls, Lautner keeps his tight shirts on for most of the movie so you might be disappointed in that aspect. Guys , you're not out of the loop on this one though, as the new vampires not only bring guys, but a few beautiful girls as well, especially the blonde cousins.

Breaking Dawn 2 finally has the balance the series has needed and wrapped up the series impressively. Although the acting, editing, and dialog still need some tightening up, most of the mistakes from the previous films have been corrected or improved upon. My opinion is to catch this movie in theaters as it is worth a second trip for me, but definitely hit it up on Netflix. My scores are: Adventure/Drama/Fantasy: 8.5 Movie Overall: 7.0-7.5 Series: 9.5 Contact me at rkarim11@su.edu for more discussion or constructive criticism.