The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1

Roger Ebert, one of the most widely beloved film critics once had a quote about the infamous Larry Bishop gangster spoof Mad Dog Time. That quote went "''Mad Dog Time'' is the first movie I have seen that does not improve on the sight of a blank screen viewed for the same length of time." That's how I ultimately feel about The Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn Part 1. It is a terrible film that, despite its best efforts, turns into a big pile of nothingness. What did the filmmakers want to accomplish here? Well, there are a couple thing such as money, cabbage, and oh yeah, dough. This film was made on the assumption that millions of teenage girls are going to throw down their allowance to go see it. As I went to a public theater to see this and not an advanced screening, their assumptions was right. I was the only male in the theater. No boyfriends, husbands, males by themselves, ETC. May I also mention that there was a very limited range of females under 16 in the theater. Seriously, who thinks of this crap? This film can be summed up in a simple, short explanation-it's a soap opera made for young women instead of middle aged women. I'm not trying to sound sexist or derogatory but this is the way the world works..movies are made specifically for teenage girls to throw their allowance down. Unfortunately, this one, like most of them is petrifying to watch.

I like twilight. i wouldn't say i LOVE it, but i found the books to be amusing, warm and a good time waster. The movies seem to be more about capitalising on funds rather than delivering a decent plot.

i've never been a fan of Kristin Stewart (insipid droning teenager that she is in all of the movieS) but she actually appears to present somewhat of a decent acting skill in this movie, whereas cold, boring edward (who in the books was a heart-throb) is just as terribly pathetic as he was in the previous movies. The man that has stolen the show, taylor lautner, since he took his shirt off in the second movie was pushed into the background a little bit in this movie, which i think was the worst thing they could have done. but, in the same token, they had to do as its a love story between edward and bella, not bella and jacob. I'm just a little disappointed by the way they've dragged this on. but i was disappointed by the books towards the end too.

We took our whole office at the penrith professionals and there were mixed reviews. The oldies hated it, the middle agers (who knew the basic plot line of the movie) found it a nice romance but fairly boring and the young girls loved it for the sheer fact it was twilight.

I wouldn't see it again, thats for sure.

There is not much happening altogether in this film. They put way too much focus on the wedding and the honeymoon, thus wasting precious time. But I guess all those teenage girl fans wanted a full portrayal of the big romantic wedding.

In all of the previous films, I liked the acting of most of the cast a lot. But in this film, everyone except Bella, Edward & Jacob is marginalised to such an extent that there cannot be much said about them. As an audience you just don't get to see enough of any of them to really develop a connection with or care about them.

Altogether this is an OK addition to the franchise, by no means worse than the disappointing/confusing 2nd or 3rd films. I assume I will give this film either a 5 or a 6 (out of 10), but I think I will withhold my final vote until I have seen part 2. I know some might say that they are released as separate films and therefore should be treated as such, but as the original book is ripped into two halves here, I think it is fair to reserve the final judgement until I have seen the two films in conjunction (seeing that, as I haven't read the books, I will need to have seen both films in order to make sense of it all).

To rate this movie I think I should split my opinion in two: The twilighter side and the neutral side. Read the part that better mirrors your attitude.

NEUTRAL: The movie has no cinematographic value at all. Just a lame, slow, in places disgusting report of how a vampire-human marriage could be in the first part, and a badly directed (with some very awkward moments) plot development in the second part. I could not help noticing the derisiveness of some scenes; e.g. the one in which the transformed Jacob addresses his other fellows (I thought the movie was turning into a joke at that very moment!) and the one in which Bella makes the bloodshake fall to the ground and kind of breaks her back. A praise goes to the actors: the acting is not bad, is not bad at all considering that, in my opinion, nothing better could have been done (Kristen Stewart's performance is not bad and I found very convincing the character of Jacob). Another criticize goes to the movie slowness; in fact, those who are not very fond of Ed and Bell's love story might probably find the fully detailed and slow part in which the two get married really annoying. Finally, I would rate this movie, in this case, with 4,5 out of 10.

TWILIGHTER: I do think very few fans will be disappointed by this installment. Let's be onest, I was almost crying during the scene of the wedding (and I'm a male!!!) mainly because of my affection for the series (I was platonically in love with the story when the first Twilight movie came out). That's the truth: this movie's been made just for those who have always followed and liked the Twilight saga. I don't expect anyone to suddenly turn up and say: I've never given a *** about this series but I've found the movie absolutely awesome! This movie is for us Twilighters all around the world. Because all those scenes have an emotional meaning only in case you are very fond of the series. In this case I can and want turn many blind eyes (may I say it? haha) in the name of my affection for the saga. I enjoyed the Ed and Bell's wedding night, all those particulars (they even play chess!) that made me feel good during the projection of this movie. In this case I would rate the movie with 9 out of 10.

That's all, according to my opinion. Thanks for reading.

No matter what I or any one else say, there will be a lot of people who have already made up their minds on whether they are going to The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 and the most positive or negative reviews will never change that. Opinions between Twi-hards and Twi-haters are extremely polarised, but it is my duty to give an honest opinion on the latest chapter of the saga.

It has finally happened. Edward (Robert Pattinson) and Bella (Kristen Stewart) have tied the knot and, despite some pre-wedding nerves, it seems like a success. The two lovers spend their honeymoon on a tropical island off the coast of Brazil and we get the moment we have all been waiting for: they finally have sex. But a shock is in store when Bella ends up pregnant (remember kids, always practise safe sex) and the human-vampire foetus is killing her from the inside. As the Cullens try to save Bella, the Quileute tribe set out to kill her and the child, believing it will be a threat and abomination. Jacob (Taylor Lautner) ends up being torn between his loyalty to the tribe, his hatred for Edward, and his love for Bella.

There is a new trend in Hollywood to split book adaptations into two parts. It made sense with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, because that was a long novel with a many elements that were interlinked and it needed to be told in two parts, but "Breaking Dawn Part 1" was trying to stretch the material to fit the allocated time. There are numerous montages, such as the honeymoon, which could have easily been shortened to make a single, stronger movie. The film had very little plot too; it's basically about a complicated pregnancy that just happened to feature vampires and werewolves.

There is a melodramatic tone throughout, amplified by the music, whether it was the piano-heavy soft moments, the epic score (often played over non-epic moments), or the emo rock songs. A little melodrama is fine, but it goes on for most of the movie, and when there is little hook of a story, it just becomes a drag. Even people who are fans to the series will admit that dialogue has never been its strong suit. Bill Condon attempts to make the sex scene and honeymoon to be tender, but it came off more sappy and overbearing.

"Part 1's" strength is that it is the best-acted of the series. Stewart certainly gives it a good go and Lautner gives what is a half-way decent performance. Pattinson was slumming it, but with some of the cheesy dialogue he has to say, even someone like Laurence Olivier would have struggled.

Condon does have a few moments of visual darkness, including the dream sequence in the beginning with its juxtaposition of bright white clothing and blood and Bella and Edward standing on top of a load of corpses. The birth scene was actually intense and gory. But these are counter-balanced with goofy moments, one of the most infamous being a psychic werewolf argument.

The whole wedding sequence and honeymoon plays like a young girl's fantasy, sort of idealistic. This is fine, but hardly dramatic and not likely to have wide appeal.

Previous "Twilight" movies have had some interesting side issues that could and should have been explored. This is not the case with "Part 1." There are no issues of a man resisting his urges and dark side, a young teen forced into being a vampire, an army of powerful new vampires being formed and the idea of there being a vampire council. There is nothing like that. The few themes there are include a look into Edward's past, a brief debate about abortion and the idea of imprinting, which is basically brainwashing. A better idea could be looking at somebody forcing someone else to love them. That would be a dark story.

"Breaking Dawn Part 1" is the weakest movie in the series I have seen so far and I speak as someone who is neutral to the overall experience.

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