The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2: Movie Review
Cast: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Peter Facinelli, Billy Burke, Mackenzie Foy
Director: Bill Condon
So, it's finally here - the big finale of
The Twilight Saga.
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 is likely to be reviewer proof, given how many fans this vampire franchise has sunk its fangs into worldwide. In fact, no critic can criticise any of the
Twilight movie series without risking the wrath of the rabid fanbase.
At the end of
Breaking Dawn - Part 1, Bella (Stewart) had been transformed into a vampire by Edward (Pattinson) after their super baby broke out of her womb, effectively killing her.
As we rejoin the Cullen clan, Bella's enjoying her new life as a mum to daughter Renesmee (newcomer Mackenzie Foy) and the new powers being one of the undead brings. Soon, though, as with every other
Twilight film, their happiness is threatened.
When Vampire Irina (Lost star Maggie Grace) starts to believe that Renesmee's birth could signal a threat and the end of
The Volturi, she rallies the secretive group together to destroy this perceived threat of an Immortal child.
However, Bella and Edward pull together all the allies they can to help them fight one last crucial battle to protect their family and their future....
So, with the end nigh, the question is does
Twilight Breaking Dawn deliver?
And the answer is kind of a surprising yes, actually.
Picking up exactly where the truly dire
Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 ended, it starts with Kristen Stewart's Bella discovering the heightened sensory joys of being a vampire. From close ups of the minutiae of life to the smell of the blood of a human, this is a Bella who's revitalised from a life after death. (Or as she intones at one point: "My life as a human was over, but I'd never felt more alive").
But the reason this latest entrant into the
Twilight Saga sparkles a little brighter than the rest is because they finally put aside the truly dire lovesick moping which has peppered the last 4 films, dialled back some of the awful dialogue and actually get to some action and deal with the menace of the Volturi.
It's not without its initial wobbles though - from a truly creepy CGI child that is Renesmee (seriously, you'll never be so freaked out by a newborn CGI/animatronic kid) to an awful slow mo/ soft focus sex scene between the two vamps and ending with a credits montage of everyone involved (no doubt to mark their work from all four of them), there are still the moments which have dogged the franchise from the viewpoint of anyone who's not a rabid fan of the books. The wolves this time are a little more solid and work better - laying to rest some of the CGI shambles which lumbered the previous films with unintentional laughter.
But director Bill Condon wisely holds back on all of those moments to focus on raising the stakes for
Edward, Bella, Jacob and Renesmee by ramping up the menace facing the Cullen clan from the
Volturi, led by
Michael Sheen's ethereal, occasionally OTT and extremely sinister and preening
Aro.
As the Cullens pull together a battle force to take on the Volturi, the franchise opens up a world of vampires which have previously been hidden. Bringing in vamps from Ireland, Russia, Egypt, the Amazon, it does occasionally feel like
Twilight: X Men as various powers are shown off to prep for battle. That said, it does wonders to the narrative by expanding the universe Stephenie Meyer initially created, rather than fixating on just Edward and Bella's world.
However, when the showdown comes on a wintry battlefield, it's packed with suspense, gory and gruesome action - and slight deviation from what fans of the book are likely to be expecting. (To say more would be to veer into spoiler territory, but needless to say, what transpires is cleverly done in the context of this world as well as satiating those of us who've sat through the series wanting to see some real kickass action.)
Kristen Stewart does her usual constipated pained look for
Bella, Robert Pattinson is a bit more restrained as
Edward Cullen and
Taylor Lautner (yes, he does get his shirt off, again - one last time for those abs and their lovers) is all petulance and cheek as
Jacob. Of the newcomers, Lee Pace brings the comedy swagger as a rock'n'roll vamp, Garrett but to be honest, there's scant screen time to build up anything more than stereotypes for the other vamps from around the world.
Billy Burke also deserves credit for bringing some humanity as
Bella's dad, Charlie - and the laughs once again. Mackenzie Foy does little other than touch people to communicate, but she's a massive improvement on CGI baby Renesmee.
All in all, fans of the series won't be disappointed by the end after 4 years and 5 films - and for everyone else worried about attending this with them, by veering away from the love story and painful teen angsting, Bill Condon's given the franchise the film it really needed right from the start.
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 isn't going to sweep the Oscars as the best movie ever, but it is a satisfying end to the franchise for fans - and a massive improvement in spectacle and cinema for non-fans - alike.
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