Breaking Dawn Part I (The Twilight Saga)
Directed by: Bill Condon
Screenplay by: Melissa Rosenberg
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner
Released in theaters November 18, 2011
Rated PG-13
My Rating: ★★★★
All those Twihard fans out there finally got their Edward, Bella, and Jacob fix this past weekend, and I couldn’t miss it either. It’s time for Bella to make good on her promise to marry Edward, and Alice gets to put their dream wedding together. Just like any other married couple, they jet off to an exotic location for their honeymoon, but the impossible happens. Bella is pregnant and the baby, whatever it is, grows much faster and stronger than any human child. The Quileutes vow to destroy the abomination, with or without Bella, and Jacob finds himself caught between his pack and his love. The more serious complication is that the child is literally killing Bella.
I have to admit, this wasn’t my favorite of the Twilight movies. I still think New Moon holds that spot with Eclipse coming in second. I felt like the beginning of this movie went a bit slowly. There is obviously a lack of action in this film because the majority of it is about Bella and Edward getting married and going on their honeymoon. There is one major fight scene closer to the end between the vampires and the werewolves, and of course, the birth of the baby is suspenseful. But, now that Victoria is out of the picture, there really is no one hunting Bella down or anything like that. So, I guess in a way it was just missing a little something for me. I also felt a little of the chemistry between Edward and Bella was missing this time when it should have been stronger than ever. She and Jacob had so much more happening between them.
On the other hand, there were a few really poignant moments for me as I was watching this film. The night before the wedding, Bella surveys her empty bedroom and the emotion just flows off the screen. She is nervous but excited and in so love. It is very simple acting but very meaningful. Two more instances brought this across: the morning after she and Edward make love for the first time and after she realizes she is pregnant and decides she is going to keep the baby. I don’t know if everyone feels the way I do about these scenes; I may feel more strongly about them because I have been married and carried children. Nevertheless, I think Kristen and the director did a fantastic job portraying those emotions absolutely perfectly.
Overall, it was a good, true-to-the-writing movie. The film ended exactly how I thought it would – with another heart-stopping cliff hanger, of course. I can’t wait for part two to be released, and I am super excited to see how the last chapter of this saga is portrayed on the big screen!
