Well it has all come down to this! For the past five years, Twi-Hards have been waiting for the climax to the Twilight franchise. The films have picked up new fans along the way and some going into the final movie had no idea what was in store for Bella and her brood.
During filming, director Bill Condon asked that there be a twist ending. And that ending threatened to send Twi-Hards screaming from theatres. They took a chance and well it paid off. But more about that later.
The last time we saw Bella and Edward, they had just got married. And Bella had endured a rather savage cesarean of their half-human, half-vampire baby, Renesmee (Mackenzie Foy). Bella (Kristen Stewart) wasn’t going to survive the operation unless Edward (Robert Pattison) changed her into a vampire.
Now in the final installment, Bella is learning about her new powers. And Renesmee is growing up very quickly. Edward and Jacob (Taylor Lautner) are trying to keep up with both of them.
Renesmee’s birth causes a ripple in vampire kind and a war looms with the Volturi. So the Cullens must race against the clock to gather as many allies for the war that is coming. Can they prove that Renesmee is no threat? Or will the Cullens have to lay down their lives for their latest offspring?
The Twilight cast has really gotten comfortable with their roles. Back in 2008, the cast was extremely stiff, awkward and mostly awful. Now you can begin to see there is deeper things going on with these characters. But the real question is: which of the Twilight cast is going to have an acting career in five years? Place your bets!
I am going to say KStew, just because she’s like a bad penny, she’s always gonna show up even if she becomes the next Lindsay Lohan. I am also going with Billy Burke, Anna Kendrick and I hope Ashley Greene. We’ll see.
This is a monumental improvement over the first Breaking Dawn because we finally get a climax. The throwdown with the Cullens and the Volturi is quite a bit of fun. But I just wish those consequences stuck. There is more of a finality in a full scale war that has been brewing since New Moon.
One of my biggest peeves with the movie was just how bad the CGI was in this epic classic. The wolves looked way better in earlier films (New Moon) and what was with that creepiness of using CGI to put Renesmee’s face on each stage of her evolution. It just didn’t work at all!
If Stephenie Meyer goes back the Twilight universe for more stories, I think she should focus on Renesmee and Jacob and exactly what the purpose of a hybrid will be. Or heaven forbid expand on one of Cullen siblings.
3.5 out of 5
So Says the Soothsayer
TWILIGHT FRANCHISE BREAKDOWN
Twilight (2008) 2 out of 5
New Moon (2009) 3.5 out of 5
Eclipse (2010) 4 out of 5
Breaking Dawn (2011) 2.5 out of 5
Breaking Dawn (2012) 3.5 out of 5
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