When Twilight mania first erupted I swore that I would never watch any of the movies that spawned from the popular series, especially after sitting through one of their SDCC panels. It was then last year that I started a running joke with a friend about the films and how I was determined to avoid seeing it. It was two weeks ago that I realized I should see this “epic” finale to the popular franchise for the sake of the site and so that my Twilight loving friend could enjoy an early screening of the film and explain to me what was going on. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2, directed by Bill Condon (Dream Girls), is the first twilight movie I’ve ever seen and man was it an experience.
First off, like I mentioned above this is the first and only one I will ever see so it is impossible for me to compare this to any of the other films, so don’t expect that.
Much like the final Harry Potter film, I’m assuming Part 2 starts off right where Part 1 ended except the entire film is narrated like a private eye in a film noir, it’s ridiculous. Bella (Kristen Stewart) has just given birth to her half human/half vampire daughter, Renesmee (Mackenzie Foy), and she herself is now a newborn vampire. As she comes “alive” and grows into her new powers it becomes obvious that she may be one of the strongest members of her group of vampire buddies. At the same time, Jacob (Taylor Lautner) tells Bella that he has imprinted her daughter Renesmee, which means that he, a werewolf, is destined to be with her, which doesn’t sit well with Bella. Basically, what was once thought to be love for Bella was really love for her now infant daughter, pretty messed up stuff.
When a vampire named Irina sees Renesmee catching snowflakes in the field she immediately thinks she is an immortal, a child that’s been turned into a vampire, something that is prohibited by the Volturi (the Vampire elite). Irina reports her findings to Aro (Michael Sheen-head of the Volturi) and they inform Bella and Edward (Robert Pattinson) that the Clan will be coming for their daughter. The movie chronicles the events of the Cullens as they gather vampires to believe in their cause and protect Renesmee from being executed. It eventually culminates to an intense standoff with those that know the truth about Renesmee and those that don’t. Oh, and sprinkle heavy doses of romance throughout, as you have to keep in mind this movie is about love and life (even though most are technically dead).
So, how was the movie? Well, to a young gent like myself I found the first 80 minutes of the film to be pretty boring despite a few laughs, both intentional and very unintentional, here and there. This overly dramatic romance was too sappy for my taste and I found the acting to be rather cardboard-like. It was very one dimensional and very few were able to provide enough depth to their characters for me to actually care. Just watching Kristin Stewart act was painful; her angry face looked more like a pouting one, but then again so did all of her faces. Luckily for me I was able to take this poor acting and dialogue in stride since it provided some solid belly laughs, but then again, so did hearing the cheers and gasps from the woman in the audience.
Going in with very low expectations is the way to see this movie (for twi-non believers) and don’t 
expect to see real vampires or even fangs for that matter, get that thought out of your head immediately. I expected this flick to be a major bomb and had anticipated on laughing the entire time. Surprisingly, that was not the case as some of the humor is actually enjoyable, but it was really the climactic battle scene near the end that temporarily swayed me into the realm of pleasure. The last 30 minutes or so almost made me forget that there was nearly 80 minutes of romantic poop footage leading up to it. I actually let my distaste for the actors and the crappy animated wolves go during the fight scene as there were some excellent finishing moves and tons of heads and limbs being ripped off and thrown; it was pretty badass and rather shocking for a PG-13 film.
Oh, but this isn’t the only reason why I enjoyed myself. Being in a theater with a ton of fans that cheer, gasp, whimper and shout their emotions makes it very entertaining and leaves you with some great stories, particularly when favorite characters are brutally killed. It left with me with a stupid grin, that is, until the battle concluded and the film ended on an extremely sappy note in the same never-ending concluding style of Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.
Overall, for fans of the book and some of the other films, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 ends up being a pretty good film (at least my friend thought so). For those who despise everything about the franchise but manage to get dragged along to a screening, yes, most of it is painful but when it’s over you don’t think it’s necessarily as bad as you thought it would be, mostly due to the intense finale and the yelling girls that distract you. What I’m saying is have low expectations, go for the entertaining crowds and stay for the fight scene, if you follow those simple rules you’ll enjoy yourself.
My Rating: Though at times vomit inducing, it’s a bearable and bland romantic epic held up by its intense climactic battle (4.9/10)
Twi-hard rating: (7.7/10)’
It’s over, it’s finally over.
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