The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 Reviews
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Director Bill Condon cannot quite handle this kind of material very well. He shoots in many directions but never fully goals. Promising and stylish opening titles aside, this is a very mixed bag. It is entertaining, often silly, unshamedly melodramatic and full of awkward dialogue. But i don't want to be unfair towards this franchise. Target audince, which are mostly teenagers i presume, will be possibly more satisfied than i was. I am not saying that this film wasn't any good. It just suffers from uneven screenplay and average direction.
There is one true stand out moment here and that is the spectacular climax which finally shows some more potential from Condon when it comes to adding some true drama into action. Cinematographer Guillermo Navarro also knows how to shoot action with his camera and this particular climax is great opportunity for him which he wisely uses well. While the climax is suspenseful to watch and will have you edge of your seat, it is quite disappointing to see that the surprise twist in the end just makes it all feel a bit whimper. The way it pulls rug under the feet of a viewer feels something closer to an bad imitation on Brian De Palma's famous faux endings than anything that would be proper in a film like this. I haven't read the books and maybe it all worked much better in the books but here it left a bad aftertase.
In the end Twilight Saga was a franchise that was much better than it's unfair reputation. Especially David Slade's darker take adaptation with third film, Eclipse, was a real treat and by far the best film of the whole series. Anyone who are keen for vampires, werewolves and enchanting forests with magical atmosphere should give this franchise a chance.
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Yes, nature and its creatures seen and heard for the first time perfectly in all their glory, beauty, majesty...and then she rips out its throat.
The big finale to the epic 'Twilight' series finally dawns (hehe) upon us, the limp tale continues from where it left off. Unfortunately this means we go straight back into the vampire soap opera we had to put up with in the last deary installment. Its not as bad as the last film in that sense, at least this time we have 'Bella' getting used to her new vampire skills and scowling EVEN more than normal. On the down side we still have 'Jacob' sexually frustrated because he can't do it doggy style with 'Bella' and lots of average young actors with lots of poorly done heavy face makeup.
The effects are still pretty damn ropey all the way through, the CGI is near laughable in most sequences with terrible special vampire skill sequences of super speed. The wolves look like cartoons and characters look like ragdolls when knocked about in the air or where ever.
Worst new effect must be the new born child, was that thing CGI? it bloody looked like it. Jesus that looked eerie, I think it was either a fully CGI baby or a real baby with a CGI face! good god!, no wonder everyone thought it was evil.
The plot on the whole is much more interesting than the last film, overall this film is better than the last as that was terrible. Its all just a prolonged build up to the big fight at the end, but even that isn't entirely as it seems. Anyway the fight has been talked about a lot but frankly I don't see why. Sure its probably the best thing in the entire franchise but its hardly worth waiting for. Plenty of heads being ripped off and arms torn from their sockets whilst vampires and wolves go down in a flurry of sparkly action, but in no way is any of it original or really exciting.
I thought the whole bit about gathering vampire friends from around the world quite amusing, basically a recruitment montage. Its fun but highly generic and cliched, the amazonian female vampires in their tribal outfits, never thought Egypt would have vampires, one bloke from the American Revolution period who doesn't shut up about it (you'd think he would have let that go after a few hundred years) and the hilariously cliched Irish vampires complete with flatcaps, scarfs and dowdy, drab clothes that looked like poor labourers.
I've said before this franchise isn't as bad as many say and I will still stand by that. The first film was OK, second was fair and third was a bit better than them both, best not to talk of the pointless fourth. Yes the film is still chock full of sulky looking younglings, cheesy ass panto style makeup, lots of brooding, lots of dialog about things only the book readers will know of (or if you can remember from the last films, I couldn't), characters that pop up outta nowhere (I lost track), vampires that look and dress like pupils from 'Hogwarts' and of course Miss Stewart doing her best grimacing/pouting ever!
As you can guess the fans will love and probably mums with their daughters too. The franchise was always just an excuse for mums/daughters/teen girls to see some fit firm young men in very very soft acceptable porn, tastefully done of course. I'm sure its close to the source material and it has been good in places but it is a weak romantic tale really, drawn out over five films.
And what is the deal with 'Jacob'? the dude isn't romantically involved with 'Bella' anymore, but he still wants it doesn't he, doesn't he?. 'Bella' still keeps him around why? for threesomes? just to look at his nice body? to abuse him?. He gets a raw deal if you ask me, he gets to babysit their kid and generally be a dogsbody forever whilst watching 'Bella' and 'Edward' get it on. Maybe he likes that?.
This final episode is like the first three, its average and just about kept my attention although the originality of the original is of course long gone. A nice end credits sequence ties everything up in a sweet lovable girly bow, but will we see more of this supernatural heartbreaker? or is it indeed finished...forever?.
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The Plot: After the birth of their half-breed daughter Renesmee, Bella and Edward must go on a good-will tour, asking for the help of other vampire friends in order to protect their daughter from the evil heads of the Vatican...I mean, the Volturi. But laughter ensues as the "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2" quickly turns into a twisted episode of The Munsters: mommy and daddy are vampires and the daughter is dating a werewolf.
OK, so if you enjoyed the final novel in Stephenie Meyer's series, word on the street is that you'll enjoy this installment the best. This might have something to do with Bill Condon being the first director to fully embrace the campiness of a world predicated on werewolf pedophilia and unprotected vampire sex, and also creating the most visually off the wall adaptation yet; with no regard to the viewing audience. But for every non-Twihard out there, "The Twilight Saga- Breaking Dawn- Part 2" will stand as one of the worst films of the year, in a series that has only gotten progressively worse.
Why this is clearly the worst film of the series: The film begins with Kristen Stewart doing her best mountain lion impression as she crawls along the forest floor, hunting a deer, and only goes downhill from there. I'm not going to bore you with what you already know, a la this film contains a wealth of bad acting from the likes of Stewart, who should never work again, Taylor Lautner, who probably will never work again and Rob Pattinson, who throughout this movie couldn't look more ready to be done with the series (although Michael Sheen does give an eccentrically interesting performance as Aro). What I will be addressing here is the cornucopia of other problems which make this film almost unwatchable. Just a heads up, some of my points will contain plot spoilers, so skip to the "Final Thought" if you are still planning on watching this "film".
1.The vampire v. werewolf conflict, which was maybe the most interesting aspect of these films to begin with, is all but done here. In fact, the plot encompasses more of vampire on vampire violence, where the werewolves play a submissive afterthought. Ok, I understand that this non-conflict is part of the story, and it may not seem like a big deal to some, but let me tell you, it doesn't lend itself well to any novice half-way interested in any of the prior storylines.
2.This movie contains some of the worst special effects of any big budget film (yes, including "The Green Lantern") in the past decade. I won't bother to touch on every terrible CGI fiasco which occurs here (the vampires running effects, the vampires leaping tall buildings in a single bound effects or the laugh out loud tearing of people heads off effects) for fear of rambling-on more than I already am. But that doesn't stop me from asking the one question that is on everyone's minds. What's up with that baby's face?! When Renesmee is an infant, while it is obvious that a real baby is used, for some reason her face is completely computer generated, with half-assed CGI at that. The baby's face is so obviously fake, extremely creepy and immensely distraction that it is sure to haunt your dreams long after you've left the theater.
3.There is pretty much one human in the entire film and he is an idiot! The human I mention is Charlie Swan, Bella's father. The issue with him in this film is not necessarily the character himself, but the sloppiness in which he is almost written out of the story. When we first see him, he is obviously concerned for his daughter, since he doesn't know if she is dead or alive. When he finally sees that she is all better, with what looks to be a one year old infant in her arms, he seems to be brimming with questions. But when he demands answers from Bella, and she dismisses him (this would make more sense if you saw it) Charlie does what any worried father would do, he accepts the fact that she can't tell him anything and leaves her with the vampire family.
4.From a bland joke about the Loch Ness Monster, to all of the laughable monologues, the script contains some of the worst dialogue outside of an ABC Family show. And must mention that about 50% of this movie consists of dull voiceover narrations from Stewart and Pattinson, attempting to either explain back-story, introduce new characters (which there are many) or simply explain what is going on in the scene.
5.The ending is a copout. Now, I don't want to give too much away for the few who still want to watch this, but there is a final battle sequence that occurs (FINALLY!!!) which in turn is the best part of the movie. And is absolutely ruined by a twist ending, which comes off as nothing more than a convention to soothe any crying teenagers not ready to witness a violent movie about dreamy vampires.
6.One word: PEDOPHILE. Imprinting is a huge aspect in the novels. If you don't know what that is, "it's an involuntary mechanism by which werewolves become unconditionally bound to somebody (i.e. a soul mate) for the rest of their lives." Thank you Twilight Wiki page! The problem here is that throughout past films in the series, imprinting has been equated to not so much finding a soul mate or becoming someone's protector, but more so finding a mate or lover. So, when Jacob (Lautner) imprints on Renesmee with implications that he is in love with a child, visually it comes off as gross and super creepy, at the very least. Truthfully, at any moment I was expecting Jacob to yell, "You can't leave, Bella! I'm in love with your baby!"
Final Thought: I'll stop there and not even get into the troubling subplot pertaining to infants being burned alive, only because I wish to limit the amount of hate mail I get. If you didn't get it by now, this movie was so hard to sit though that I wish somebody in the theater had popped my head off about ten minutes in. And for everyone who wants to defend it by saying the points that I have just made aren't applicable here and "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2" is a good movie, because it is a pretty accurate adaptation of the novel (excluding the ending) then all I can say is, if the final novel is anything like this movie, then it must suck too.
Written by Markus Robinson, Edited by Nicole I. Ashland
Follow me on Twitter @moviesmarkus
Super Reviewer
Great ending to the Twilight Saga! The director sure did a fantastic job sending the saga out with a bang. The fight was literally one of the best fight scenes of any movie I've seen. Major characters were dying all over the place. It became chaotic and unpredictable. I actually felt legitimate suspense because I had no idea what was going to happen next. I was loving it! The music throughout, as always, is exceptional. The movie soundtracks have never failed to fit the films perfectly. They're always the right songs for the right moments. Director Bill Condon shows he was more than up to the task of tackling this tricky two-parter. It looks exquisite. The direction has obviously been made with care and love for the source material and its fans. You need look no further than the film's closing credits (which give everyone of all the movies their due, even ones not present in this film). The inclusion of actual pages of the book was a nice touch. I'll greatly miss these characters who I've enjoyed seeing brought to life for five films now. For those who appreciated the books, the films and the actors involved, this should be a satisfying conclusion for you. I know it was for me.
Bella is enjoying her new life and new powers, after the birth of their daughter, Renesmee. Soon, however, their family bliss is threatened again, by a new menace. Vampire Irina believes a child like Renesmee could challenge the power and existence of the Volturi. As Irina rallies the Volturi to destroy this potential threat, Bella and the Cullens - together with any allies they can assemble - are preparing to fight a crucial, ultimate battle, to protect their family.
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CLEVER TWIST that rocked me hardcore with a too-cute black & white yearbook retrospective of all castmembers involved. Well done, movie.
Super Reviewer
Jumping into the action with no introduction the players or plotline, Breaking Dawn Part 2 beings with Kristen Stewart acclimating to her new identity as a vampire and new mother after four films of wrestling with whether or not to commit to a life of deathless beauty with Robert Pattinsonâ(TM)s emotional abusive immortal. The complete lack of a recap would probably make for a slightly confusing viewing experience for the uninitiated but the film quickly makes up for it by its supporting actors spout off copious amounts of exposition to fill everybody in on the specifics. That clunky inelegance carries over to the rest of the film, with most of the plot following the various members of the Cullen coven tracking down a small army of wildly stereotypical super powered vampires from all over the world to help fight off the vaguely sinister Volturi as they take several months to travel from Italy to Washington state to judge Stewartâ(TM)s half vampire progeny.
This dull international recruitment drive fills up much of the filmâ(TM)s running time because Breaking Dawn Part 2 is adapted from half of a book thatâ(TM)s already light on plot and heavy on supposedly profound introspection on the part of the filmâ(TM)s main cast. Breaking Dawn Part 1 focused on Stewartsâ(TM) marriage to Pattinson, their seemly endless honeymoon and Stewartâ(TM)s violent pregnancy and eventual turn to vampirism. Coupled with Part 2â(TM)s gathering of friends and epic final battle, you could probably edit together an uneven but much less languorous film. As it is, Breaking Dawn is two films that have a deeply unnecessary focus on meaningful glances and time filling minutia.
In addition to the protracted doldrums of the film narrative, many of the filmâ(TM)s performers are downright difficult to watch to. Robert Pattinson does as best he can as he has with the rest of the series, mostly by giving his character a slightly bemused and petty edge that somewhat deflates the intensity of Twilightâ(TM)s middle school break up emotional pitch. Kristen Stewart as a vampire is a lot less fidgety and marble mouthed than Kristen Stewart the human but her Bella Swan is still the least active protagonist in popular fiction. Taylor Lautner does the he can with tormented werewolf Jacob, especially in a hilarious scene where he has to explain to Stewart that he has become genetic betrothed to her newborn daughter but heâ(TM)s not an actor so itâ(TM)s tough going. The rest of the cast chomps on their poorly written melodramatic lines as best they can though no one leaves much of an impression except for Martin Sheen wonderfully over the top leader of the Volturi. He achieves a level of pure decadence that only a pedigreed actor can attain.
Bill Condonâ(TM)s direction is serviceable but it clear that this is a work for hire job not a passion project like Dreamgirls. While Condon was able to squeeze in a few moments of surrealist beauty (Bellaâ(TM)s nightmare wedding) and sensational horror (the childbirth scene) in the first Breaking Dawn, he mostly keeps his nose to the ground here and delivers the fan service as best he can. Itâ(TM)s also clear that Condon struggled with the filmâ(TM)s budgetary restrictions and lost the fight in a few critical areas. While no Twilight film is a budget buster, this film has suffered the most from being an independent production. The filmâ(TM)s werewolves look fine but anytime a special effect involving a person is involved, the film turns into a CW genre show. On the other hand the filmâ(TM)s berserk final battle is so impressive it almost makes up for the filmâ(TM)s general shoddiness.
In the finale, the assembled Cullen clan and friends have a confrontation with the Volturi in a snowy Northwestern field. The Cullens try to explain that thereâ(TM)s been a misunderstanding and the Bella and Edwardâ(TM)s miracle child isnâ(TM)t the anti-Christ, thereâ(TM)s a bit of back and forth and then all hell breaks loose. The big fight consists of vampires fighting vampires fighting werewolves fighting super powered vampires in brawl so insane that it damn near validates now only Breaking Dawn Part 2 but the entire Twilight series. Youâ(TM)d have had to have been either very creative or crazy to think that a gothic melodrama would have ended with a vampires being tossed in a pit of lava while other vampires rip the heads off other vampires but thatâ(TM)s what happens in this movie. The fact that the entire amazing sequence is essentially a dream sequence not only doesnâ(TM)t ruin the effect, it makes it fit in perfectly with Twilight non-confrontational confrontation dynamic. The Twilight series has always been trash but with this film it becomes glorious trash.
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The film picks up immediately where Part 1 left off. If you haven't seen Part 1, I suggest sitting out of this review because some of this stuff may come as SPOILERS to you. But since many of you don't give a crap about this franchise, I'll just go ahead and give you a synopsis. Bella has given birth to her human-vampire daughter, Renesmee. She died while giving birth but thanks to Edward's biting, she has resurrected as a vampire. Bella is enjoying her new life as a vampire until the Volturi, the vampire government or whatever you want to call it, find out about her child. As the Volturi make their way to Forks to attack the newlyweds and their bundle of joy, the Cullens assemble a group of vampires to help them defeat the ememy. They also get help from Jacob and his pack of werewolves. All the buildup pays off and we are given a freakin' sweet climactic battle to end this series.
If I were to rank the films from best to worse, it would go like this. Eclipse in first, this one in second place, Breaking Dawn - Part 1 in third place, the first film in fourth place, and New Moon in last place. This could have easily been the best entry in the series but it was missing the thing that made me enjoy Eclipse a lot. I can't really explain why I liked Eclipse. I think the reason is because I liked the whole Newborn subplot and the climactic battle. A large portion of this film is just buildup to the climax. The new vampires that they introduce were my favorite part of this film. If they made a spin-off film about them, I would pay to see it. The new vampires had cool powers and the actors who played them were pretty good.
The acting had its ups and downs. Kristen Stewart does a pretty good job as Bella Swan but I still don't think Kristen Stewart is one of the best actresses out there. I think K-Stew is prettier as a vampire than as a human. Robert Pattinson is still a boring actor. I never dug his acting or his character. Taylor Lautner, one of the best actors in the series, does another good job as Jacob Black. I find him to be one of the most likable characters in the series. Billy Burke returns as Bella's father and he is another one of the better actors in the series. Like Jacob, he is another one of the most likable characters in the series. He's not in the film very long but I was able to buy him as Bella's father. There's a dialogue scene between him and Bella and Burke acts pretty dad-like. As I mentioned above, I loved the heck out of the Cullen's vampire allies. My favorite out of all of them was Alistair played by Joe Anderson. With all his vampire makeup, I thought he looked a lot like Colin Farrell. Anyways, he was awesome. For some reason, I laughed at Michael Sheen's performance. He played the Volturi leader, Aro. The way he delivered his lines was just funny. His funny costume, his Marilyn Manson makeup, it's like he was in a Tim Burton film. Mackenzie Foy plays Bella and Edward's daughter, Renesmee and she did a decent job. With this movie on its way to becoming a huge success, Mackenzie Foy will start to get recognized and I can see her getting casted in more films in the future.
The climactic battle at the end of the film was just awesome. It was the best scene in the entire flick. However, the battle ends rather anticlimactically. It was so anticlimactic that I booed and two people got up from their seats and left. The audience I saw the film with was cheering and making comments during the scene like they were at a UFC match. There was also this lady behind me making comments about the movie every few seconds. Some of her comments were funny but then she just got annoying. I went to see this film at an 11 AM showing on opening day and it was not that packed but the audience was having a ball. I saw the last two films in the theater and those were packed showings. There were about twenty people at my screening but I think seeing it with a much bigger crowd would have been more fun.
The writing is still what you would expect from a Twilight film. Bill Condon's direction was pretty good. The special effects on Bella and Edward's baby was pretty bad at some points. He knew how to build emotion during the climax. I didn't get emotional during the climax because I'm not attached to these characters. I can just imagine a bunch of teenage girls bawling during this movie. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 wasn't a great film and many of you will avoid this film but I liked it. I also liked how they wrapped up the whole saga. It was an entertaining film and the theater experience was great as well except for the annoying lady behind me making comments. They also showed a brief teaser trailer for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and I let out a fanboy yell while it was playing. Good times, good times. It was a good ending to a franchise that I enjoyed.
Did you guys miss me? I know I haven't been posting reviews in a while. I plan to post some more reviews. I'm planning to review The Lord of the Rings Trilogy before the release of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. I'm sorry if I angered you by mentioning Lord of the Rings in a Twilight review. Be on the lookout!
"I hated the first British invasion. I hate the second one even more."
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