Although I am not a fan of Twilight, this film is an improvement over it's two predecessors, which is not usually common for a third installment. But given how mediocre this was and the previous two were bad, that's not saying much.

The film starts out with a boy named Riley Biers (Xavier Samuel) being turned into a newborn vampire, when they are the most violent for their first several months as a vampire. He is branded missing and the police, including Bella Swan's (Kristen Stewart) father, Charlie (Billy Burke). Meanwhile, Bella is trying to take in Edward Cullen's (Robert Pattinson) proposal to marry him before she can be turned into a vampire.

However, her friend, Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner), who is also in love with Bella, opposes the romance and would be forced to kill Bella and the Cullens if she becomes one of them. Although she frequently denies it, deep down, Bella does return Jacob's feelings, but just won't admit it. She is also told frequently by the Cullens that if she becomes one of them, all of her human friends would eventually age and die, while she would live on.

Meanwhile, Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard replacing Rachelle Lefevre) and Riley are forming an army of newborn vampires to fight the Cullens and the werewolves while she tries to kill Bella as revenge for Edward killing her mate in the first movie. The Cullens and the werewolves must now put aside their differences and form a temporary alliance in order to stop this vampire menace before the Volturi become involved.

Like its predecessors, the story is not very interesting, but it does improve over them, especially New Moon. But there is some character development added that talks about the lives of the Cullens before they became vampires, which helps this film. There is also some more action, although we don't get all that much until the climatic battle. The love story is just for true Twilight fans. The love story is not Titanic good, but it's better than the one in Pearl Harbor.

The most interesting aspect of the Eclipse is that it explores the negatives of being an immortal. If I was in that kind of situation, I'd be in a very strong dilemma. While the idea of never being able to die may sound like one of the best things that ever happened to you, much later in life, you'd soon discover that it is both a blessing and a curse. While you would never die, all of your friends and family would age and die, leaving you in so much pain to the point where you wish you yourself were dead, living in a self-imposed hell forever, never being able to join your loved ones in the afterlife.

While the acting of all the characters has improved, it is still so-so. The best actor in this movie is Billy Burke as Charlie Swan, but he doesn't get to do much and he doesn't give that good of a performance. Kristen Stewart still plays the selfish girl who will sacrifice everything just to be with Edward forever. Robert Pattinson does slightly improve, but is still just there for the squealing teenage girls. Taylor Lautner is probably the best of the younger actors, who plays the more suited choice of Bella (even Edward agrees). The others Cullens also improve, especially Rosalie.

While this movie may improve over the previous installments, it is only for Twilight fanatics.