| Page 1 of 43: | [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] |
| Index | 430 reviews in total |
238 out of 369 people found the following review useful:
A horrible experience, 19 November 2011
![]()
Author:
collipal-1 from Argentina
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 is a horrible film, and the
worst one from the saga so far. To start with, this first episode of
the fourth part introduces new elements only to leave them aside and
waste their potential, and the story feels terribly boring.
The supposed romance which should sustain this film feels absolutely
bland and uninteresting. Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson bring
atrocious performances as the leading couple, while the rest of the
cast seems to be there only in order to charge a paycheck.
The previous filmography from director Bill Condon includes two
excellent films (Gods and Monsters and Kinsey), but it is obvious that
he made The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 as a mercenary,
because his work feels absolutely listless and lacking of any vision.
I have to mention that The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 offers
some moments of involuntary humor. From the pathetic performances
brought by Stewart and Pattinson to the weak special effects, there are
some opportunities to laugh at the technical, histrionic and narrative
blunders from this film. And since I just mentioned the special
effects, the werewolves look totally fake, and they appear in one of
the worst scenes I have seen in a long time...one of those which
provoke an absolute embarrassment combined with the incredulity of
knowing that someone considered that a good idea.
In conclusion, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 is an
unbearable film, which made me snooze very frequently and made me feel
like wasting my time. I know that this film is having many female
fans...I respect them, but I honestly do not understand them.
195 out of 285 people found the following review useful:
Breaking dawn, beds and bones..., 16 November 2011
Author:
Chalice_Of_Evil from Australia
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Bill Condon has achieved the seemingly impossible task of filming that
which had been deemed 'unfilmable'.
The book ending for Eclipse (with Jacob running away after receiving
the invite to Bella & Edward's wedding), which was left out of the
Eclipse film, is where we begin this movie. Breaking Dawn Part 1
thankfully takes its time with (most of) the important moments from the
book. The preparation for the wedding, the wedding itself (most
intricate back of a wedding dress EVER), the honeymoon (complete with
leg-shaving!), and everything involving the pregnancy - these sections
of the film are the most focused upon. That said, there are some things
left out that may upset some fans. Jacob's section of the book?
Condensed. Considerably. Hope you weren't expecting to see the stuff
involving him going off to look for somebody to imprint on. It's not
here. Sadly, one of the parts I liked most about the book (the stuff
with Jacob, Seth & Leah) has been vastly shortened. But at least the
major points are there. Maybe we could of got more of them instead of
that rather pointless fight scene between the Cullens and the wolves?
Regarding the sex scene and birthing scene, which everyone wants to
know about: Well, Bella & Edward having bed-breakingly good sex *is*
included, but you can sort of tell there have been cuts. The birthing
scene fares a bit better. There is more blood in this scene (and a
nightmare Bella has early in the film) than the whole of the three
previous movies combined. I can see how this would have been trimmed
down also, but I think they really did include as much as they possibly
could given the rating (here's hoping for an unedited DVD release). It
is definitely an intense emotion-charged scene. Clearly giving birth to
half-human half-vampire offspring is no picnic. Dawn isn't the only
thing breaking in this movie. There's also the breaking of Bella's
bones, thanks to the spawn crushing her from the inside out. One thing
the movie nails is making Bella look as sickly as possible. She's so
skeletal it's disturbing.
Kristen Stewart is put through the wringer in this film. There's a vast
array of feelings Bella has to tangle with. And, yes, she *does* smile,
though the happy feelings don't last very long. Edward (or 'The Hair'
as Jessica calls him) matches Bella in regards to the number of
emotions she goes through. He has to carry all this guilt over the one
he loves most, and it clearly takes a toll on him emotionally as much
as the pregnancy does on Bella physically. Poor Jacob, meanwhile, isn't
having any fun either. These three characters deal with so much
throughout the film. Stewart, Pattinson and Lautner (with new stubble)
all sell it.
Most characters get at least a brief moment to shine. Some Cullens who
aren't Edward get a bit more dialogue than usual (Elizabeth Reaser as
Esme is probably the most happy about this). I especially liked seeing
some conflict between Alice and Rosalie in regards to Bella's child.
The wolves have a few brief scenes here and there. I was thankful for
more Seth and Leah in particular. And we finally get to hear what
werewolf telepathy sounds like. It's definitely chaotic (which makes
sense). Billy Burke and Sarah Clarke as Bella's parents get some great
moments, both emotional and humorous. Even new characters like the
Denali clan get some screen time. Keep an eye on that Irina (Maggie
Grace, who manages to do a lot with a little amount of screen time),
she'll be important in Part 2. Bella's friends maybe get a line each.
Jessica (Anna Kendrick, who still steals every scene she's in) gets the
most. She, along with various other characters, add humour. Given how
heavy the storyline is in this film, the humor is a much-appreciated
relief.
Things do get very dark post-honeymoon. And one must admire Condon for
taking on this film and tackling such touchy subjects as: the fact
Edward can't be with Bella completely (while she's still human) without
causing bruises. Does he let Bella die giving birth to their spawn?
Does Jacob remain loyal to his tribe or side with those he has hated
for so long in order to protect Bella? And what of the all-important
'imprinting'? Thankfully, we get a look at what Renesmee will look like
when she grows to adulthood (which will be when Jacob starts thinking
of her in THAT way. So don't get your panties in a twist about it. If
you paid attention, you will know how imprinting works and it won't
seem as freaky as it initially sounds).
Condon should also be commended for his direction, as his choice of
shots add so much to the film. We even get a look inside Bella to see
how the venom changes her. The effects on display during her
transformation are really something. I also liked that they included
flashbacks to the previous films as we hear Bella's Lullaby play.
If you don't like anything to do with the Twilight franchise, then
you're not going to change your opinion by this point. Haters will
hate. But for those of us who appreciate it, this movie is a fine
interpretation of the first half of the book. As well as the choices of
music used, something else these films have always done right is remain
true to the source material, including (most of) the important
dialogue/moments from the books. Things end in a logical place and
leave you anxiously awaiting Part 2. And if you stay for a little while
after the end credits start, there's an extra scene involving the
Volturi.
174 out of 245 people found the following review useful:
Horrible and boring, 25 November 2011
![]()
Author:
mailfrommonique from London
They just can not act, I do not know why they still getting with this
girl but she is terrible actor, she can't transmit her emotions and
that is the first opposite for an actor, it just was boring.
Oh and Edward wasn't shining under the sun in Brazil, they forgot that
part, and that's a huge mistake in vampire movie if he doe's not afraid
of the sun light.
They could do better then this but before change the actress she is
horrible in acting.
Cutting the movie in parts was a terrible Idea too, its not like a
Harry Potter containing to much information its just a love story movie
that does not transmits love.
So in a few words it was HORRIBLE AND BORING.
218 out of 341 people found the following review useful:
If you are not a twilight fan you are definitely not gonna like it, 20 November 2011
Author:
Lyra-gp from Italy
To rate this movie I think I should split my opinion in two: The
twilighter side and the neutral side. Read the part that better mirrors
your attitude.
NEUTRAL: The movie has no cinematographic value at all. Just a lame,
slow, in places disgusting report of how a vampire-human marriage could
be in the first part, and a badly directed (with some very awkward
moments) plot development in the second part. I could not help noticing
the derisiveness of some scenes; e.g. the one in which the transformed
Jacob addresses his other fellows (I thought the movie was turning into
a joke at that very moment!) and the one in which Bella makes the
bloodshake fall to the ground and kind of breaks her back. A praise
goes to the actors: the acting is not bad, is not bad at all
considering that, in my opinion, nothing better could have been done
(Kristen Stewart's performance is not bad and I found very convincing
the character of Jacob). Another criticize goes to the movie slowness;
in fact, those who are not very fond of Ed and Bell's love story might
probably find the fully detailed and slow part in which the two get
married really annoying. Finally, I would rate this movie, in this
case, with 4,5 out of 10.
TWILIGHTER: I do think very few fans will be disappointed by this
installment. Let's be onest, I was almost crying during the scene of
the wedding (and I'm a male!!!) mainly because of my affection for the
series (I was platonically in love with the story when the first
Twilight movie came out). That's the truth: this movie's been made just
for those who have always followed and liked the Twilight saga. I don't
expect anyone to suddenly turn up and say: I've never given a *** about
this series but I've found the movie absolutely awesome! This movie is
for us Twilighters all around the world. Because all those scenes have
an emotional meaning only in case you are very fond of the series. In
this case I can and want turn many blind eyes (may I say it? haha) in
the name of my affection for the saga. I enjoyed the Ed and Bell's
wedding night, all those particulars (they even play chess!) that made
me feel good during the projection of this movie. In this case I would
rate the movie with 9 out of 10.
That's all, according to my opinion. Thanks for reading.
151 out of 220 people found the following review useful:
Boring, 21 November 2011
![]()
Author:
William Roulo from Boise, Idaho
If you're a big time fan of the books, you have probably hyped yourself
up to a fevered expectation rendering you incapable of any objectivity.
This film, of it's own merit, would have never made it to the theaters.
In a word, it is very "boring"... unless your hyped, it bites! (pun
intended). Many of the scenes were obvious fillers with terrible
dialogue. The acting was so-so from most of the lead performers, with
the sole exception being Billy Burke (Charlie), who appears to be a
very good actor. About half way through the film I kept looking at my
watch hoping the 117 minutes would be over soon.
I am being forced at this point to continue writing when in fact I have
nothing more to say about this boring sequel of a film called Breaking
Dawn. According to the rules ones' review must be at least 10 lines
minimum. So what you're reading right now is the completely unnecessary
and unpleasantly annoying filler, mandated by IMDb.
227 out of 374 people found the following review useful:
Part 2? I Don't Think It's Necessary, 19 November 2011
![]()
Author:
Prince AJB
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
"The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1" is a slow movie that runs
for a lengthy 110 minutes and is completely useless. Everything in the
film is prolonged and many of the scenes are just additional scenes to
fill up the vacant spaces. "Twilight" was great, "New Moon" was a
downfall, "Eclipse" stood out with more action, and this one - it
sucks! The beginning, as you may have seen in the trailers, Bella
marries Edward. A lot of emotional moments and talking, this and that.
Then they have a lot of kissing and hugging and kissing and hugging
that if you combine all the kissing scenes in the movie, maybe it could
last until an hour. Then they go have a honeymoon and then something
happens.
They did IT and the impossible became possible. Bella became pregnant
(as seen in the trailer) and then the baby is killing Bella, taking her
nutrients and we see an unhealthy Bella for around 40 minutes.
Maybe the scene in the end was a little exciting as it was quite
thrilling. There was some fighting, a small dose of fighting that maybe
didn't even last up till 5 minutes. I won't tell you what happened in
the end because that's an important element in the story. If I tell you
that, I'll spoil the movie, if you even plan on watching it.
The other scenes are ridiculously useless. There's nothing to admire in
the other scenes. Unlike "Eclipse", even though it's slow paced, there
are a lot of things to see, to explore. "Breaking Dawn - Part 1", I
don't think so. Because the content here is so little, I don't even
think a "Part 2" is needed. Harry Potter really needs because there are
plenty of things to talk about and each of them is vital to the story.
But here, kissing and hugging are not really necessary and just a waste
of time.
In summary, this movie will as always appeal to die-hard fans of the
series. Unlike Harry Potter which appeals to readers and non-readers,
this movie apparently doesn't appeal to non-readers (except if you're a
teenage girl who loves Robert Pattinson or Taylor Lautner, etc.). I've
never been interested in reading the books as opposed to the Harry
Potter series which I read and enjoyed. This series, each book is just
the same. Edward and Bella. Someone interrupts. Nothing new. Harry
Potter? There's Horcruxes. Half-Blood Prince. Order of the Phoenix.
Many things that are fun to explore.
Overall, I only recommend this movie if you're a die-hard fan of the
series. Plus, I don't really think "Part 2" is really needed. Based on
the ending provided, "Part 2" is absolutely useless. It's slow-paced,
its content is so little, its useless. Probably "Part 2" was to just
get more money. I feel sorry for Harry Potter. Harry Potter had always
been great in every movie. But this, they don't deserve this much
money.
Prince AJB's Rating: 3 out of 10 Final Verdict: I don't even know why
this movie earned $30.25 million in just midnight showings. Its
completely terrible.
Thanks for reading my review on this movie. I do hope this review is
useful for you.
Note: Someone sent me a message and told me that "Part 2" will have
something in it and would be interesting. That was good news but I hope
the content there is more than what's in this movie. Thank you for the
message though.
85 out of 102 people found the following review useful:
Forced To See This, 3 December 2011
![]()
Author:
Fields201 from United States
I know I'm late in reviewing this and probably no one is reading this
review, but I had a hot date for this one and I couldn't say no. She
really wanted to see this, and she had a thrill in dragging me along
despite me not wanting to see this at all. I was never going to see
this or any Twilight movie for that matter. She loved this one. I did
not.
The problem, the biggest problem to me, is that it's very, very, very
boring. NOTHING HAPPENS! Let's see, we see Jacob take off his shirt in
the first two seconds of the movie and then Bella and Edward awkwardly
have a wedding with fake smiles on their face. Then she has nightmares,
possibly to show some form of entertainment throughout this boredom of
a movie, and then there's the reception. That was the only scene I
liked in the movie. At least it provided some humor. Then they go off
to Rio... and nothing really happens. Yeah, they keep having sex and
Bella just keeps wanting more. She calls her dad who is the only
likable character, at least to me, in the whole series and then she
finds out she's pregnant with some hell spawn, I guess. And vampires
and werewolves get ticked off.
Then the dumbest moment happens. The wolves talking to each other. I
swear it looked like a Saturday morning cartoon because they were so
faked CGI and their voices was so Saturday morning cartoonish that Twi-
hards should be offended! Anyway, the movie just drags and drags and I
caught myself falling asleep. I held my date's hand and practically
made out with it just to keep from falling asleep. I made it through
the film. Thank God for that.
After the film, she really looked at me in hopes that I would love it
like she did. I really couldn't lie to her and I hate telling her how
much I couldn't stand the film. She explained the whole lore of the
Twilight series and I still don't get it. I hate these movies.
Unfortunately she is dragging me to part 2. At least I can spend more
quality time with her.
150 out of 236 people found the following review useful:
The worst Twilight movie, 20 November 2011
![]()
Author:
nanajbg from Croatia
I've read the books; although they are sexist and were clearly written
for the immature female reader, I still enjoyed them. It was just so
easy and fun to re-live the first-crush-drama and all the hormonal
feelings through Bella. This have said, the books still have some
interesting details and plot twists that could satisfy even a more
demanding reader.
And than came the movies...
First of all, I don't know why they had to make a movie (or even two!)
for every book?! There just isn't enough material to do so. Hell, the
whole story of the first part could be summed up in one sentence. The
characters just aren't deep and real enough to carry the movie. They
aren't supposed to be, they need to be interchangeable with any teenage
movie viewer who fantasizes about some unreachable love story.
And the plot is just dragged on and on...
It's like the director has given up of making a good movie. What's the
point anyway? The emo-teenage-girl the franchise is supposed to speak
to will go to see the movie either way. It will earn money whether you
put in the work or not.
And the last book was so film-able; I was already imagining the movie
in my mind. It had enough action, enough new elements that weren't
already shown in the past parts. But again, it was more important to
milk the audience for just one more time, then to make a half-way
decent movie.
I still like the story, and will go to see the second part, but I'm
just disappointed; this movie is just a reminder of today's capitalist
society with no interest than money and financial gain.
64 out of 71 people found the following review useful:
Breaking Dawn: I miss Buffy, 5 January 2012
![]()
Author:
Kristine (kristinedrama14@msn.com) from Chicago, Illinois
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Let me start by saying that I would claim these movies to be in the
best of cinema category if they just changed the genre from "drama,
romance, horror" to "comedy". That's seriously all they need to do
because the awful dialog is back, the horrendous story and the terrible
characters are back. You know the funny thing is, the story actually
has some extreme potential to be a great horror story with some in
depth drama and dimensional characters with a powerful conflict. A
vampire has sex with a human impregnating her with a child that will
most likely kill her but she doesn't want to give the baby up so
easily. But this is Twilight, where Bella Swan likes to play boys back
and forth like a pin pon ball and the boys are chumps.
The newlyweds Bella Swan and Edward Cullen are finally together forever
as they are wisked away to a private island where they make love for
the first time, but everything is cut short when a series of betrayals
and misfortunes threatens to destroy their world. Bella soon discovers
she is pregnant, and during a nearly fatal childbirth, Edward finally
fulfills her wish to become immortal. But the arrival of their
remarkable daughter, Renesmee, sets in motion a perilous chain of
events that pits the Cullens and their allies against the Volturi, the
fearsome council of vampire leaders, setting the stage for an all-out
battle. In the end of the movie, Bella, with her baby cut out of her
and injected with vampire venom, finally wakes up from a coma. But will
she turn into a vampire in time to raise a cute little CGI vampire
baby? You'll have to wait another year to find out.
I swear on my life, Bella Swan would have made a great Shakespeare
villain somewhere. This is the most selfish, manipulative, self
righteous little (you know the B word that I cannot say on IMDb) ever
in the history of books or cinema. She finally gets her wish, she's
married Edward with the same "enthused" look that she always has with
that dumb open mouth grin with bunny teeth and yet she's STILL flirting
around with Jacob, sometimes in front of her husband! She's made every
bad decision known to man, yet she still continues the same path where
she wants to remain human for a few more nights because she doesn't
want to hurt on her honeymoon, umm, you've been begging to be a vampire
and picking at Edward every chance you get and when told that he could
kill you she's like "yeah, it's cool". He hurts her with bruises and
she's like the abused wife "no, it's OK, I know he loves me". Then she
gets pregnant and everyone is begging her to get rid of the baby as it
will kill her, she says with the same dumb grin and expression of
monotone voice "it's a miracle". Oh, my God, how this is supposed to be
the woman that these two guys are fighting over? She's so boring, so
awful, not pretty, doesn't have any special talent, what is wrong with
this world that they think she is worth fighting for?! All these
immortals are risking their lives for this girl who is the blandest
character you've ever seen.
Jacob comes into Edward's home, disrespects him and cuddles up to Bella
and Edward is cool with it, almost encourages it. Taylor Lautner, I
give him a little credit because during this one sick scene where Bella
says she'd name the baby if it was a boy "Edward Jacob" and he has a
look of disgust that I had too. Finally, someone almost stood up to
Bella! I'm not crazy! They use full songs during the movie that are so
random and out of place that it felt so awkward. The story is 30
minutes long into a 2 hour movie that isn't interesting and is an
unintentional comedy. Billy Burke is the only actor who seems to give
any kind of emotion to his role and I think he's just playing it like
he's expressing in real life that he's just sick of this franchise. I
give the movie credit for making me laugh hysterically, I needed a good
laugh and Breaking Dawn definitely gave that to me. No matter which
director they get, this series is doomed and tame. They are milking it
for every penny by splitting a book that was written by a 5 year old
into a 2 part movie that is drawn out with no suspense or interesting
moments. I don't know why women(I'm a woman by the way) love this
franchise, it's insulting and absolutely horrible. I have to cut the
comment off but just trust me, I could go on about how bad this movie
is but we'll sum it up by saying: skip it.
1/10
95 out of 140 people found the following review useful:
A vampire movie/paranormal romance but without the bite..., 19 November 2011
![]()
Author:
TheLittleSongbird from United Kingdom
I am neither a Twilight fan or a Twilight detractor. This said, I am
indifferent to the franchise. As far as the movies, I still think,
coming from someone whose knowledge of the books only comes from my
sister being a fan and me reading a chapter of one and putting it down,
that the best is Eclipse(not saying much) and New Moon the worst. But
that is not a consolation really. Breaking Dawn: Part 1 is not quite
among the worst of the year and nowhere near among the worst ever,
however it suffers from some major problems that I will get to later in
the review.
So what was it that got me seeing Breaking Dawn: Part 1 in the first
place? The answer was its director, Bill Condon. I am familiar with his
previous films and find him a promising director and writer, finding
his films well written, observed and acted. Gods and Monsters is
amazing and one of my favourites, Kinsey was interesting and Dreamgirls
elevated by the soundtrack and cast was quite decent. Did Condon do a
good job directing? For me, I am not sure. I'd say of the four Twilight
movies so far Breaking Dawn: Part 1 has the most cinematic feel to it,
on the other hand there is not much here that made Condon's previous
films so good and I'd go as far to say it is the film of his that
engaged me the least.
Are there any redeeming qualities to this instalment? I think so
actually. Although there are moments of sloppy editing, I did like the
look of the film. At some points it was quite Gothic, and at others it
had either an evergreen or autumnal feel to it. The scenery often does
look stunning, the effects are okay I guess and the cinematography
especially with the close-ups of the back of the wedding dress and the
final shot is some of the best of the franchise in my opinion.I also
liked Carter Burwell's score. I like Burwell a lot, his music has a
hypnotic and quite hauntingly beautiful quality to it. For my tastes
though some of the pop tunes are on the insipid side, however the score
itself was pleasant with a lot of what I like about Burwell evident.
Much has been said about the sex scene. In all honesty I was expecting
it to be of hilariously cheesy quality, but somehow Condon brought a
little more subtlety than I was expecting. The last thirty minutes was
perhaps the most exciting Breaking Dawn: Part 1 got, as some of does
have purpose and intensity, which was something that the first half of
the film did not have.There are also two good performances, Billy Burke
and Michael Sheen, the latter being another point of interest. Burke as
always is amusing with some of the better lines of the film(though is
that saying much do you think?), while Sheen, ever the great actor,
adopts a menace and magnetism as Aro without overdoing it too much.
Ashley Greene is also quite good, if not great.
I have to say I still don't think much of the acting of the central
trio. Kristen Stewart is much better than she is in New Moon, with much
less of the moping and dead pauses, but some of her line delivery is
still awkward and her facial expressions for my tastes are lifeless. It
doesn't help though that Bella is a rather dull character.Robert
Pattinson has more to do than he did in New Moon and is less hammy than
in the first film(the looking into the camera moments brought moments
of unintentional laughter when I first went to see Twilight when it
came out). As a matter of fact this is perhaps his best performance of
the series and he is certainly the best of the central trio, but like
Stewart some of the line delivery could've been more inspired.
Taylor Lautner on the other hand is getting worse and worse. He is
hunky to be sure, but does that alone make you a good actor? Not to me.
I will give credit and say he is better than he was in this year's
Abduction, where both the film and performance were awful, but the more
dramatic moments from him felt forced and overplayed, and throughout
there was a very stilted nature about him. A lot of the problem is to
do with the writing. The dialogue in the Twilight franchise never was
particularly good, saying this though in terms of written quality this
is Twilight at its most banal, its most clunky and its most cheesy. The
characters are clichéd and underdeveloped too, and at the end of the
day you don't care for anybody. Oh, and the talking wolves were poorly
done and unintentionally funny.
The story is very bland and unengaging, not to mention thin
structurally and in content. The whole of the first half reads little
more than ponderous melodrama. Was the wedding lavish? Yes it was. But
it was also plodding and over-extended. The second half fares better,
still with the clunky dialogue, uneven acting and cheesy,
underdeveloped plot points and characterisations, but as I said the
last thirty minutes or so serves as the highlight of the film. But for
me what killed the film was the pace. Mind you, I have seen movies with
slow pacing, but they are often paced deliberately and with strong
meanings, great acting and dialogue and identifiable characters. With
little of that here, Breaking Dawn: Part 1 not only is dull and
plodding but also uninteresting and without bite.
Overall, despite my admiration for Condon and Sheen, this didn't work.
The ending is highly suggestive of a continuation, which I understand
is happening. If so, I do hope it will be better than this. 4/10
Bethany Cox
| Page 1 of 43: | [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] |
| Plot summary | Plot synopsis | Ratings |
| Awards | External reviews | Parents Guide |
| Official site | Plot keywords | Main details |
| Your user reviews | Your vote history |