The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2

It's with a hint of sadness that the Twilight franchise has come to an end. Sure, they're terrible, terrible films (and books I assume), the popularity of which paints a sorry picture of the tastes of today's youth, but now that all is said and done, on reflection it was worth enduring the first three insufferable disasters (Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse) to get to the unbridled mayhem of Breaking Dawn (my thoughts on part one can be found here).

After seeing part one, it was difficult to see where the story had left to go. We had seen the unending wedding of Edward and Bella, the banal South American honeymoon, the shocking and genuinely upsetting pregnancy/birth, and the werewolf falling in love with the baby. It seemed like an appropriate place to end it, but Summit and Stephenie Meyer obviously had other ideas, hence we have Breaking Dawn, part 2.

While perhaps not as off-the-leash nutty, Breaking Dawn, part 2 maintains a lot of the weirdness of the preceding chapter. Picking up exactly at the point where part one ended, Bella (Kristen Stewart) finds herself having to adjust to her 'newborn' vampire status, learning to control her superhuman strength and fighting the urge to hunt humans. Edward (Robert Pattinson) begins to assume a mentor role, but for whatever reason Bella learns so quickly that the learning plot is pretty much dropped.

Here's the first and biggest of the many problems of Breaking Dawn, part 2. For at least the first two thirds of the film, plot threads and characters are introduced with enough fanfare to make one think they're going to be important cogs in the larger machinery of the story, only to be forgotten or abandoned with zero explanation. Perhaps it's fan service, and people familiar with the novels will be able to link things up, but for newcomers it becomes increasingly hard to keep track of who everyone is, why they're involved, and what on earth is happening from one scene to the next.

The character of Alistair (Joe Anderson) is a good example. Following the development that the Volturi, the ruling council of vampires last seen in New Moon, are coming after Edward and Bella's daughter Renesmee, the Cullen clan assemble a team of vampires from across the globe to defend the child, the last of which is the enigmatic Alistair. Yet after an introduction to suggest he will be a character of some importance he merely ends up lurking in the background, and popping into one random and pointless scene with Bella. He's always there, but doesn't actually do anything significant.

It's this scattered and overloaded approach that really damages an already abysmal film. On top of the lack of charisma in the stars, the questionable storytelling is a real hindrance for anyone set on enjoying Breaking Dawn, part 2 at all, not to mention how simply ugly the thing is. There's an over-reliance on terrible green-screen work, shoddy visual effects, and whatever lunatic decided that an almost completely CG Renesmee was a good idea needs to be removed from the business of movie making.

However, much like the last film, a part of me loved Breaking Dawn, part 2. As I said, it may not seem as insane as part one, but in some ways that's a good thing. I loved part one because I was caught completely off guard by the madness, but was appalled by it because much of the content really shouldn't be part of a film made for pre-teen girls. Part two dials back the more troubling aspects of the previous film and just revels in the stupidity of Meyer's writing. It's weird as hell, but really pretty harmless, aside from all the decapitation. Oh boy, there's a lot of decapitation.

Director Bill Condon and his cast seem to be having a lot more fun here. The most ridiculous thing about the first three films in the series is how unwaveringly serious they are, but with both parts of Breaking Dawn, it feels like Condon and Pattinson in particular are winking at that portion of the audience who, like myself, are simply there to see how off the reservation this daft franchise can go. It manages to achieve a delicate and kind of wonderful balance of satisfying the true fans (the Twi-hards) with its creepy romantic melodrama, while clearly acknowledging the bizarre and quite frankly awful story Meyer has crafted. The awareness of this final chapter is perhaps its greatest asset, and if you're willing to abandon all logic and actual critical appreciation, then Breaking Dawn, part 2 delivers a great time at the cinema.

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I'm not a twilight fan, but I loved the ending to this movie. Out of all the series, this one was the best.

Bella is new and improved as a vampire after childbirth killed her mortality. And although her union with Edward was fully accepted amongst the vampire community, their new baby Renesmee (a composite name of Renee, Bella's mother, and Esme, Edward's "mother") wasn't so lucky. After a false accusation, the new family is in grave trouble with the powerful Volturi who only happen to be the largest vampire regime. Even still, the Cullen's are prepared to use their special gifts against anyone who threatens their family.

There are certain details of this film that one has to accept in order to appreciate it. First, aside from the vampires' requisite to drink blood, the Twilight saga movies focuses on the majestic viewpoint of vampires rather than their dark side. And, when assessing the situation in that way, it might make it easier to digest that teenage Bella was literally dying to be a vampire in order to be with Edward, unbeknownst to her parents and only has to loose her soul to do it. Furthermore, even with Bella and Edward being married, there's no way around the fact that Twilight glorifies teenage pregnancy.

If these details can be accepted or moved past for the sake of fiction, this film is awesome! I've seen the previous films in the Twilight saga and I thought they were captivating at times but I've never been impressed this much. For starters, it continues to evolve the intense Romeo and Juliet type romance, with a twist. However, the writing in Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 2 seems to be the best yet. I found myself laughing out loud. The storyline is more witty, interesting, cleverly done and the action scenes are completely unexpected.

Even the actors gave better performances. The highlight performances for me were from the beautiful Kristen Stewart, who plays Bella Swan. Not only did she give a believable performance as an incredibly strong vampire in such a tiny frame, but she made it funny and fascinating to watch. Also giving an always reputable performance was Michael Sheen, who plays Aro, one of the three leaders of the Volturi. There's something about his malicious depiction that is so grimy, yet you'll love to loath him! Robert Pattinson, who plays Edward, was funnier than I ever remember him being. Taylor Lautner, whose character is Jacob, gives another vigorous performance and the other wicked actor that amplifies inhumanity is Dakota Fanning.

I saw this movie surrounded by a packed theater of energetic Twilight fans. It was almost as equally entertaining to watch the film as it was to be amongst the energy of the crowd for Team Edward vs. Team Jacob. And especially all the boisterous fans who were anti- Volturi. Of course the second Jacob took off his shirt, girls in the audience went bananas. Aro and his crew got an equal amount of rowdy boos.

Regarding the topic of appropriateness for young impressionable teens, this film warrants at the least a conversation to your youngsters on issues like intense sexual content, violent murder and teen defiance.

Overall, if you've never seen any of the Twilight saga films, this is the one to see. If you're a fan already you will be blown away with how this final movie goes out with a blast. Go see Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 2; it's worthy! Surprisingly, one of my favorite films this year!

'The Twilight Saga' comes to an end in possibly the most subversively underwhelming way. However, you can't really hold it against this franchise for at least being very consistent with its quality.

This movie is treating its moments of culmination as if it's been highly anticipated when, in actuality, the series has not been building up to the conclusion it reaches, which only happens due to a misunderstanding that's slowly resolved. The CGI baby is freaky, distracting, and just so perplexing that it's best left ignored. Bella apparently has a brain now, and with it a problem with Jacob imprinting on, and therefore protecting, her baby, as she's constantly leaving it in anyone else's protection other than her own. Edward has lost all of his appeal at this point, being left as one of the least compelling characters in this instalment. Carlisle, Alice and Charlie are my personal stand-outs, and are each noticeably absent or sidelined in favour of newer, more uninteresting characters. Michael Sheen's presence is felt more here than in maybe any other instalment, but still so brief that he's hardly all that interesting even though he's supposedly the primary overarching antagonist. The effects, score and camera work are on par with the previous films, which isn't saying much but there's not much else to say.

A suitable end to an overly broody, dramatic franchise, with improved acting compared to the other films, and a resolution that just let's you know it's all over now.

Although this was not my favorite movie of the Twilight Saga (New Moon was!), I loved it. Far better than Breaking Dawn Part 1, it offered complete satisfaction with the culmination of the saga. I sat in the theater enthralled with the movie, enjoying every moment of it. It was fun to watch Bella the vampire and Bella the new mom. I finally grew to appreciate Jacob and his connection to Bella. I actually cried at one pivotal point in the movie and was sad when Breaking Dawn Part 2 was over. No more Twilight movies! I will re-read the books and have my own Twilight Saga marathon. I was not disappointed and don't believe any true 'Twihard' could possibly be. Cudos to the entire cast and crew for giving the viewers what they wanted in this movie!

When I watched Twilight for the first time, I didn't know anything about the books. I enjoyed the film and the story and I read the books in few months.

I have read some opinions and I don't understand why people complain about the story and the movies. I would like to congratulate Stephanie for writing a true love story. You could think it's unreal. Fine! But it's beautiful!! I travel to real places last year and it was a great experience. I keep all this for me. The books, the places, the story, the characters!! This last movie is wonderful and in my opinion, makes you feel same feelings than the first one. Bella's evolution through the movies is surprising.

If you liked the books and the movies, you will enjoy this last movie. It has love, action and surprises and sensitive ending!!