The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 (2011) User Reviews

Til Death Do Us Start...

[Xstal · 4/10 · 24 August 2022]

The Bella of the ball has gone and dropped it, now she's ballooning, and it looks as if she might split, is she carrying a curse, that will smash the dream and burst, or will the wounds reseal, re-knit and close the slit.

It's a shame they didn't turn it into three, two hour films of nothing much would be such glee, we could watch them painting walls, watch them dry, then watch leaves fall, while under moonlight watch them swimming in the sea.

Breaking Yawn!

A vampire movie/paranormal romance but without the bite...

[TheLittleSongbird · 4/10 · 19 November 2011]

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

Breaking Dawn: Breaking Hearts

[glenn-prof · 5/10 · 27 November 2011]

Breaking Dawn has been breaking box office records since its release. Sadly though, I really can't see why.

Aside from the importance of the wedding to be shown, and the last 30 minutes of it that "saved-the-bell", this movie is boring.

The only thing about the movie that I liked is the fact that, in this installment, Jacob Black owned Edward Cullen.

Not being a fan of the series, the book, nor the story, should make me expect less.

However, that is not a reason for this, or any film to be made this bad.

TWILIGHT BREAKING DAWN

[0U · 20 February 2020]

I'd say, stay for the first 15 minutes then come back for the last 20 minutes, just so that you can skip all of the nonsense in between. Surprisingly, the werewolves have taken a dire turn in this franchise which is a crying shame because their presence in the two other films were refreshing and light handed. In one of the worst scenes ever, they all confront each other through telepathy which is hard to watch because the voice acting is so out of place. The wedding scene was gratuitous and the birth scene was ripped out from the pages of hell. Bizzare.

Forced To See This

[Fields201 · 2/10 · 3 December 2011]

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.

Breaking Dawn: I miss Buffy

[Smells_Like_Cheese · 1/10 · 5 January 2012]

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

A brilliant example of wooden acting and bad movie making

[happinesswhatever · 1/10 · 3 December 2011]

It is a sad world in which such talentless display of acting, screenplay and direction gets any recognition whatsoever.

You do not care about any of the characters, nor is there any chemistry between the supposed lovers Bella and Edward, calling it wooden would be a compliment,instead it is a bored and effortless "going through the motions and I could not care less performance..." Exhibiting with that a huge disrespect for their audience...!

Edward is suppose to be this strong and wise immortal, but instead I see a stupid weakling who faced with any sort of danger at all would appear to rather lay down crying than to stand up for himself..., there is truly no strength of body or soul in him at all, at times it seems he'd rather be Bella... and as for Bella(KStew), it is sad to see how one merchandise has ruined the blossoming of a good actress... it almost appears the Twilight saga has sucked the soul out of her... perhaps she'll recover, perhaps she won't.

I enjoyed the books very much, to my shame. However, this latest instalment has finally managed to kill all my imagined magic this Sage might have once held for me. I finally grew up...

Bill Condon disappointed me

[vladtopliceanu · 6/10 · 4 March 2012]

This film was sad... I was expecting something better, especially because Bill Condon was directing this. He directed one of my favourite movies of all time, "Gods and Monsters" alongside with other movies like "Kinsey" or "Dreamgirls". Considering this, I was very disappointed.

The original score of this film is not at all appealing and combined with the bad sound editing makes the movie difficult and unpleasant to listen to.(I mean while you are watching it, it doesn't sound good; you know what I mean). Although some people found the acting "mesmerizing", I thought it was dull and how could it be any different in a movie where almost nothing happens. The script was empty and had no sparkle whatsoever.

I consider this movie had no chance of being good from the start, because to me, the premise seems idiotic. I know it's a romantic vampire film, but at least make me believe the humans in this movie are in their right minds.

All in all, I do not think this was the worst movie in the series. I think The Twilight Saga: New Moon still has that covered. But I am fairly disappointed in Bill Condon because, not only did he choose to be part of this project, but above all, this film was not directed well.

Horrible and boring

[mailfrommonique · 1/10 · 25 November 2011]

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.

Not a good adaption of the best book in the series

[nowego · 6/10 · 8 January 2012]

Up front I will say that I am a huge fan of the Twilight Saga. Breaking Dawn being the last and IMO the best of the books in the series. I have read the book 6 times so far and will be reading it again.

While the film follows the book reasonably closely I was disappointed with some of the license that was taken with the adaption. The most disappointing were the fight scenes between the vampires and the wolves, anyone who has read the book will know exactly what I mean. No further needs to be said here.

The acting that has been remarked on by other reviewers in this was no different to any of the previous movies in the series as far as I was concerned and I was happy with most of the movie. People who remarked on the woodenness of the acting do not seem to take into account way Edward reacted towards Bella in the book and I was not overly concerned with it at all. The only things that brought the movie down for me were the changes that were made to the story, these spoiled the movie for me.

The movie ended at the point that I expected it to end and I look forward to the next and last installment. I only hope they do not change too much from the book, as I believe the next part is the best of the lot.

Grudging 5 out of 10 for me. I would have given it a 6.5-7 but for the changes that messed up the movie.

Boring

[taz-81 · 3/10 · 21 November 2011]

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.

Breaking dawn, beds and bones...

[Chalice_Of_Evil · 9/10 · 16 November 2011]

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.

The wedding of the year, followed by the world's first PG rated honeymoon, and then the birth I forbid my due-at-any-minute pregnant cousin from watching!

[StephLovesWilhelmScream · 6/10 · 3 December 2011]

The books, however addicting, were not the greatest books ever written and that applies to the movies as well! I actually think this movie was Kristen Stewart's best acting in this series so far, she is a lot less awkward, she doesn't bite her lip as much, and she surely didn't look like it was such a struggle to speak. Too bad it took her, and pretty much the rest of the cast, 4+ years to get where they are now in their acting abilities for these movies. In my eyes, Billy Burke (Charlie Swan) steals the spotlight whenever he does a scene and as soon as he's no longer in a scene, I lose a little interest.

Not much action, as always and surprisingly, this was the 1st gruesome Twilight film, and thank god it was! You'd think that with all the money this franchise has made they would do something about their special effects/makeup artists or lack of. They have always been horrible and for once, they didn't suck so much when it came to Bella Swan's pregnancy. Pretty much everything else was laughable or down right embarrassing. A lot of their "special scenes" is something I am sure 1st/2nd year film students could do and think of.

Seeing as how I read the books, I had an idea of where the director would cut the movie off, Bella turning into a vampire. The whole revival ending scene, with her opening her red ass eyes kind of killed the movie for me. I seriously sat there as the last few seconds of it rolled and thought, "Oh let me guess, she's going to open her new red vampire eyes and end scene." and thats exactly what happened. Can we say predictable and unoriginal anyone?

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 (2011)

[SnakesOnAnAfricanPlain · 1/10 · 29 January 2012]

I hate Twilight a lot. But nobody can say I am unfair towards it. The third film was actually entertaining and less infuriating. Breaking Dawn Part 1, is different altogether. It is just a horrible product shoved out with no regard for its audience. Bella and Edward get married and go on honeymoon, this last for over an hour. She gets pregnant, which shouldn't be able to happen, and some potentially evil demon baby is sucking the life from her. The films biggest crime is that nothing happens for so long. This series has had a tendency to drag on and on. With New Moon seeming totally unnecessary. What happens here, is that we get one book split into two films. This film has about 30 minutes of material in it. Characters have the same conversations they've had a thousand times before, with nobody evolving. Bella and Edward feel the same way they've always felt, as does Jacob. The sex scene is embarrassingly juvenile, with a quick cut to something from a parody. The film doesn't let up in the absurdity department, as some animated wolves have a conversation with each other, but with mindless growling and dialog, it sounds terrible. What any other film would have shortened into a montage is played out to a variety of banal songs that all sound the same. Finally we get towards the end and the graphic, grotesque birth scene is barely shown at all. It leaves us with a finale in which a wolf "imprints" himself onto a newborn baby in a scene more disturbing than anything The Human Centipede could muster. If you like characters that whine about everything, actors that have no emotional range, and watching slideshows of other people's honeymoons, then you may enjoy this laughable effort.

If you are not a twilight fan you are definitely not gonna like it

[Lyra-gp · 20 November 2011]

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.

Part 2? I Don't Think It's Necessary

[aaronjbong · 3/10 · 19 November 2011]

"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.

worst move ever made?

[shervinv · 1/10 · 25 November 2011]

First I had to contemplate whether this rating would have a "spoiler"... It was a tough decision, because that would imply that there's some sort of plot line that I may ruin inadvertently... rest assured, there isn't. I mean we knew Bella and Edward were getting married, and the previews showed there may be a baby in the works, and well, there you have it. But after sitting through this.... thing....for two hours, I thought that I simply MUST write a review. I haven't felt this motivated and energized to write a review in ages! I simply had to start typing as soon as I got home! My goal: to stop just one person from seeing this film. If I do, I will have done my good deed on this earth, and my work on this planet would be done. I know, it's such a minor thing, but hey, it's the little things that count.

The movie starts by a few excusable facial closeups as we see one actor after the next sigh, or smile, or look wistfully or longingly here and there, while the camera lingers on them 30 seconds too long; sometimes with a sarcastic smile which says "I'm really sad inside, but I'm putting on a brave face for you", or a mirthless smile that says: "I'm thinking about a grilled cheese sandwich right now, but I'll just smile and look past you to give the impression that I'm really deeply moved by what you're saying". Now and then the REALLY good actors get to throw in a little knowing crooked half smile to add some REAL gravity to the scene! I could only imagine what deep ironic thoughts they must have been projecting, but alas, it's one of those things that if you have to ask, you're just not cool enough to know. Well! Just when you think you've seen every possible mellow dramatic look and cheesy music combo possible... the director decides to do it again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and just when you thought it couldn't possibly happen again, it does! And then again, and again, and again, .... Oh, and once in a while the director gets in his helicopter and does a senseless nature flyover scene just to break things up a little, and to get a way from the set.

Since I had lots of time during the film to contemplate life, the universe, and everything while I listened to the cheesiest musical scores to ever accompany a film while actors sulked, and stomped, and pouted, glared, and tried to out-overact each other, I wondered, why would this director resort to this inanity? It then hit me! The entire plot could easily be filmed in 30 minutes, and he had a whole hour and a bit to fill! I then empathized with the director as I imagined his moment of panic... it must have been a spot of genius when he realized he could fill the rest of the film with meaningless nature shot after nature shot, and the above-mentioned "let's throw in another drawn out look" scenes.

At various points in the film I drifted, and started to fantasize that sudden weird things would happen to change up the deadening tempo to spice up the film: like Bella would trip over her wedding gown, or Edward and Jacob would profess their love for each other and leave Bella to quiver lip herself into oblivion on her own while nobody cared, but sadly nothing like this happened to save the day.

There was one saving grace, I must say. Even though the theatre was filled with teenage girls, about halfway through the film, one, then another, then another started to laugh out loud! Pretty soon those of us who weren't comatose or brain-dead, joined in. It was something akin to a Christmas miracle! It was just like it happened in Whoville when everyone started to sing together! We the brave, and the few, in our darkest hour, we came together in laughter, and through our laughter whispered to one another: "it's OK, we're in this together, we can make it"! And we did.

When you get to the very end of the film, there's this nail-biter to end all nail-biters.... you'll go through five to ten minutes of nail biting dramatic mastery, there's changing camera angles, and zoom ins, and zoom outs, and music, and really really bad effects ... all inching towards the final finale and the answer you must know: will she live, or is she dead? Don't worry, I won't spoil it, the real spoiler is this: when you get there, you just... won't... care!

So you, standing there getting a last review in before deciding what to do with the evening... don't do it... you know who you are, just... don't... do it!

The Top Twenty-Eight Things I Learned From Twilight 4a: Part 1

[thesar-2 · 1/10 · 30 January 2012]

1. And God said: "Since AIDS didn't teach you, I bestow 'Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1' upon you."

2. The cast's acting ability is equivalent to a possum under attack.

3. Shouting out "You did THIS!" to a man who recently impregnated his wife isn't just insulting…it's obvious.

4. While playing chess, it is appropriate to gleefully proclaim: "I win!" like a five-year-old verses the oh-so-ancient "checkmate."

5. According to the morals of somewhat-writer Stephanie Meyer, it is acceptable to kill humans as long as you're in the healthy position of playing both judge and executioner. Long-live mormons.

6. If it was previously okay for someone over 100 to woo someone under 18-years-old, then I guess the same could be done for a teen to an 18-minute-old infant.

7. 'Twilight' contains as many vampires as the Republican Party contains Christians.

8. Within 3-seconds of the start time, Jacob rips off his shirt. Release the horny and lonely 50-year-old moms!

9. Werewolves tend to get sick at the sight of blood, apparently.

10. You know you have script problems when George Lucas, himself, has dialogue suggestions.

11. The original subtitle of 'Breaking Wind' was questionably rejected.

12. Soap Operas, left and right, are being cancelled and yet this has a theatrical release? My apologies, World.

13. Mercifully, to cut some costs on lighting, the moon is full in every night shot, despite the continuity of scenes.

14. If this is the Anti-Abortion-Advertisement it screams, I will pull the hanger myself.

15. More got accomplished in the 16 Republican debates than in two draining hours here.

16. I've heard the same bed that breaks in the movie during Edward and Bella's sex scene happens in the book. Big deal; I used to call that: Tuesday Night.

17. Worried your unborn child might become a demonic offspring? Turn to Yahoo™ on an Apple™ laptop for all your answers.

18. Who knew a pack of talking dogs could be this funny, outside of Pixar's 'Up'?

19. The Mayans calendar has been recalculated to narrow the end of days to 2/11/12. In a completely unrelated story, 'Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1' is being released on video that same day.

20. Wincing as hard as you can and uttering the line: "Why can't you see how perfectly happy I am?" isn't the most believable pose to convince someone they're good in bed.

21. Finally, a movie I can agree actors deserved a $30 million paycheck. Isn't that the going rate for a soul?

22. I believe in Guilty Pleasures. Although, to call 'Twilight' that, would only be half-right.

23. Some women are undeniably psychic when it comes to pregnancy. For example, Bella acts constipated for roughly 2 weeks prior to her actual conception.

24. I admit: I've never been to war. But, I can imagine watching this is what it's like seeing someone's arm getting blown off.

25. How…can…anyone…keep a straight face with dialogue such as "'Kind' is my middle name"?

26. Pitching a movie in Hollywood should always take longer than the writing of the screenplay. Right?

27. Breakfast of champions: Chicken, Peanut Butter and Vomit. I wonder if she's pregnant.

28. Failed attempt at positivity: It's not as bad I thought it would be. It's worse.

Simply Entertaining For Those Who Love The Story

[vkpatton · 6/10 · 19 November 2011]

As a grown woman with many life experience years behind me, I fell in love with the books and I really like the movies. Breaking Dawn, pt.1, delivered for me. I have come to love the actors who portray the beloved characters. The movie was very entertaining and I plan to see it again. Was it perfect, no. Could it have been better, maybe. Did it satisfy me, yes. Did the director and actors translate the book to film, I think so. Am I going to waste on second tearing any part of it down, no. It is an escape. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I laughed at times, I cried during the wedding scene, and I held my breath during the sex scene. I eagerly await the final film and will be sad when it's over. Kudos guys, you did well.

Bad work

[arunhappyman · 5/10 · 30 November 2011]

The movie is not to the level of expectation. Although, the book is better, it is hard to represent everything in visual. The worst part of the movie is releasing it as two parts. Anyway let bygones be bygones. The performance of Kristen is fantastic. But the rest of the team don't support her performance. The nocturnal fight can be made better with little increase in brightness. Twilight series is in the high level of expectation to the people who don't read book. Let us expect some good plot in conclusion.

One famous critic says the following. " Based on a portion of the popular teen romance book "Breaking Dawn" this slow-moving film has long periods of inaction and generates little suspense, making it the worst film in the "Twilight Saga" films so far. This movie seems to be a mere multimillion dollar bookmark, marking time until the overarching story is finally concluded in the last film. Short on plot developments and long on inaction, the characters spend much of the film waiting for something, anything to happen.

This third film in the Twilight Saga opens with the marriage of the human Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) to the vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson). This is followed by the honeymoon in South America. A good deal of time is spent in transit to and from South America. Although a private jet is involved in this trip, most of the traveling scenes are in cars or limousines. These are awkward sequences where nothing really happens. When the newlyweds finally have sex, the act is underplayed, and not repeated during the honeymoon. Once again, the chastity theme comes to the fore as the husband broods over the safety of his wife and his wife's bruises resulting from his partial loss of self-control during sex.

So the bride and groom are on their honeymoon on a fancy island resort, but they are still waiting for something else to happen, namely the act of turning Bella into an vampire. Why they don't just go ahead and get it over with isn't explained very well. When Bella's other boyfriend, Jacob the werewolf (Taylor Lautner) finds out about this human-vampire honeymoon idea, he thinks it is crazy. While everyone is waiting for Bella to become a vampire, something else happens. Bella becomes pregnant. This, of course, requires more waiting to see what happens with the pregnancy.

After more limo scenes, the bride and groom head back to the family compound in Washington where they spend the rest of the film waiting to find out what happens with the baby. More waiting, more interminable chastity. Just like any marriage. There is a brief flurry of action at the end of the film when another battle between the vampires and werewolves starts to flare up, for no good reason, by the way. During all this, amazingly, nobody bothers to tell Bella's father that she might be dying, or that she has decided to join the undead vampires anyway, even if she survives the birth. Instead, Bella lies to her father, telling him she is at a spa in Switzerland. I guess everyone decides that Bella's father has no right to be at his daughter's side as she fights for her life. This is just heartless and wrong, but it is just one of many wrong things in this twisted story.

I'm not going to go into the film's ending, but almost all of the plot and what little action there is in the film is back loaded into the last few minutes of the film. The film's running time of nearly two hours is overlong. It is more like one hour of plot padded out to two hours. Surprisingly, the one character who undergoes much of a change in the film (until the last second of the film) is Jacob. While most of the characters in the film are passive and childlike, Jacob actually grows up and becomes an adult in the film. He takes a stand against the leader of his wolf pack and starts his own pack. Unfortunately, this doesn't last long. He reverts back to passivity because of something called "imprinting" and once again loses his will. Completing the image of loss of will, he even falls to his knees as if he were worshiping the baby Jesus in Bethlehem.

I get the feeling this film is similar to "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part One." It seems to be an artificial creation, manufactured to make an additional $700 million that the studio would not have gotten if they had just made one "Breaking Dawn" film instead of two. If you are going to make movies of a series of books and you plan to make the movies true to the books, then do that. Don't try to manufacture additional movies by splitting a book in two. It doesn't work. At least it hasn't worked with the Harry Potter and Twilight franchises. This film rates a D."

Less Edward/Bella scenes, more werewolves scenes and this movie would have been all set!

[neenahhh · 6/10 · 19 November 2011]

"The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1" is the fourth movie in the series. Edward and Bella get married and soon, Bella is pregnant. The problem is that the child within her is no ordinary fetus. It is deadly and it is killing her from the inside. Literally.

I actually liked the movie. Apart from the all-too-cheesy Edward and Bella scenes, of course. I just wanted to share that I found myself literally giggling at two parts because of its cheesiness. But I did like this movie because of the werewolves- particularly Jacob Black. Jacob added drama and spice to the movie. I was just sorry that the movie didn't feature that much of him. In the book, there were chapters written in Jacob's point of view. I enjoyed those a lot. The werewolves scenes in this movie didn't do the book justice. I wanted more of Jacob. And NOT just because of Taylor Lautner.

This movie basically just revolved around Edward and Bella's unborn child. The movie felt short. I didn't see the need to split "Breaking Dawn" into two separate movies. This movie felt more like an 'opening' or a 'teaser', rather than an actual movie. The events here could have been summed up in a few sentences. They should have included the action scenes. I was really looking forward to it. Oh well.

Don't judge this movie too much because of its reputation. Give it a try. It is interesting, for what it's worth. A must see for fans of the series.

OK, but without much content

[Scrugulus · 5/10 · 29 June 2012]

There is not much happening altogether in this film. They put way too much focus on the wedding and the honeymoon, thus wasting precious time. But I guess all those teenage girl fans wanted a full portrayal of the big romantic wedding.

In all of the previous films, I liked the acting of most of the cast a lot. But in this film, everyone except Bella, Edward & Jacob is marginalised to such an extent that there cannot be much said about them. As an audience you just don't get to see enough of any of them to really develop a connection with or care about them.

Altogether this is an OK addition to the franchise, by no means worse than the disappointing/confusing 2nd or 3rd films. I assume I will give this film either a 5 or a 6 (out of 10), but I think I will withhold my final vote until I have seen part 2. I know some might say that they are released as separate films and therefore should be treated as such, but as the original book is ripped into two halves here, I think it is fair to reserve the final judgement until I have seen the two films in conjunction (seeing that, as I haven't read the books, I will need to have seen both films in order to make sense of it all).

Director???

[kerryfrank73 · 8/10 · 15 January 2012]

I am not in love with the direction of this film. Twilight was much stronger from just about every aspect even with its low budget and Jacobs odd, awkwardly styled hair.

Bill Condon takes it over the top in the wedding scene and pushes it in the wrong direction away from paranormal romance and young love augmenting it into some odd wannabe "cult classic" genre which it falls short of as well. Each progression of this series has become more and more dependent on special effects to save the movie. Breaking Dawn is no exception.

This film lacked just about everything for me. When I get up to use the bathroom the first time through, well....

Breaking Dawn: Part 1

[GirishGowda · 7/10 · 28 November 2011]

As a guy, I can say that I pretty much like all the Twilight saga movies, "Twilight" being my most favorite of the lot, like a sweet first crush, I suppose. We already know that the Twilight movies have a huge fanbase and a lot of haters too. If you know you won't like the movies, I just wonder why you would even bother watching this in the first place or if you are just dragged into it by your friend, girlfriend or somebody, you should already know what you are getting into. I also don't see why the movies or the actors attract so much hate. Robert is a good actor and Kristen, in particular is very versatile in movies other than The Twilight Saga. Bella is supposed to be awkward, nervous, clingy and moody even in the books. So, keeping that in mind, Kristen does a terrific job in portraying her character of Bella Swan. Also, come on, there is no such thing as 'real vampires' and hating on it just because of that is immature. You can dislike it all you want because lets be reasonable and face it, the acting nor the writing is groundbreaking. I have read all the books too and they aren't as good as many would have you believe, but both the books and movies are entertaining enough if you have an open mind and don't expect miracles.

Moving on to the plot. Its 'The Wedding of the Century' between the vampire, Edward Cullen and his human soulmate, Bella Swan. Jacob, in a fit of rage and agony runs off into the woods hearing about their matrimony. Everything is proceeding wonderfully during the wedding, with the occasional jealousy from Jessica bubbling to the surface. Jacob arrives to the wedding to see Bella in her human form for one last time before she is whisked away by Edward and turned into a vampire. In what is a very honorable move by Edward, he lets his bride to have a dance with him. She confesses her plans on consummating her marriage in her human form which enrages Jacob. Edward travels to Isle Esme, a gift by his father, in Portugal with Bella for their honeymoon. In a twist of fate, he ends up impregnating her and the rest of the story is about Bella's determination to keep the 'abomination' growing inside, no matter the deathly consequences it will have on her. The wolf pack wages a war on the Cullens, since it has its own set of rules and cannot let her 'baby' live.

This movie is more mature in its themes and tone compared to the previous ones, even though it is quite lacking in content. Oscar winner, Bill Condon has done as good a job as he could, by staying completely true to the original book source and thereby gaining the appreciation of all the Twihards. The story flowed smoothly and the effects were spectacular. Making the wolves to converse in autobot voices was an awesome touch. The opening sequence with Bella having a nightmare, where she marries Edward over the top of a pile of dead bodies, which had her friends and family was hauntingly fitting. The movie is filmed beautifully and the Carter Burwell's score and the songs are perfect in most of the scenes, though the songs may be overbearing in some sequences. And what's up with Edward talking in British accent all of a sudden and not sparkling in the sunlight! Well, it did make the movie better in my opinion.

Much has been hyped about the sex scene since its inception. I was expecting it to be hilariously cheesy from the trailers, but was pleasantly surprised by the subtlety that Condon brought to them. I am, and always was, a fan of Edward-Bella, but have to say that the director could have spent a little less time on the honeymoon and wedding scenes and put in some more meat (pardon the pun) in Jacob and the wolf pack story lines. His refusal to obey Sam and breaking off from the pack wasn't done properly, because most of the viewers wouldn't understand the sheer will power and strength that took to disobey the leader. His and Rosalie's repartee which was so much entertaining in the books was just glanced upon. His inner turmoil and trying to move on from Bella by roaming the city searching for a soulmate would have added more depth.

Rebecca Mader (Charlotte from Lost), the brother and ice-truck killer in Dexter and some other prominent faces made an appearance at the wedding, who will all play a big part in the next movie. The performances were mostly dependent on the main trio, who acted well, and the rest of them did the best they could have done. The standout being Charlie (Billy Burke) and Jessica (Anna Kendrick) from the rest of the cast in their minor roles. Kristen Stewart deserves a round of applause for making us emotional for Bella during the pregnancy moments and playing the awkward part perfectly, during the wedding and honeymoon scenes. Her skeletal look and the ribcage cracking were exceptionally horrifying with the help of cgi effects. Finally, her transition from the brink of death to a gorgeous vampire, with blood red eyes as the closing moment looked stunning to say the least. Bearing in mind that this is only the first part in the two parter, it laid the groundwork for the last movie quite well. I can't wait to watch Breaking Dawn: Part 2, since all the fast paced and cool bits will be in that movie.

One of the worst movies ever made

[djo_34 · 1/10 · 31 January 2012]

I watched the first movie in the saga because my wife loved the books. I must say, the acting was good, except for Stewart who is a cold fish. She looks confused or depressed. That is the scope of her acting abilities. The character development was good. The plot was good. And there was enough suspense, mystery and action to make the movie solid.

New Moon introduced the werewolves and Volturi, which added new mystery and suspense. But the Volturi were never heard from again.

In Eclipse, no werewolf makes an appearance until over an hour into the film. And you are already snoring within 40 minutes.

Finally, Breaking Dawn. In the first hour we see a wedding and honeymoon full of pathetic dialog, weak acting, and ZERO imagination. It was slower than a Lifetime production, with less romance, mystery, intrigue, suspense, and action. Stewart's character states it was the best night of her life, yet still not even a smile. She would be fantastic if casted as a corpse.

After watching Rise of the Planet of the Apes, the CG werewolves look like they were rendered in 1991. They look to be about 1200 pounds. They snarl and human voices are heard... but their bark is worst than their bite as no one dies or even gets injured. There movements and interaction with their environment look extremely fake.

The final 10 seconds of the film hold the only suspense or intrigue in the entire movie. These greedy bastards just want teens to pay for two movies when they could have rolled it into one. They could have started the movie with "I Do", shown a quick scene of Bella getting knocked up and getting morning sickness, then the 15 minute finale. This movie was simply a 20 minute prelude to Part Two stretched into 2 hours.

Get your neighbor to rent it, borrow it for 30 minutes and watch the last 15 minutes and you are ready for Part Two.