Fourth 'Twilight' Outing Spawns Maritial Angst

After four movies, Bella finally ends the heated Team Edward vs. Team Jacob debate.

What a relieving 16 months it’s been. No sign of teenage angst, sparkling vampires or shirtless werewolves or team this or that. That is…until now. Hormone raging teenage girls have no doubt been counting down the days until the supposed wedding of the year and the honeymoon off the coast of Rio they’re all envious of. Yes, the Twilight phenomenon returns for the beginning of the end with the first half of the series’ final book, Breaking Dawn hitting theaters. Now if you haven’t been keeping up with this teen drama, Bella and her sparkling vampire boyfriend, Edward, are finally, yes finally, getting married. She immediately gets knocked up by Edward, carrying around a hybrid that’s killing her from the inside. And if she’s to survive, Edward has to do the one thing he’s been procrastinating about for the last few movies and that’s making her like him, a vampire.

Breaking Dawn is unquestionably the least critically received and longest of Stephenie Meyer’s saga and the film is a prime example of why that is the case. The majority of the film is sappy and drawn out, despite being the short film of the series to date. Breaking Dawn opens with one of the most awkward weddings and receptions seen on screen. Sure teenage girls will be in awe over every miniscule detail, wishing for that happily ever after in Bella’s place, but everything is so lifeless. But being vampires, it’s not too surprising and Bella hasn’t even become a vampire yet.

Next up is the honeymoon where abstinence, which has been crucial plot point of the series, is thrown out the window as soon as the ring is put on Bella’s finger. Broken beds and making out under a waterfall are just two awkward moments initializing this marriage. Then comes the pregnancy, where Kristen Stewart lets out a laughable “whoa,” when the demon spawn inside her gets fidgety. The pregnancy arc takes up a sizable portion of the film and Kristen Stewart does what she does best in the series, being emotionless and pale. That’s nothing new from previous Twilight films. Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner also do their usual shtick of angst and rival with one another yet again. The three main leads aren’t bad, it’s just what they’ve been placed in is the ultimate problem.

Even with the breathing room of two movies, Breaking Dawn doesn’t explain the specifics of the Twilight universe, particularly the concept of wolves imprinting. Non-readers won’t have a full concept of what it exactly entails and barely scratching the surface of something important doesn’t cut it. The wolves as a whole are still weakly developed, telepathy coming from nowhere and outdated CGI that’s not even an improvement over New Moon or Eclipse.

Director Bill Condon doesn’t add much to the already existing franchise, inheriting problems from previous movies and Meyer’s lackluster source material. There is no style, no reason to say that this and Part 2 are his movies in the series. And he will definitely get another shot next year at redeeming himself, by closing out the series in Breaking Dawn – Part 2. At least Breaking Dawn is pulling a Harry Potter, splitting the book into two parts, not compromising the plot for a theatrical adaptation. Though plodding along, audiences know that the action is being saved until the final chapter. If anything the first half of this two-part conclusion feels most like New Moon, light on action, heavy on moping.

Not all is lost for Breaking Dawn – Part 1 as the final twenty minutes are some of the most impressive of the series and leave audiences with a memorable cliffhanger. Though we know what’s going to happen, the tension is workable and actually hooks audiences to come back one year from now. Even if you’ve hated every moment of the franchise so far, the cliffhanger is definitely to be respected. Like Harry Potter, you can’t judge the entirety of Breaking Dawn on just the first part. It will need to be seen as a four-hour movie, though except for the Twi-hards, how many can actually endure such a feat. It’s coherent enough to function as its own independent film, but at the same time the fact that it is part of a bigger picture is in the back of audience’s minds.             

GRADE: C (5/10)
This review is also available on Blu-Ray.com