Lauren Creiman
News Editor
Diehard “Twilight” fans across the world rejoiced at the recent release of the latest movie installment, “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part One.”
Contrary to popular belief among Twihards, the movie does not sparkle nearly as bright as the Cullens’ skin. Although the movie does have some promising moments, the work overall is decent at best.
The early part of the movie is dominated by Bella and Edward’s wedding, which was considerably well done.
The affair is tasteful and grand in the typical Cullen fashion. Scenes such as the toasts at the wedding, which never happened in the novel, actually add to the charm of the movie by adding a comedic edge.
The greatest surprise was that the movie extensively covers Bella and Edward’s honeymoon and does not shy away from the sex scenes.
The PG-13 movie glorifies the sexual relationship between Bella and her vampire husband in the same manner as the book, which is sure to please dedicated fans.
However, “Breaking Dawn” lacked much of the dark, twisted drama that defines the series.
Very little time is dedicated to Bella’s vampire transformation dilemma. In the book, Bella agonizes through the entire first third of the book about leaving her family and human life behind, but puts on a brave face for Edward.
Much of this is missing from the film, with only a few conversations alluding to the situation. This diminishes the credibility of the movie, since it ignores the more serious topics of the story.
The film, even in its darkest moments, feels much more light-hearted than the three previous movies.
The mood is altered to the extent that it compromises the storytelling, offering far too much positivity and happiness and not enough of the perpetual danger that Bella faces.
However, the film did have some promising moments. It is apparent throughout the movie that the actors have grown into their roles and actually display skill and talent that was missing from the early films.
Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner in particular were more convincing in this film, which seems to be due to the more complicated emotional issues that each of their characters face in this movie.
Another shining moment is the birth scene, which stayed close to the novel’s portrayal. The birth is appropriately gruesome and as hard to watch as it was to read, and may in fact have been the most accurate scene in the movie.
The ending of the movie was incredibly cliche and predictable, and seemed to allude to an entirely happy ending that misrepresents what is to come in the second installment.
However, there is a scene after the credits involving the Volturi that alludes the confrontation that will dominate the second part of “Breaking Dawn,” which should have been included at the ending in order to add more intrigue and avoid a cliché conclusion.
Overall, the movie is decent and a great improvement from the previous installments in many ways. Fans of the series are sure to enjoy the film and will likely praise it as the best one yet, but those who show little interest or dislike “The Twilight Saga” should save their money and see another film.
Lauren Creiman can be reached at lauren.creiman@laverne.edu.
