Breaking Dawn Part 2

Year: 2012
Director: Bill Condon
Cast: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Billy Burke, Ashley Greene, Peter Facinelli, Michael Sheen, Dakota Fanning


Plot: Bella is a vampire now, and her daughter Renesmee grows at a rapid rate, with Jacob as her protector. The Cullens and Jacob seem to be happy together, until the Volturi learn about the child.


Review: Not only am I aware of it, but I'm also rather proud that I'm one of the few people in this world that is able to give the Twilight films a fair judgment. Most people would either scoff at the idea of seeing it, or walk into the theatre with a large amount of hate for it. The thing is, these films may not be considered as classics in the years to come, but they certainly aren't the worst kind of movies out there.

So in this final instalment, director Bill Condon tries his best to make it count. He has the main cast members (the Cullens in particular) have close to equal amount of time on screen (though Rosalie could use a bit more), and does a great job introducing the other vampires around the world that arrive to help them face the Volturi. Their assembly is reminiscent of The Avengers, each of them having a unique gift of their own. When they finally fight the Volturi in the film's climax, it is pretty good too, probably the best fight sequence in the series.

However, like most of the Twilight films, it has its drawbacks. The Bella-Edward thing still lingers about, which makes for some cringe inducing moments. Then there are some under or over the top performances, like Michael Sheen's bombastic portrayal of Aro. And they used a CGI baby for Renesmee. Oh man. But the thing that got me riled up the most is the way they ended the final fight, which is a cop out of what would have been a monumental climax. All that build up, and they dropped the ball right there. I know that Condon had to balance his film with the book, but a detraction here would have been wise.

As for performances, Stewart, Pattinson and Lautner do their best with what they have, which isn't much. I refuse to say their acting sucks, because I still believe it's the material they have which affects their performance. Some of the other supporting cast members are interesting but do not get enough screen time, like Joe Anderson as rogue vampire Alistair.

So in closing, I have to say that this finale isn't as epic as it could have been, but it does a decent enough job at appreciating what has come before it and ending it in a way a storybook would. (3/5)