Review! Breaking Dawn

Let’s get this over with. This review is not for anyone who isn’t a fan of the series. If you haven’t gotten into it or can’t see yourself getting into it, this one isn’t going to turn that around for you. I am someone who both realizes that the Twilight saga is basically rubbish but cannot completely write it off. So, if you aren’t a fan of this movie series, you would never have such a high score, but it’s from the perspective of someone who reluctantly exposes herself as someone who has read the books and looks forward to these terrible movies to hit the screen. Yes, I am that person, and with this out of the way I will get into my review.

It’s a bit hard to decide exactly how I feel about Breaking Dawn, specifically in relation to the other movies in the series. Since every movie had a different director they usually feel a bit different, with Twilight being the most far-out and New Moon and Eclipse having the most similar direction. BD also has a distinct feel that while nothing like Twilight, doesn’t exactly fit in with the middle two movies. As the movie began, this was hard to digest until about 20 minutes in when the jolt wore off. Bill Condon seems to have the tone that matches most to the feel of the books actually. A few flash-back-y, montage scenes felt the most in line and seemed to capture the essence of what Twilight is.


The performances as a whole were much improved, and the chemistry between Stewart and Pattinson was also more apparent. The movie series as a whole doesn’t give you much to go on when it comes to the feelings these two share. Alike the actual plot, the movies rely hard on the viewers who have read the books to connect the dots and make full sense of the story and relationships between the characters. Scenes that tend to read false make much more sense if you’ve read the actual text it’s based on.


The story of this movie is actually the most bizarre out of the series. The idea of Bella getting married and becoming pregnant almost seems like a way for Stephanie Meyers to push her ideas about marriage and abortion. It comes off as sort of annoying but if you can look past the acting, writing, and everything else about these movies, this agenda also seems passable I suppose. But if you look past the fact that it is Twilight, the idea of the incubus is pretty interesting waters to tread in and Meyer’s take on this mythology is fairly original.


Where this movie sort of pulled me in was some of the special effects. Similar to Chris Evans in Captain America, Kristen Stewart is reduced in the effects room to an anoxeric-like appearance as her vampire baby beats her up from the inside and siphons all of Bella’s nutrients. I thought the effect job was really well-done and convincing to the point of making me feel uncomfortable seeing her in this state. Almost makes up for the shoddy job with the wolves…. almost.


A few scenes are deservedly laughable and could have been easily revamped to be more convincing, but alas this doesn’t seem to be a priority for the series. Oddly enough, there seems like there needs to be more dialogue in order to have character’s feelings more evident and realistic. The few moments when the characters connect and it seems honest show the small potential lurking within this shit-show that continuously relies on mood to carry the movie. Overall, this movie was an improvement, but that doesn’t exactly count for much.


When it comes down to it though, this movie delivers exactly what its fans want. Several big fangirl moments, including some sexual content that while not very erotic, would definitely not be kid-friendly. You can’t help but get excited as the movie unfolds and wait for how Condon will present the different parts of the story. If every movie had this direction I think the series would have been much better.