Consider the latest “Twilight” sequel another wasted chance to draw non-Twihards into the fold.
“The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” suffers from the same problems plaguing the past two films.
Stiff acting. Hokey special effects. Theatrics ripped from an Afterschool Special.
Did I mention the lousy acting?
There’s still that palpable bond between Bella and Edward, and the story’s willingness to treat sex with dignity makes the franchise worth respect.
But the story’s love triangle grows stale long before Mr. Team Jacob himself goes in for a kiss mid-film.
“Eclipse” finds Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward (Robert Pattinson) swooning over each other – again. But a rogue vampire named Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard stepping in for Rachelle Lefevre) wants to take Bella out.
The threat forces Edward and the shape-shifting Jacob (Taylor Lautner) into an uneasy alliance to protect the girl they both love.
The looming menace still leaves plenty of time for Bella and Edward to hash out the pros and cons of being a vampire, their future as a couple and what to do with Bella’s lingering curiosity with the werewolf next door.
“Eclipse” rehashes many of the themes already plumbed in the first two films, and the poorly orchestrated action pieces offer precious little distraction. One pines for the comic relief provided by Bella’s high school buds who are all but MIA in the latest chapter.
“Eclipse” rarely cracks a smile. We get a joking reference to Jacob’s constant lack of a shirt, but the story is so darn serious and mopey you’ll be begging for comic relief.
“Twilight” stands as one of the most profitable franchises around, but the films’ FX budgets remain niggardly. The wolves look more realistic than in “New Moon,” but the vampire battles appear clunky and frightless.
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Lautner continues to act by clenching and unclenching his jaw, while Stewart gives us a screen heroine who’s hardly worth fighting over.
Pattinson remains the series’s ace in the hole, a young actor whose work matures with every new “Twilight” feature. How odd that an undead character pulses with the most life?
Melissa Rosenberg’s screenplay, dutifully following the blueprint crafted by author Stephenie Meyer, serves up romantic platitudes better left to Hallmark. The few moments of human interaction pop off the screen like a 3-D effect, like when Nikki Reed shares a bit of her character’s back story.
None of this will matter to franchise devotees who simply want another heaping helping of tortured romance with a side of bloodletting.
But “Eclipse” offers the latest proof that the franchise remains strictly for its fan base.
(Photo: Feelings still fester between Jacob the werewolf (Taylor Lautner) and angst-filled teen Bella (Kristen Stewart). Summit Entertainment/Photo credit Kimberly French)
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
watch your diction Christian!
http://www.threedonia.com/archives/25418
Great review… I agree. I like the movies because I like vampire stories, but the production values seem almost intentionally disrespectful — like a rich guy who serves Spam on paper plates for lunch.
Great review… I agree. I like the movies because I like vampire stories, but the production values seem almost intentionally disrespectful — like a rich guy who serves Spam on paper plates for lunch.
In a way it makes sense – why bother teeing up expensive FX when the crowds who love the film won’t really care …
And yeah, the word I chose isn’t racist or anything bad – I would never use language in that fashion – but somehow a good word choice can (hopefully) improve a review.
“Twilight” and “Harry Potter” … proof if you mix the right amount of fad, with the right amount of timing, with the right amount of pop insipidness, anyone can turn a mighty profit.
I like supernatural stories, but this “Twilight” stuff is just so over the top and utterly humorless. I prefer “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer” (tv version). At least that show didn’t always take itself so darned seriously. Spike would have kicked the crap out of Edward the dullard.
Christian… I know you’d never use language like that….
as one with an English degree who is a recovering lawyer and a professor I love the vocab. I’m a nerd — a sarcastic nerd, but a nerd nonetheless.
Twilight is similar to the (first set of) Star Trek movies… (which I like most of them). They seemed to skimp on script and things and they made on 40-60 MM dollars when they could’ve easily cracked $100MM (back when that was huge) with better scripts, more broadly appealing storylines, and more action. Twilight is a more popular franchise at least based on Box Office it seems to me, but it could be even more popular.
A v. good review – assessments of content and style, analysis of theme with your Conservative perspective, AND an LSAT word. Bravo!
D.
I think it was an amazing movie! They did a great job at portraying the important parts and emotions from the book. I think that a lot of the actors from the previous movies have improved their acting and connections to each other. there were a few things that I wish they had done differently but over all it exceeded my expectations!