The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1.

Longest title for a film ever? Anyway, I finally have the DVD in hand, so I can continue to review everything Twilight related ever. Enjoy!

First thing I noticed watching this film is HOLY FUCK it opens abruptly. I admittedly can't remember the ending of Eclipse and have been reading New Moon so when it opened with no build up, just straight into Bella and Edward's wedding preparations, I was left spinning. This can be said for the whole film, much like the others it manages to be completely about nothing and yet still feel like it's moving way too fast. Also maybe because I've just come from New Moon, it surprises me just how much Jacob disrespects Sam in the film. Also is that a deliberate effect or a massive continuity error? When Edward and Bella kiss, all the pews are empty...

Thank fully it soon mixes with a little spruce of horror as we see Edward's past life as an anti hero vigilante. These scenes are well staged, well edited and capture both the feel of the time and the horror aspect of a vampire, awesome start, Breaking Dawn. Just a shame this scene isn't longer, I'd like to see more centralised around this. Edward Cullen, superhero.

Noticeable though within the first few moments of the film is how shitty the special effects look. Was that sharp editing supposed to hide the fact that Emmett and Jasper weren't really jumping up to the window? Because it isn't working... And those contacts are awful. There are also lots of inconsistencies, noticeable struggling on Edward's part when he lifts Bella up. The sweat on him etc Things like vampires just work so much better in the unlimited world of a book.

Thank fully what is back is some beautiful cinematography, the wedding, the shots of rio etc, beautiful. It's like a painting in places. That being said, nearly all of these beautiful shots are coupled with either stock footage or awful green screens, ruining the image almost instantly. There is also some interesting editing, the flicker on the footage for dream sequences, the sequences of Jacob thinking while in wolf form none of which are good exactly, but interesting stylistically nonetheless.

Why do all the Cullen's have new hair styles in this film? Is that explained in the book? Everyone's new hair looks horrible and worse still, surely if they're dead, once hair is cut off, it's never coming back? And it would appear Carlisle has been eating a lot of pies between this movie and Eclipse.

I did find it funny just how much of a sex pest Bella is in this saga and especially in this film. I understand she's a teenager and most teenage relationships are about sex and she had to wait until they were married and everything, but just the way they construct it all, it makes her look really nymphy haha.

Weird as it is, the best thing about the Twilight Saga is probably the music and this film is no different. Like R. Patz own music in the original film. Highlights here include the breathtaking 'Turning Page' played during the sex scene. The sex scene was clumsy due to the cutting to get a 12a rating, but with that song it's hard not to be swept up in the whole thing.

Breaking Dawn has easily the creepiest narrative of all time. A girl marries a vampire, creepy enough. Girl has sex with vampire, just plain wrong. Then girls gets impregnated by said vampire? This is wrong and creepy beyond any words. Why is everyone okay with this? This is seriously one of the most disturbing, fucked up things I have ever watched. As Bella slowly wastes away into nothing as the demon grows within in her. And the actual birth sequence where Edward bites the baby out, what the fuck! Plus creepy CGI baby, ew!  A Serbian Film is tame in comparison to this disturbing piece of cinema. Why has this not caused more controversy?

After this sequence I feel that the film really kicks into gear. I had goosebumps as Edward stares blankly into space, his vacant expression conveying so much emotion as he desperately tries to bring the skeletal Bella back to life. And as Jacob just walks outside, sits and cries. Incredible.

Despite rather ruining his reputation in Eclipse, Jake returns to form in this film. Not only is he more lovable than the movie version of Edward, the movie version of Jake is also the most grounded out of any other character. And as he frustratedly screams reason at characters who just don't listen, I feel he often becomes the widest doorway in as an audience. That being said, his Imprinting onto the baby is creepy. I'm guessing Imprinting doesn't need to be with a physical partner, but that is the way it's always introduced, so ew. Bella's nasty naivety makes me feel more alienated than welcomed into the Twilight universe. Although I think she is much more of a bitch in the books than in the movies, I still can't stand Film Bella, not in the slightest.

There is a lot less action this time, but what we have is okay, it still doesn't have the style of New Moon and as mentioned earlier the effects aren't great but I will forever enjoy the fact that the Cullen's seem to the most super powered vampires ever, they seem more like superheroes than vampires with what they can do.

If the whole anti climactic ending is going to rest on Imprinting, couldn't you have explored it a little more? It's the Quileute's ultimate law? Since when? Woulda been nice to know this movie!

So do I recommend this? Well this is more of a sum up than a recommendation because if you're a Twilight fan, you've probably already seen this and anyone else, why start the saga on the fourth of five instalments?

So to sum up, is Breaking Dawn Part 1 any good? Yes, yes it is. Is it as good as my favourite Twilight movie, New Moon? No, not quite.

The emotions just aren't as well realised here. The first fuck, the marriage, these should have been epic moments in the series, but they just didn't feel like it, really everything up to the point of the pregnancy just felt kinda cold and flat.

However once you're at the pregnancy section of the film the film really hits its stride and is really fucking good. What stops me from saying this is the best Twilight movie so far is more so in the fact that the special effects are almost as bad as the first Twilight movie and also I just couldn't believe how downright disturbing this thing was. I mean I've seen more shocking stuff of course, but in a Twilight movie the delivery sequence was so disturbing I had goosebumps, I just felt it was poor taste, maybe it was like that in the books but still, ew.

But ultimately it's well shot, well acted and just a pretty damn good movie.

Think About It!

-Locke