Breaking Dawn Part 2: Worth the Wait?

Image from Breaking Dawn, Part 2

Yes, there are fewer than two weeks until the final film of the Twilight Saga is released.

And know what? After seeing Breaking Dawn Part 1, I'm not dying to see Part 2.

I admit--Twilight, the first movie of the series, was well-cast but had its cringe-worthy moments: the big vampire reveal was horribly written and acted, and Bella being saved by Edward in the dance studio is simply horrid--Rob looks like he's going to puke at any moment. And the vampire growling scene on the baseball field--laughable. The movie had its good parts, too--don't get me wrong. But they're rather few and far between.

By the time that New Moon came out, my daughter was a real fan, so we attended the midnight showing together, seeing Twilight as the first part of a midnight showing double feature (for the first time on the big screen). And I admit--New Moon was practically seamless. The only part that was laughable was Aro reading Alice's mind and seeing Edward and Bella, both as vampires, running through the forest. But Rob runs like a girl, and the whole thing still makes me snort with derision. But otherwise, the movie is amazing...and the soundtrack is even better than the first one.

And yes, we watched both Twilight and New Moon before seeing Eclipse as the third part of a triple feature, the other two playing earlier in the evening and the third installment at midnight. And Eclipse was nearly seamless as well. I can't think of any cringe-worthy elements except for Ron Howard's daughter not knowing how to growl like a vampire. (Yes, they should have kept the first Victoria!!) And again, a stellar soundtrack followed.

So it was with high hopes that we attended the midnight showing of Breaking Dawn Part 1--all by itself this time. Parts of it were great--the wedding was beautiful (but NOT the reception-ugh!! Those speeches made me squirm with embarrassment!! I don't care that making us totally embarrassed for B&E was the point. I hated it.). And Isle Esme was well done. But the talking wolves had me laughing right there in the theatre--and it's supposed to be one of the points of high drama as Jacob takes on his birthright in order to protect Bella. But, no, I was stifling giggles the entire scene. And Edward was played all wrong once they returned from Isle Esme--whether that's the directing or Rob himself, I felt that he was emotionally dead rather than emotionally a wreck. Bella becoming concentration-camp thin was amazingly well done, and parts were okay, but overall, I was not satisfied with the film. And my daughter refused to buy the soundtrack since it consisted of famous pop musicians rather than up-and-coming indie artists.

Images from Breaking Dawn, Part 2

So we're skipping the midnight madness associated with the fifth and final installment of the Twilight Saga. If she isn't working, I'll take my daughter to the Friday morning matinee (one of the advantages of home schooling: FIELD TRIP!) I know they changed the ending to a fight scene...or at least a partial fight while the book made Bella's shield the deciding factor in avoiding a Volturi vs. Cullens & their allies battle. I can understand that change because it would feel even more anticlimatic on film than it did in the book. So we'll see how Breaking Dawn Part 2 shapes up. And I'm not holding out for a terrific soundtrack, either.

So, any thoughts about the fifth and final film in the Twilight Saga?

Take care!!

~Cassandra :)
xxxooo