Misunderstood

Rating: 7/10 (2 December 2011)

The Twilight Saga seems to have left people in completely confusion about films; not only genre and direction, but plot and acting talent too. Yes, I happen to be a girl just come out of her teen years, who likes fiction and occasionally likes a good love story too, but I would never stretch to say that I have been a fan of Twilight films. I read the books when I was 15 years old and, I must admit, got pretty hooked on them However, I grew up (as some girls obviously haven't) and, with the release of the first, second and third film, I became disappointed with the portrayal of something that, in my mind, was nothing but a harmless fairy-tale with a bit of back-bone to it. I was certainly disappointed and almost angered at the casting of Bella with a talentless and frankly unbelievably dull Kristen Stewart in her role.
Anyway, to the film. I saw Breaking Dawn the day after its release and I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised and, after reading these reviews, I realise that I am probably in a large minority in having any positive experience of this film. Whether it's the hype or the somewhat deserving mockery that this saga has received, I feel that a huge amount of people have failed to realise that this is the first film in the saga which has had 1) a fairly good quality of acting - mainly not on Bella's part though, 2) an actually thought-provoking and in depth plot and 3) some very impressive Directing talent. This 'harmless fairy tale' which I described it as earlier, in my eyes, had become something of a dark reality twisted around what we believe to be fiction. In no way am I saying that perhaps vampires do exist, however this film dealt with far more than vampires and seemed to have left all that jargon to the other films this time. What we dealt with this time was passionate sexual desire, the quick (and painful) maturing of an 18 year old girl with a situation which definitely fits with real life problems in this day and age and consequently moral debates as to how to deal with it. Rosalie's almost hatred for Bella becomes care and understanding at the appearance of this baby (or 'foetus' as they call it), Edward's love becomes fear of loss, and as does Jacob's friendship.
Although I do appreciate that they left a great deal out of the book, that's just what films do. They're appealing to a different audience than those who read books - people who read books want to know everything about the characters they're reading about, all about their lives, their thoughts, feelings, and every little detail about a wedding dress. Those film buffs out there (or those un-willing to sit and read a book) want to start where the action begins, and carry on from there. They have the visual and auditory aids to be able to work out for themselves how the character is feeling or thinking, and what is going on, so they need no fanciful metaphors, descriptions or details. Besides, I think we'd all be complaining a hell of a lot more if the film was filled with unnecessary details.
Over-all, I think this was the best in the saga, as it dealt with real things, with none of the stupid vampire rivalry, jealousy, or trying to find out whether everyone is actually a fictional creature or not, with a small but perfect amount of humour, still establishing in itself the ludicrousness of the subject.