Disappointed

Rating: Null/10 (7 September 2012)

Vampires and werewolves are not subjects that normally attract my attention, yet somehow The Twilight Saga series has sucked me in. As a romantic fantasy novel and now film series, Twilight has captivated its' young audience by twisting the fate of these not so average teens. Breaking Dawn- Part 1 is the latest of the film series and one that seemed to stray from what my self, and many other readers, imagined in the book.
Breaking Dawn- Part 1 opened in theaters November 18th, 2011 and grossed over $705 million across the world. Stephanie Meyer, author of the novel series, also became an executive producer for the film series. Melissa Rosenberg continued on as screenwriter from the previous films, but the biggest change occurred by hiring a new director. Bill Condon directed Part 1 and has signed on to direct Part 2, which is coming out in November 2012. As one of the most popular teen series of our generation, Part 1 was an interesting visual of the novel. After finally giving in to the vampire fad in 2009, I quickly became a rapid fan of the series. Somehow the movies have continued to fall short of my expectations. Granted the first film seemed to be a test to see if the fans would accept a cinema version, the budget was low and the acting came cheap. As I read the books I had a tremendous amount of imagery racing through my mind about what the mysterious Edward looked like, how the insecure Bella acted and especially visualizing the intriguing Jacob. Without critiquing the acting of these characters, I will say I think casting did a terrific job on selecting the looks of the infamous roles. Special effects are always a challenge but I think this film does a good job of portraying the abstract plot line including speed, transformations, werewolves, flying, and more. Aside from the very basics of the movie, I struggled with the actual portrayal in comparison to the book.
I think the one thing that frustrates me the most is how they split the film into two movies for the sole benefit of making a bigger profit. I understand that breaking the novel in to halves makes it easier to depict all of the blood, sweat and tears, but the way Dawn ends just leaves the audience craving for more, even though they know how it ends. Another issue I had was the birth. Birthing scenes are never fun for anyone to watch, act or direct but this scene in Dawn was one for the records. It seemed to make the audience not only feel uncomfortable, but the views of Bella throughout were unnecessary and horrific. Lastly, the acting has always made me rigger. I can't put my foot down on whether it's the script that is cheesy or if it really is the actors. Whatever the issue may be, I wish the awkwardness of the actors themselves didn't interfere with the complexity of the plot. Young actors are hard to train, but some of these actors might be a better fit for the Disney channel.
For those who are already Twilight fans or for those who might become fans, I would recommend watching the films. Even though it may not be the fantasy world you imagined in your mind, actually getting to see a visual portrayal is entertaining non the less.