A good finish to a mediocre series.

Rating: 6/10 (10 February 2013)

Wouldn't it be refreshing to read a review of a Twilight film that was written by neither fans nor "haters"? You've come to the right place. I have read all 4 books to see what the hype was all about, and have seen all 5 films when they got to second-run theaters. In general, I thought they were watchable enough, improvements in fact over the source material -- but not worth owning or seeing again. This last film, however, took on a different tone which I found refreshing.
If you haven't kept up with the previous films, you should definitely see them first -- this one isn't a stand-alone. Story picks up with Bella just turned into a newborn vampire and learning how to deal with her new strengths and hungers. She has to hunt wildlife and keep from killing every non-vampire that wanders into her territory, and she rocks her new, pale look with smokey eyeliner and red lips. The half-vampire daughter she gave birth to is already out of the newborn phase and growing at an alarming rate; but no worries, the other Cullens and Jacob Black have taken over all those inconvenient childcare duties so that Bella and Edward can carry on being newlyweds without distraction in their new guest house at the Cullen mansion. Ah, if only everything had continued down this merry course, there could have been the perfect -- albeit boring -- fairytale ending to the Saga. But of course, a twist of fate puts Bella, the Cullens, and their new child all at risk: the Volturi (evil mafia-like vampire clan in Europe) get word of Bella's kid, and assume she is a threat to their existence.
Now, thank goodness, a more exciting story arc is set into motion for the rest of the film. The Cullens rally all their friends and "relatives" (non human-feeding vampires)from around the globe to stand as witness for the Cullen baby Renesmee. We get to see a little bit of the cultures of other vampires, new characters are introduced, interesting powers are revealed, and tension builds. The Cullens are rightly worried that the Volturi won't be reasoned with, and that they'll easily slaughter the Cullens and their allies. When the film's climax comes, it's all action, and IMO it should have earned BD part 2 an R rating for violence and gore (which is quite uncharacteristic of the previous Twilight installments).
Finally, the Twilight story is concluding on an exciting, Action/Horror turn of events, instead of the faintly nauseating romance that dominated up until now! Bella also seems to come into her own as a mature character and a grownup for the first time. She displays self-discipline, starts considering the world outside of her town of Forks, and shows concern for others apart from herself and the Cullen family: the annoying Emo Bella is gone. She also abandons the role of "damsel in distress" and takes on a bit of toughness. Some of these improvements are long overdue for her character, and it's interesting that they all coincide with her turning into a vampire. Don't the rest of us have to grow up without the help of supernatural powers and immortality? Oh well, better late than never I suppose.
Now if only the entire "Saga" could be rebooted with this director at the helm, I think the ratings would have jumped considerably. The previous Twilight movies were watchable but in my opinion, only merited 4 and 5 stars out of 10 at best: this last film is a six because it did away with angsty vampires and showed us a whole society of supernatural characters, and they weren't all just props to further a love triangle plot. Good pacing and better editing also helped BD part 2 along tremendously.
I just might see this one again on cable!