They saved the best for the last

Rating: 8/10 (24 November 2012)

¨Lot of red eyes around here... ¨
After five films The Twilight Saga finally reaches its epic conclusion. What started for me as a pretty interesting franchise with the first film went downhill with the next sequels until the first part of Breaking Dawn which I thought was terrible. I still had to see how the franchise was going to end so I went ahead and watched the second part which to my surprise was really quite entertaining and up to par with the first film. The climatic ending was really worth the slow opening. I absolutely loved the final half hour of this film with the epic battle which in my opinion was one o the most entertaining battle sequences I've seen in a long time. There were a lot of things that this film got right: first of all the love triangle soap opera was put to an end finally, then you had Kristen Stewart finally playing a stronger character once she was turned into a vampire, Taylor Lautner wasn't annoying like in the other films, and the werewolves finally stopped talking amongst themselves. These were all good enough reasons for me to like this film better than all the other sequels. Another thing I enjoyed quite a bit was the addition of all the new vampire characters, but the best thing about Breaking Dawn was that epic battle scene which made the movie for me. It was a worthy ending to the franchise although I doubt it will convert any anti Twilight fans.
The film picks up right where the first part left us, with Bella (Kristen Stewart) being converted into a vampire after giving birth to Renesmee (Mackenzie Foy) by Edward (Robert Pattinson). Bella begins to adapt quickly to her new life as a vampire and her newfound strength. Edward teaches her a few things about hunting and feeding before letting her see the baby. Once she is ready to see Renesmee she finds out that Jacob (Taylor Lautner) has imprinted himself on her. At first she is furious as we see her strength unleash itself on his pack, but later comes to her senses. The rest of the Cullen family are all home welcoming and congratulating Bella, but peace doesn't last for very long when the Volturi hear rumors that Renesmee is an immortal child that could threaten their very existence with her powers. Alice (Ashley Greene) has a vision of the future and warns her family that the Volturi will come to kill Renesmee. The Cullen's decide to gather their vampire friends around the world so they can act as witnesses and stand up to the Volturi claiming that Renesmee is actually human. However they are ready to fight the Volturi alongside with their allies if they try to harm the girl. Everything seems set for the final epic battle between both sides.
Kristen Stewart is a lot better in this film considering she gets to play a much stronger character now and doesn't have to struggle about deciding between Jacob and Edward. Robert Pattinson isn't all that great here, but the truth of the matter is that no one came to these films for the performances. I'm really grateful that the werewolves weren't used as much here as in the other films. The twist at the end is also pretty fulfilling, and I really wasn't expecting something like that in a Twilight film. Bill Condon is a great director and he made this film much better by changing the final scene from the book. I still think he is way too good of a director for a franchise like this. The screenplay was once again adapted by Melissa Rosenberg from Stephenie Mayer's famous novel. As I said before, the material really isn't that great, but the film is really worth watching for that final half hour.
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