Not the Worst Movie Some Would Have You Believe

Rating: 7/10 (3 July 2010)

(Non-spoiler part of review will be in the first four paragraphs) My advice is this: if you don't like the Twilight franchise (books, movies, actors, Twihards, or anything associated with Twilight), then don't watch the movie. You already know beforehand you'll hate it, so why waste your life? You'll only have yourself to blame if you expected this movie was going to be about a human girl's choice between a vampire and a "werewolf", and SURPRISE - it is.
None of the Twilight movies are going to get good ratings. With the flak the books and fans receive, it's no wonder so many people who have "watched" it have rated it so poorly (1 star, really? Have you NOT seen The Hottie and the Nottie?).
In truth, Eclipse was an entertaining movie. Sure, there were some awkward moments, some under- and overacting, and maybe some scenes that could have been improved, but if you like Twilight, and have read the books, then Eclipse is a good movie for you. I wouldn't say it's the best, but it's definitely not as bad as some of the haters have been saying.
I feel that David Slade has definitely improved the acting of all the cast from previous movies, and he's (and/or Melissa Rosenberg have) incorporated some scenes not in the book that I thought were added for the better (more on that later). Many Twilight fans will not be left wanting as they may have been from the two previous films.
*********** SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT ************ The cast did a good job on screen for the most part. Kristen Stewart didn't have as many awkward acting moments as in the past. In fact, I thought she was good overall. Her chemistry with Robert Pattinson has definitely improved. Pattinson's acting, I would say, was good 2/3 of the time. There were definitely some cringe-worthy moments that I wasn't sure how they let pass. And I wish someone could've trimmed his sideburns! They were ridiculously long! Very distracting indeed. Taylor Lautner did a good job as well, overall. Like Stewart and Pattinson, he also had some "... ... ..." moments. These three are definitely not going to be winning Oscars for their performances in this movie, but they didn't fail to provide screen presence.
The supporting cast was also entertaining. Billy Burke, as always, steals the scene in ones he's in. Ashley Greene did a better job in this movie than in the previous one. Her clothing has also improved. Kellen Lutz, Peter Facinelli, and Elizabeth Reaser had more dialogue this time around, and they were great. The flashbacks of Nikki Reed and Jackson Rathbone were done very well. Rosalie's flashback was sad, and was finished way too soon in my opinion. Jasper's flashback was definitely interesting, and there was a nice tender Alice/Jasper moment associated with it.
Xavier Samuel played Riley well. Was impressed with what he did with his role. Bryce Dallas Howard was a better Victoria than Rachelle Lefevre ever was. She brought this fierce, fiery aura to Victoria, and it just worked.
Watching the Volturi was quite comical sometimes. They stopped being menacing when they all pulled off their hoods at the same time. For some reason, I laughed out loud at how ridiculous I thought they looked.
The other wolves and other Quileute tribe members were alright. I never felt that they had a strong enough screen presence, though.
One of the great additions to the script that wasn't in the (main) books was the scene between Victoria and Riley. It was very interesting to see the relationship between the two characters, and it definitely added to the story.
All that being said, I thought the scenes where they had Bella yell at or scold Edward was a bit unnecessary, and was way too much drama. It also seems that they sometimes reversed the personalities of Edward and Jacob, where Edward is the petty, immature, jealous type, and Jacob is the composed, wise, and considerate type. It's unfortunate that it was forgotten that Edward is over 100 years old. A century should be ample time to develop more maturity, wisdom, and poise than a 16-year-old, no? This is a long movie, and stays fairly true to the book. David Slade has definitely improved many aspects of the third installment of Twilight, and I think he's the best director so far to have handled the franchise. But if you don't like Twilight, don't waste your time.