Entertaining, but....

Rating: 6/10 (1 July 2010)

There's something missing in "Eclipse." It has the action element for males and the romance element for females, but those two facts don't cover up the movie's flaws. Kristen Stewart is the main negative facet of this movie. Kristen has always been a little dry, but "Eclipse" required more emotion from the young actress than she could deliver; people say that she's "naturalistic" when it comes to her acting prowess, but to me she is simply dull and stoic. For example, after Jacob is horribly injured while fighting a newborn she does not look sad or disturbed in any way (not to mention her voice barely fluctuates from monotone at all). Robert Pattinson gave a better performance than Kristen, yet was constantly strained and humorless throughout, which is nothing new.
Taylor Lautner was the best of the three. Although he may be a bit over-dramatic at times he conveys his character well for someone of his limited experience. The stand-out performance came from Nikki Reed as Rosalie; for someone with few lines, she was believable and not overly theatrical.
For fans of the book, you will be happy to find that the plot line is close to the novel's. The flashbacks of Jasper's newborn days in the South and Rosalie's transformation were interesting and well-acted. However, some key scenes you desire may be left out/changed: Quil's imprint, Bella's thoughts about being in love with Jacob, and Bella's reaction over her decision to pick Edward instead of Jacob are a few of the characteristics that are absent. Also, when Bella kisses Jacob, it seems as if she is kissing him simply to prevent him from hurting himself, not because she's secretly in love with him. Their romance was in my opinion conveyed inadequately.
I think that many people will believe that the conclusion of Eclipse did not satisfy all of the hanging questions of New Moon; although many events occurred such as the newborn vampire back story, Victoria's hunt, Edward's marriage proposal, the pseudo- love triangle, etc., the audience is left in almost the same position as they were at the end of "New Moon": there are villains after Bella (Volturi), Bella loves Edward more than Jacob, Bella is still human, and Edward's proposal is hanging over them. Although I enjoyed it as I watched it and didn't mind Taylor Lautner's physique, "Eclipse" leaves something to be desired.