It all begins ... With a choice

Rating: 7/10 (30 June 2010)

Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger as Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob — knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella is confronted with the most important decision of her life. (Summit Entertainment)
Once the opening scene is over and the title appears with Howard Shore's epic soundtrack playing in the background, you know that ECLIPSE is going to be good. Unlike NEW MOON, there's actually SOMETHING happening in here! There are characters DOING things, which is something more I can say for the previous sequel. And because the film has a very interesting plot akin to a horror film, ECLIPSE is easily the most exciting and cinematic film in the series!
But just because there is a body count doesn't rule it out as a romance. Yes, the romance is still here. Yes, there is still the love triangle. Yes, Bella still has to choose between Edward and Jacob. But all of this is not as bad and tedious as you might think mostly due to Melissa Rosenberg's screenplay. This time around, she decides to add clever lines and something called humor into the romance. For example, in one scene, Edward asks Bella about Jacob, "Doesn't he have a shirt?" It's little scenes like these that make the love story a lot less cheesy and more welcoming compared to the first two films which everything was so serious they could pass for soap operas.
Like the HARRY POTTER series, it's interesting to see different styles from the many directors that are attached for each film. With David Slade now on the directing chair, the film is improved with a much tighter direction and a faster pace. With experience from the horror genre, Slade knows how to create exciting action sequences. In fact, Slade pulls no punches in the climatic battle scene(s). Honestly, you get your money's worth. Who knew a TWILIGHT film would have the most beheadings in a PG-13 film? Honestly, there were some really brutal scenes.
The cast is still good but more mature in their roles. Kristen Stewart gives a wonderful performance as always. I also liked Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner, especially in one scene where they get to spew out clever dialogue at one another about how they're the better man for Bella. Anna Kendrick, who had her rise of fame in UP IN THE AIR last year, doesn't appear much in the film, unfortunately, but it's always great to see her when she does, including one important scene. Billy Burke is still the same great father we saw him in the previous two films.
Most of the Cullen clan have considerably more to do in this sequel, most notably Jackson Rathbone. There are even origin stories on two of them, both of which are very interesting while one of them is eerily similar to Bill Compton's in TRUE BLOOD. Xavier Samuel plays the new villain and he gives a menacing performance. Bryce Dallas Howard replaces Rachelle Lefevre as the new Victoria and she does a good job as well, although she's underused.
Even the visual effects are improved! I didn't know how they did it, but the sparkling skin on Edward is suddenly not laughable anymore. I also liked the look of the CGI wolves and their interactions with the actors. There's one scene with Bella petting Jacob in his transformation and it looked believable. Oh, and it's great to listen to Howard Shore's soundtrack along with seeing the sweeping cinematography.
While it won't bring newcomers to the franchise, ECLIPSE is an improvement over NEW MOON. The romance is less cheesy, the action scenes are a lot bigger, the plot is a lot more interesting, and the film finally has a sense of humor. If you're not a fan of the TWILIGHT saga, you know what to do without me telling you. However, for the fans of the series, you'll be completely satisfied.