" The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" aka the battle of Edward and Jacob for Bella's love.

Rating: 7/10 (30 June 2010)

"Eclipse" picks up right where "New Moon" left off. Edward and Bella are hopelessly in love with one another and talks about their marriage begins. In the mix of all this happiness, there is a huge battle brewing between the newborn army lead by the evil Victoria and the Cullen family. On top of all this the love triangle between Edward and Jacob continue as Jacob is still determined to win Bella's heart. Lots of suspense, romance and even some action pursue.
While there are a lot of things going on in this film, the battle for Bella's heart was the primary focus. Robert Pattinson's Edward really becomes passionate about his love for Bella in this film. The relationship becomes truly believable here. Taylor Lautner's Jacob frustration with trying to win Bella's heart is equally believable here. I actually feel bad for him and that's pretty odd. I really liked how in "Eclipse" that Edward and Jacob have become comedic with one another. The humor between these characters really worked in the film. Kristen Stewart seems to be fitting into her Bella shoes nicely and you can tell her character is maturing and growing as the series goes on. I really liked how in this film Rosalie's and Jasper's back stories were fleshed out especially Rosalie's, which I felt gave her character more depth. I can't really complain about the acting or the character development in the film because I think they did a good job with it.
David Slade was definitely the best director for the franchise so to speak. Like many other critics have already stated Slade really made this film feel like a blockbuster rather than an independent film. I think his unique work behind the camera really worked for this franchise. When I watched Slade's "Hard Candy" a few weeks back I said to myself he is going to be a great director for "Twilight" and I am glad that opinion became fact. The film's direction is probably the highlight of the film and the way Slade got the characters to play off one another. I also liked the subtle humor that Slade added to the franchise something that made the other films feel more stiff and this one a little more relaxed. Great job Mr. Slade.
Now as for my complaints: The first is the build up. The build up for the "battle" made me very angry with the film. From about 15 minutes into the film, there is this talk about this battle of the newborns lead by Victoria. Throughout the entire film this point keeps being brought up, when the moment finally arrives the result is just disappointing. Without giving anything away, this battle that is being built up from the first 15 minutes requires both the Cullen's and the werewolves to work as a team. This pretty much serves as the subplot of the film and the epic battle lasts at most 10 minutes. This is without a doubt the biggest disappointment in "Eclipse." Your waiting and waiting for this excitement and it feels like a slap in the face when it happens. Now I can't say that this is the first film to do this in recent years because "Alice in Wonderland" as well as "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" both have done similar things. They build up what is suppose to be an epic battle and instead its this lame ass scene that feels like it's 2 minutes long.
As for the second and third complaint well those go hand in hand. I know this is a teen vampire flick but are the numerous make out sessions necessary? I mean we get the point they love each other so we don't really need one every 15 minutes to reinforce it. Also and this isn't the film's fault but Stephanie Meyer's fault, this series needs some sex. The sexual tension in this film you can cut with a knife it's so thick. I know its trying not to focus on sex but love but if any film needed some sex "Twilight" does. I find it funny because "True Blood" and "Twilight" are very similar as far as story lines go but with one main difference. "True Blood" focuses too much on the sexual aspect, which of course makes it more appealing to the male audience, and "Twilight" has no focus on it at all. Learn a lesson here make a film or television series that uses both these ideas and equally balance them. I never thought I would ask for a film to contain some sex but man it definitely needs it.
In the end does "Eclipse" live up to all the hype? From my perspective it does not but apparently from die-hard "Twi-hards" it does. I felt that the film was a good entry in the "Twilight Saga" however this franchise from a film lovers perspective does not offer anything ground breaking. The "Twilight" films are truly a guilt pleasure for those who like them. I appreciate them for what they are a unique fluffy vampire/werewolf tale from a female perspective. The big thing that makes me favor "New Moon" over "Eclipse" was the build up for the epic battle that just fell flat. If that was better executed I would say this would have been the best film in the franchise but because that was disappointing I would say "Eclipse" is still behind "New Moon." For those who loved the book, "Eclipse" is the most loyal to the book. David Slade is definitely the best director yet for the franchise and the film overall finishes up nicely. The film itself is a lot darker and definitely more violent than the previous entries. Overall, its a good film that keeps the true fans wanting more, but offers just more of the same for the everyday movie goer.
MovieManMenzel's final rating for "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" is a 7 out of 10.