Review: "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1"

Seen on: November 16, 2011 | Reviewed by Danny Alves | The players: Director: Bill Condon, Writer: Melissa Rosenberg, Cast: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner | Fact of interest: The sex scene between Bella and Edward on their honeymoon had to be cut down in order to receive a PG13 rating.

The plot: The fourth movie in the “Twilight” series. Here, Bella and Edward get married and get pregnant on their honeymoon, causing the usual beef between werewolves and vampires..

Our thoughts: I should start by admitting that I actually enjoy the"Twilight" movies, and I really don’t even like the books! It's not so much that I don’t read; I really do. The thing is, I simply like the setup of this franchise; you know, the whole "vampires vs. werewolves walking amongst us"  and the "forbidden love triangle." I eat that crap up!

That said, I cannot stand Bella Swan. It's a harsh statement, but she is just so uninteresting and annoying, it’s hard to imagine  she’d ever garner the undying love on, not one, but TWO hot mythical creatures! And the books are written in her 1^st person perspective!

I’d rather use the books to give me papercuts in the eyeball than actually read the pages, but the movies, thus far, have been far more balanced, with plenty of attention given to all characters, and much of the annoying 'inner monologue' mercifully excised!

This is how it’s been for the past three movies, and have all been fairly entertaining. Now we launch into the finale with “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1,” and sadly enough, it fails to live up to its predescessors.

Essentially, the best way to describe this sequel is inconsistent. "Breaking Dawn" sure has its moment, but most of these are quickly ruined by either stilted acting, bad dialogue or awkward music cues. (in fact, the entire soundtrack/score in this one felt off).

For one thing, the dialogue is pretty terrible. Then there's the issue of having to set up the grand finale, which challenges the filmmakers to incorporate as much information as possible without overcrowding the plot. I wish I could say different, but they fail, and as a result, we're treated to several out-of-nowhere moments that further boost the film's already awkward structure and mood.

Additionally, most of the performance feel off as well. It appears like Bill Condon jumped on board hoping to shake things up a bit, but in the end, all he did is transform the characters we know into unfamiliar personalities.

The only real exception to this problem is Taylor Lautner and his portrayal of lovelorn werewolf Jacob Black. His onscreen time is always a welcome relief, and he easily delivers the most comfortable, familiar performance. Believe it or not, but dude carries this movie on his back!

On the plus side, "Breaking Dawn" is visually gorgeous! The much anticipated wedding (although longer then mass on Palm Sunday), the honeymoon and the Cullen house all look stunning, offering cinemagoers just the kind of eye candy they'd expect from a movie about vampires and werewolves.

Cheesy quote: “No measure of time with you will be long enough. But we’ll start with forever.” - Robert Pattinson

All in all, part one of the "Breaking Dawn" finale goes down as a pretty big disappointment, given the movies that have come before it. Let's hope the second part will make up for the damage.

The final word: Do anyone besides the tween girls still care about this thing at this point?

Visit "Breaking Dawn" online at http://www.breakingdawn-themovie.com/

ARTICLE WRITTEN BY DANNY ALVES