The Twilight saga heads towards its conclusion in Breaking Dawn - Part 1 with the promise of a dramatic, life-changing finale for its heroine Bella Swan. Harry Potter showed just how to close a popular fantasy with its Deathly Hallows two-parter, but Twilight has a lot of work to do in Part 2 if it's to reach the same heights.Human Bella (Kristen Stewart) and vegetarian Vampire Edward (Robert Pattinson) finally tie the knot and engage in some nookie (sex). But when she becomes pregnant, they face a life-threatening dilemma. The neighbourhood wolf-pack circles, determined to prevent the birth of a potentially uncontrollable bloodsucker, and Bella's admirer Jacob (Taylor Launter), tries to protect her.
Most people reading this review already know if their going to see this film or not. The Twi-hards of the world will enjoy this film that is a faithful adaptation of the first half of the book. Haters, meanwhile, will hate this more than any other Twilight film released to date. They will bemoan the heightened emotional pitch and endless staring into the distance. As for the tiny few in the middle, this starts off strong, then takes a turn for the weird.
What the film ultimately amounts to is characters standing around talking and filling time until the next 'big' event happens. It's the least dynamic Twilight movie in the series and, despite clocking in at less than two hours, about as exciting as watching paint dry.
There are effective elements. The wedding scene manages to inject some humour into a series that's often po-faced, these lighter moments largely thanks to the criminally underused Anna Kendrick and Billy Burke, and Bella shows some amusingly human insecurities on her wedding night. Robert Pattinson and Taylor Launter, meanwhile have never been better in these roles, the latter leavening his grimaces with much needed sarcasm and the former relishing the flaws in the romantic ideal.
Unfortunately from here it only gets weirder, with a unique C-section and Jacob's imprint incident getting carried over from Meyer's novel. The movie suffers from awkward tonal shifts, too, veering off from soppy romance to hysterical body horror. It's a transformation that is far from seamless, as director Bill Condon and screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg struggle to wrestle this schizophrenic story into a satisfying cinematic film. The big moments the film tries to build up to are gone in a flash, leaving you with a deflated feeling. At least they put the ending in the right place, creating just enough of a cliffhanger to get the fans back for the final instalment. Hopefully part 2 will have more action and less weirdness.The acting from the 3 main characters has never been better, but this film will only be enjoyed by the biggest fans of the series.
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