The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 Review

Rated PG-13 (Sequences of Violence including Disturbing Images, Some Sensuality and Partial Nudity)

Running Time: 1 Hour & 55 Minutes

Cast-

Kristen Stewart-Isabella 'Bella' Swan

Robert Pattinson-Edward Cullen

Taylor Lautner-Jacob Black

Mackenzie Foy-Renesmee Cullen

Peter Facinelli-Dr. Carlisle Cullen

Elizabeth Reaser-Esme Cullen

Ashley Greene-Alice Cullen

Jackson Rathbone-Jasper Hale

Kellan Lutz-Emmett Cullen

Nikki Reed-Rosalie Hale

Billy Burke-Charlie Swan

Chaske Spencer-Sam Uley

Julia Jones-Leah Clearwater

Booboo Stewart-Seth Clearwater

Michael Sheen-Aro

Jamie Campbell Bower-Caius

Christopher Heyerdahl-Marcus

Daniel Cudmore-Felix

Charlie Bewley-Demetri

Dakota Fanning-Jane

Cameron Bright-Alec

MyAnna Buring-Tanya Denali

Casey LaBow-Kate Denali

Christian Camargo-Eleazar Denali

Mia Maestro-Carmen Denali

Maggie Grace-Irina Denali

Lee Pace-Garrett

Rami Malek-Benjamin

Omar Metwally-Amun

Andrea Gabriel-Kebi

Angela Sarafyan-Tia

Marlane Barnes-Maggie

Lisa Howard-Siobhan

Patrick Brennan-Liam

Judi Shekoni-Zafrina

Tracey Heggins-Senna

Noel Fisher-Vladimir

Guri Weinberg-Stefan

Amadou Ly-Henri

Janelle Froelich-Yvette

Directed by Bill Condon

Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward (Robert Pattinson) look for food in "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2," arguably the best entry in the series.

When it comes to a blockbuster franchise like "Twilight," you either love the series with a fanatical zeal or hate it vehemently and frequently troll online message boards to voice your derision. Since its debut in 2005, Stephenie Meyer's novels have sold over 116 million copies worldwide as of October 2010 while the film adaptations grossed a gargantuan $2.5 billion at the box office. Reviews of the novels have always focused on its popularity among young female adults because let's be blunt here: no one will mistake this as literature. Critical reception of the films has ranged from terrible to mediocre; as for my own feelings, I found the 2008 original to be passable but the installments that followed were awful. However, I've always been fair in my assessment of each film. It's hard to believe that it's only been four years and already the series is coming to a close with "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2." Taking a page from "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," Summit Entertainment (now owned by LionsGate) chose to split the final book into two parts, allowing the studio to reap double the money. Last year's "Breaking Dawn Part 1" was a massive bore as director Bill Condon was forced to pack the film with numerous filler scenes in order to meet its two hour running time. I had little hope the conclusion would be any better but color me surprised, the second part is actually good. Of course, 'good' is a relative term here given how low the bar's been set. From a film criticism perspective, "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2" is neither great nor good cinema but it delivers a rousing enough conclusion and is by far the strongest entry out of the entire franchise. Condon sure saved the best for last. 

Picking up immediately after the events of "Breaking Dawn Part 1," Isabella 'Bella' Swan (Kristen Stewart) has been brought back from the brink of death thanks to her husband, Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson). Now a newborn vampire, Bella has little trouble controlling her thirst and is eager to see her daughter, Renesmee (Mackenzie Foy). Upon learning that Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner) had imprinted on Renesmee, Bella flies into a rage but calms down when Seth Clearwater (Booboo Stewart) intervenes. Settling into their new roles as parents, Bella and Edward are astonished at Renesmee's accelerated growth. In a matter of months, she physically matures to the appearance of a ten-year old girl. The Cullen's peace is threatened when Irina (Maggie Grace), of the Denali clan, sees Renesmee and mistakes her for an immortal child that Bella and Edward had created. She immediately informs the Volturi's leader, Aro (Michael Sheen), of the 'crime' that the Cullens had committed. As immortal children could not be controlled, the Volturi chose to purge them. The creation of such children was punishable by death. Foreseeing their arrival thanks to Alice's (Ashley Greene) talents, the Cullens begin to gather allies from around the world to convince the Volturi that Renesmee is not who they think she is. If need be, they would fight the Volturi to the death to protect her. 

From the synopsis alone, "Breaking Dawn Part 2" doesn't look especially exciting but its final half-hour delivers the necessary jolt that the series has been lacking for the past three installments. Right from the get-go, you can feel that there's something different about this film as we're treated to a stylish opening credits sequence. It then transitions to Bella awakening for the first time as a vampire and rushing out into the forest to test her new abilities. I've always found Bella to be a terrible character defined only by the men in her life and while I still view her wanting to be a vampire as selfish, it does allow her to finally evolve and not mope around. Bella's new lease on life (or un-life) gives her a sense of empowerment and she proudly proclaims that she 'was born to be a vampire.' Even Edward gets to smile more instead of looking constipated all the time! These films have always been silly fluff and Condon finally embraces the absurdity of it all (especially the costumes) but holds back just enough to not let it fall into a ridiculous self-parody. Many of the best scenes involve Bella's father Charlie (Billy Burke), which includes Jacob once again dropping his clothes, inspiring cheers from the audience. However, it still suffers from the same issues that plagued the previous entries, even if it is alleviated. The most serious offender is the dialogue; some of it is just cringe-inducing. The narration doesn't help either as it comes off as clumsy. Unlike the time-waster that was "Part 1," there's a sense of urgency as the Volturi makes their way toward Forks and as such, it moves at a nice clip and doesn't feel like two hours. Condon builds to a surprisingly engaging climax as the film breaks out with an impressive action scene between the Cullens (with their allies) and the Volturi. There's quite a lot of heads being ripped-off and it allows some of the minor characters who barely have any lines to shine. The way the battle is resolved might be viewed as a cop-out to some, even if it is unexpected. While the cinematography from Guillermo Navarro leads to some striking images, the visual effects remain problematic given the production budget and some of the wirework is too obvious. "Breaking Dawn Part 2" ends with a nice look back through the series, including an extended roll call of every cast member. It's a strangely dour send-off but Condon handles it well; it's just a shame that it took the last installment to show that "Twilight" could actually be good. 

There is some minor improvement with the performances. Kristen Stewart is more expressive now that she's a full vampire, playing a much more assertive and dare I say, ass-kicking Bella. Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner may not have much to do but it was a nice change to pace to see them get along instead of squabbling like hormone-addled teenagers. Lautner is still a terrible actor though; at least Pattinson tries. The rest of the supporting cast is mostly just set-dressing, with the exception of Michael Sheen as Volturi leader Aro. He knows what type of film he's in and goes way over-the-top with his goofy cackling. His every movement is exaggerated to theatrical proportions. Billy Burke is always enjoyable as Charlie and is the one thing that's been consistently good in the series. Dakota Fanning is unfortunately wasted as the sadistic Jane. 

To be released on November 16, 2012, "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2" has surprisingly been receiving a positive reception and currently stands at 82% on Rotten Tomatoes. The first and the third installments are the best-reviewed with 49% each; I'm going to go out on a limb here and predict a final score in the lower-60s. The advance screening I attended yesterday leaned heavily female and they clearly enjoyed the film, with many cheering as each name popped up in the opening and end credits. For them, the experience was…orgasmic. It will rule the box office this weekend without any question, with some projecting a debut of at least a $140 million. Summit Entertainment is keen to start on spin-offs but it'd be better if the studio just let it end with some dignity as it would only be a blatant attempt to just milk the franchise. "Twilight" will never be viewed as a great series outside of its rabid fanbase but this final installment ends it on a classy note that lends it a sense of legitimacy, although it won't win any new converts. No matter your feelings about what Meyer has created, even the most jaded person will grudgingly admit that it wrapped up on a stronger foot than when it began.

Final Rating: 3.5 out of 5

"After eighteen years of being utterly ordinary, I finally found that I could shine."