The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner
Directed By: Bill Condon
Reviewed by Danielle Muir

[rating: 2/5]

Here we go again – Twilight has rolled onto cinema screens one final time to its usual mix of groans and squeals of delight.  By now, if you have viewed the others, you should know whether Twilight tickles your fancy or not – so do yourself a favour and act accordingly.

After the traumatic pregnancy of Part 1, Bella is now a ravishing new-born vamp, exuding unusual self-control when it comes to slaughter.  Her daughter Renesmee continues grows at an alarming rate, and there’s tension as Jacob imprints on said child, but for a while the whole clan seem to have their peaceful life sorted.  However – Alice’s vision of the incoming Volturi coming to end them all calls for a worldwide friends search from every corner of the globe (apparently they aren’t on Facebook) – so they may stand together and give them a chance to explain that they have committed no crime worthy of death.

The Twilight Saga is one that is often met with harsh criticisms, most likely a result of its predominant fan base of rampant teenage girls.  Apart from the controversial ending (which I’ll discuss soon), this film stays true to the book –ripping lines straight out of the text which fans will recognise.  It also means that the actors have to deal with certain snippets of dialogue that don’’ really translate well through the filmic medium (“You named my daughter after the Loch Ness Monster?”) but hey – all for the fans.

One thing Twilight seems to have had an eternal struggle with is its standard of CGI.  But here is glaringly obvious – with a computer generated baby and adolescent daughter being so shocking that it actually severs any emotional connection you may have had, and reinforces the fact you’re looking at a fake, non-existent, rubbery infant.  That’s apparently Renesmee.  This also may be why Kristen Stewart appears to have such difficulty connecting with her ‘daughter’.  Maternal instinct is pretty void between the two, and at no point does Bella feel like a mother.  I think Stewarts performance was too restrained in this sense – she needed to give a little more vulnerability and love towards Renesmee through her hotly debated facial expressions.

Now – to the infamous ending.  I’d heard there had been some adjustments from the book (a giant conversation didn’t seem to have cut it as a conclusion) but I was genuinely shocked at the direction to which they swerved the plot.  However, this is cut short when there’s use of a cliché’d technique that I despise – leaving me conflicted as to which ending I would have preferred.  Decipher what you will from that.

But fans – listen up.  The storyline is entertaining as it always has been, with Bella and Edward still sickeningly in love.  Bella’s portrayal as a newborn is an interesting differentiation from the character we’ve seen portrayed previously , there’s a slightly racier sex-scene that will send twi-hards into a frenzy and also we get to see some of the fascinating characters from the book come to life (special mention to rock-star Garrett who’ll get the Twi-Moms all hot and bothered).  The arm wrestle, the shield, Bella snapping at Jacob, all the iconic scenes from the book are retold in a faithful fashion.  The action sequences aren’t too shabby either (when there’s no CGI).

So if you’re not a fan you should have learned to avoid by now.  But for all of those twi-hards out there, your needs will be satiated one last time.