Movie Review: The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010)
124 Minutes
Written By: Melissa Rosenberg and Stephanie Meyer
Staring: Xavier Samuel, Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Billy Burke, Justin Chon, Anna Kendrick, Michael Welch, Christian Serratos, Jackson Rathbone, Ashley Greene, Peter Facinelli, Elizabeth Reaser, Kellan Lutz, Nikki Reed, Bryce Dallas Howard, Taylor Lautner, Kiowa Gordon, Tyson Houseman, Bronosn Pelletier, Alex Meraz, Julia Jones, Chaske Spenser, Gil Birmingham, Alex Rice, BooBoo Stewart, Dakota Fanning, Daniel Cudmore, Cameron Bright, Charlie Bewley
Review
For those of you that hate the books and have hated the films thus far than you have likely not even clicked this link to see my thoughts on this film. If you have taken the leap then thank you for your indulgence. I am a 33 year old male and have read all of the Twilight Saga books by Stephanie Meyer. I feel like I am in AA and announcing that at a support group. I joke completely about that but at the same time can truly relate the Twilight phenomenon to been addicted. The books, even though they are not the best written books in the world, draw you in because of the story and the characters and the wonderful character development. The movies are able to do exactly the same thing because they do a fantastic job of following the storyline of the books almost to a fault. I mean I am sure there would be reports of tweens rioting and burning theaters if their beloved Jacob or Edward were misrepresented.
I have a feeling that finally Toy Story 3 will be knocked down from the top of the box office this weekend. On Wednesday alone Eclipse brought in $65 million!!!! My theater at 130 yesterday was fairly full so I am guessing the later shows did a massive business. My review will not bore you with the specifics of this film or the plot development. I am just going to give you some of the reasons that I feel this film is worth the star rating that I gave it above. I will say it again that the characters is one of the reasons I am a huge fan of the Twilight Saga.
This film does a great job of showing the history of some of the other characters and how they became vampires. Jackson Rathbone is a great actor and I am looking forward to seeing him in The Last Airbender as well. In this film we get to see how Jackson’s character Jasper was turned into a vampire. We get to see how this Civil War major from Texas became a vampire and was forced to fight in the vampire wars. I could actually see this becoming a spin off if there would ever be one. I think it is pretty cool premise wise. I also liked the back story to Rosalie and we finally see why she dislikes Bella. I loved Nikki in Thirteen and feel that she definitely outshone Evan Rachel Wood. We get to learn about the Quileute tribe and their history with “Cold Ones”
These past two films the werewolves have been bringing the fire with them literally and figuratively because of the action element that they are a part of on screen. I love the characters and am liking the fact that we are seeing them even more in this film. There are some definitely cool action scenes in this film that keep the movie going but as usual the romance is the key factor that keeps the ship sailing. The animosity is strong but starting to crumble between the Cullens and the Quileute tribe because of working together to fight the battle. That is what I loved in the books and love about the film. I am a huge fan of movies where two unlikely people or groups of people are thrust together to fight a common threat. Watch The Killer, Hard Boiled or The Magnificent Seven and you will understand what I am talking about. These characters have a love hate relationship that borders on admiration.
The Bottom Line:
If you are looking for a film with a great mix of action, romance and a dash of fantasy then the Twilight Saga is for you. I dont totally think you have to read the books to enjoy the movies but I must admit it does help. My wife stopped reading them during this book and still enjoyed the movie a lot. Dont let the attractive cast or the sparkling vampires fool you there are definitely some acting abilityamong the cast. The casting job is fantastic on this film and I love the music placement by Alexandra Patsavas . The film is definitely a well rounded and enjoyable experience. If you give the film a chance you may fall in love with the characters as much as I have and become swept up in the films too.
The Author
