On
November 16th 2012 The Twilight Saga officially came to an end, and
Breaking Dawn Part 2 is exactly the right send-off the franchise deserves. With moments of romance, humour, heartbreak and
action, this final instalment encompasses all the qualities that have made the
series the success that it is.
Breaking
Dawn Part 2 picks up more or less where Breaking Dawn Part 1 left off – shortly
after Bella’s transformation into a vampire.
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| Vampire Bella |
The movie follows Bella's journey as she adapts to life as a vampire - learning to hunt, learning to resist human prey and learning to act human (breathe, blink, fidget) - and life as a mother. To complicate matters Bella discovers that Jacob has imprinted on Renesmee, meaning that Renesmee is Jacob’s soulmate. Kudos to everyone involved that this relationship came off as
sweet instead of creepy. At this early stage of Renesmee’s life Jacob is only a friend
and protector, and it is only once Renesmee is mature that their relationship
will progress into something romantic.
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| Jacob and Renesmee |
For the Cullens, life is good... until Irina comes by for a visit. Following her outburst at Edward and Bella’s wedding, Irina
decides to come by and make amends, only to see Renesmee, and she comes to the
wrong conclusion: that Renesmee is an immortal child (a human child bitten to
become a vampire). Irina’s own mother was once found guilty of creating an
immortal child, for which she was killed by the Volturi. Irina thus completely overreacts and rushes to Voltera to
accuse the Cullens of breaking this very strict law. Immortal children cannot be tamed or taught, and in the past
immortal children have been known to slaughter entire villages. Creating immortal children is therefore the vampire world’s
biggest no-no. Finally Aro has the excuse he needs to destroy the Cullens –
all except Alice, the crown jewel. For years Aro has wanted Alice to join the Volturi. If he can have someone who can see the future, the Volturi
would be unstoppable. By killing her coven,
Aro will be free to take Alice.
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| The Volturi |
Anyhow,
Alice sees the Volturi coming for them, and the Cullens set about traveling the
globe, gathering witnesses for their showdown with the Volturi. They’re hoping if enough people witness, the
Volturi will listen long enough to be convinced that Renesmee is not an
immortal child. Can the Volturi be swayed, or has Aro already made up his mind?
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| The Cullens, their witnesses and the wolf packs |
Breaking Dawn Part 2 is really well done. The ending is epic, shocking and brilliant. During the past weeks I've heard the cast talking about the twist ending that differs from the book, and a twist ending it is! I was completely shocked and unprepared. I think Summit took a few years off my life, but I don't mind. It was perfect for the movie. At the end of the movie there is also a lovely montage of all the actors who had roles from Twilight straight through to Breaking Dawn Part 2.
While
vampire Bella is as badass as I had hoped, I was completely underwhelmed by her physical transformation. It wasn't nearly as
dazzling as I had expected – sure, her fashion sense is vastly improved, but she looks like… Bella. In
the book vampire Bella is incredibly beautiful – the absolute best version of
herself. Her beauty is supposed to rival even Rosalee's. It doesn't. In the movies, she doesn’t
change much, if at all, and she doesn't have that flawless beauty the other female vampires have. Other than her
appearance, vampire Bella is as strong and powerful in the movie as she is in
the book, and the character development is very well done. Bella and Edward's relationship is very mature and their bond is the strongest it's been through the course of the five movies. They are very believable as a mature, loving, married couple, and they are both very believable as parents.
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| Bella, Renesmee, Edward |
As for Renesmee, Mackenzie Foy is the most beautiful little girl, and she plays the part really well. Baby Renesmee, on the other hand, was very, very obviously computerised - understandable, but it was just way too obviously fake. Disappointing.
I loved the way the other vampire covens were portrayed - pretty much as I had imagined them. Stefan and Vladimir were hilarious!
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| Vladimir & Stefan of the Romanian coven |
Kate and Garrett are two of my favourite characters in the book, and I love how they were portrayed as well. I'm just disappointed Garrett's speech is omitted from the film; it was a good one. Garrett's half-joking proposal to Kate also didn't make the film (why?!), neither did Garrett's trying to calm "Katie" when she tried to attack the Volturi (why?!). At least their commitment to each other did.
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| Kate and Garrett |
Twilight will always be my favourite of the films. It was very indie,
intense, very basic and it closely resembled the book. Breaking Dawn
Part 2 is a very close
second. I loved every single minute, especially the ending. The
battle was insane; shocking and amazing all at the same time. I love how
Bella and Edward fight as a couple - much like Carlisle and Esme, only better. The
first and last films of the saga are my favourites, and a lovely way to
envelope the series.
I especially loved how Bella allows Edward into her mind, showing him how much she has always loved him, just as she does in the book. It was beautifully done, as was concluding the movie with the final word on the final page of the book. Forever.
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| And then we continued blissfully into this small but perfect piece of our forever |
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