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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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!
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.
Kate and Garrett
Twilightwill always be my favourite of the films. It was very indie,
intense, very basic and it closely resembled the book. Breaking Dawn
Part 2is 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.
And then we continued blissfully into this small but perfect piece of our forever
San Diego Comic-Con 2012 is underway, and yesterday the Breaking Dawn Part 2 panels were conducted.
One interesting fact that was revealed, was Stephenie Meyer mentioning creating Renesmee Cullen for more than just plot - she was creating a future narrator. In a few years (approximately 20?), we might be reading Renesmee's story:
Following last week's release of new movie stills, today Summit released the new The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 official trailer:
The over one minute trailer shows Bella embracing her new vampire self, as does Jacob, some Renesmee bonding time followed by Alice's vision that the Volturi have heard of Renesmee's existence. Believing her to be an immortal child (a human child bitten to become a vampire, very illegal amongst the vampires), Aro finally has the excuse he's been waiting for; they are on their way - Not to destroy all the Cullens... Aro wants Bella, Edward and Alice to join the Volturi, and he's willing to kill their family to make it happen. Desperate, the Cullens go in search of fellow vampires; covens they know, strangers and nomads - they want an audience for their "meeting" with the Volturi. How many vampires will come to their aid, and more importantly, will the Volturi stop to listen before destroying all Bella holds dear?
If you haven't read the book, November 16th will tell.
Yesterday Entertainment Weekly published the first pic of Bella, Edward and Renesmee Cullen. Today, they have published the two covers of their new issue, which gives us a much better look at Renesmee:
As if this isn't enough, EW is spoiling its readers with new stills from the movie!
Bella, Renesmee, Edward & Jacob
Bella & Renesmee
Renesmee & Jacob
This has to be my favourite still. The scene were newborn vamp Bella arm-wrestles strong Emmett, is one of my favourites in the book. Can't wait to see it on screen.
Renesmee, Senna and Zafrina. I assume this is the scene where they are introduced. Zafrina is one of my favourite new characters.
Kate and Tanya Denali. Kate is another of my new favourites.
Eleazer and Carmen, former Volturi now of the Denali coven
Nothing like new movie stills to get you excited for the movie release. Five months to go.
Great, great, great photo! You still can't see much of her, but it's a great teaser. I love how Bella and Edward are protecting her in this pic - that's exactly what Breaking Dawn Part 2 is all about. The subtle way Bella and Renesmee are holding hands is also a nice little touch.
She's quite a lot bigger than I had imagined Renesmee, but understandable in movie context. Let's hope we get to see more of Renesmee in the yet to be released full BD pt2 trailer.
The posters feature Bella, Edward and Jacob, and simply feature the tagline "Forever", and the world-wide release date of 16 November 2012.
Only half of each face is shown, with focus seemingly on the difference in the colours of the eyes.
As with previous years, the official full trailer for the movie is likely to be unvailed at the MTV Movie Awards on 3 June 2012 - no official word yet, though.
*Spoiler Alert - I'm assuming you've seen the movie or read the book*
So it's been three weeks since I went to see Breaking Dawn Part 1, and I still haven't blogged about it. Not quite sure why... probably because shortly after I went on vacation, then got caught up in the excitement of the festive season. My point is, I haven't avoided blogging because I didn't like the movie, I just really haven't gotten around to it. So now that my studies are officially over, I will have a lot more time on my hands and plan to blog a lot more. I read so many books each year but only blog on the ones I love. Next year I'm going to try to blog about every single book I read. Should be fun :)
Okay, so, Breaking Dawn Part 1. Here are my thoughts.
LOVED it! It can honestly be said that the movie is very true to the book, and I believe most fans will be pleased. I had wondered how Summit planned to do a PG13 version of skinny dipping, a honeymoon love scene and a gruesome birth scene. Boy, did they deliver! There were a lot of children in the cinema, seriously small kids (as opposed to a few years ago when I was a kid and age restrictions actually meant something), leading me to believe the parentals had no idea there was to be a wee bit of a love scene in this one. And a love scene there was! I was actually quite surprised by the intensity of these scenes. The director didn't shy away from them at all. Bella and Edward went skinny dipping (we know they were 'nekkid' - not much left to the imagination), they consummated their marriage (and destroyed their room in the process - yikes, parents), and Bella's birth scene - quite disturbing. But, I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's start at the beginning.
So, Jacob gets a wedding invitation and runs off to Canada like a spoilt child. A glimpse of book Jacob. I've said it before, I'll say it again. I read the Twilight series (save Breaking Dawn, which wasn't released yet) before the first film came out, and I hated Jacob. Seriously, I couldn't stand the guy. In the books he's an immature spoilt brat who treats Bella even worse than Edward does at times. Kudos to Taylor Lautner who managed to turn all that around. He does so much for the character of Jacob. In the question of Team Edward or Team Jacob, when someone says Team Jacob you can almost be sure they saw the movies before they read the books (if they read the books at all). If I had seen the movies first I would have been Team Jacob too. Taylor Lautner somehow makes Jacob humble and likable. In direct contrast I'm not crazy about Robert Pattinson as Edward. I don't think he does the character justice at all. Robert Pattinson makes Edward seem like a very annoying, whiny, sulky, insecure guy... I don't think he brings the depth you see in Edward when reading the book. Kristen Steward makes a very believable Bella, I just wish she didn't stutter so much... after an hour it gets to be too much.
Anyhow, Jacob runs off to lick his wounds (no pun intended), and the Cullens plan a wedding. I have to say I love the scenes where Carlisle and Emmett effortlessly carry tree trunks around under the watchful eye of wedding planner extraordinaire Alice, and I love how Bella practices walking in those Monolo wedding shoes we all know she doesn't want to wear.
Bella also seems to be wearing the same clothes she wore in New Moon (sans the jacket) when traveling to Italy. Another nice touch... makes it seem more real, don't you think?
The wedding:
I love that Stephanie Meyer was a guest at the wedding! Nice little touch by Summit. She hasn't done a cameo since Twilight, but I thought it added something special. Bella's dress, though Carolina Herrera, was not quite what I expected. I found it a bit boring, to be honest, but considering it's retro, and Bella, I guess it worked as it was meant to.
The back of the dress, however, was beautiful, and I love the hairclip Charlie and Rene give her.
I love that Bella ultimately wore sneakers with her wedding dress instead of Alice's heels. The sneakers are more Bella, and just right. No way Bella would have worn those heels. I have to say that I also expected Bella to be more dazzling. Come on, people, in the book she doesn't even recognise herself after Alice is done with her! I expected more than just plain old Bella, but I suppose the director keeps her plain here in order to highlight her upcoming transformation even more.
I loved meeting the vampire covens we'll see more of in part 2, especially Irina Denali who we know will betray the Cullens. I thought it very well done how her resentment towards the Cullens is already hinted at, heightening the dramatic tension already. The reception was lovely. I loved Alice and Jasper's dancing (very Alice and Jasper), and I thought the wedding speeches were quite hilarious - especially Jessica's. Edward "The Hair" Cullen. I also liked how Bella and Edward's wedding song is the same one that they danced to at the prom in Twilight. Of course it's a great moment when Jacob shows up at the wedding, late, and he and Bella dance. Though I have to say I found it just a tad inappropriate - they were dancing very close, with her new husband just a few feet away. I got a little uncomfortable there. Anyhow, so when Jacob loses it upon hearing Bella and Edward mean to have a real honeymoon, I was looking forward to Emmett and Jasper appearing at Edward's side to protect Bella. Only, they didn't. Why not Bill Condon? One of my favourite scenes in the book!
The honeymoon:
Isle Esme was exactly how I imagined it! What a lovely surprise. I liked how Edward pulled Bella into the dancing masses of Rio, but had hoped to see them at least dance? They did play some chess on their honeymoon, with white and red pieces, which I loved. I always enjoy it if they bring the cover into the book (like Edward catching Bella's apple in Twilight). Another nice little touch.
So after their first night together Bella is covered in bruises and Edward refuses to touch her again. I loved Bella's awkward attempts to try to seduce him. Very Bella! I also liked the scene where Bella's making a monster breakfast for herself. At that point everyone in the theatre went "uh-oh". I especially enjoyed the scene where Bella takes the phone from Edward and asks Carlisle "Can vampires go into shock?" So Edward is freaked out upon discovering that Bella is pregnant and immediately wants Bella to get an abortion. Terrible parenting there, Edward. Though acting like a jerk, try to keep in mind that Edward is scared for Bella's life, and is truly trying to protect her. In his unique, scary, Edward way. So one of the scenes I was most looking forward to is the moment at the airport where Bella runs into Rosalie's arms! These two have been at it since Twilight and it was one of my favourite moments in the book when they finally saw eye to eye, and joined forces to protect Bella's baby. Disappointingly, this scene did not make it into the movie.
What can we say of Bella's pregnancy other than "wow"?! Even the images I had in my head of a gaunt, sickly Bella did not compare to the wonderful job the make-up team did in making Bella look literally deathly sick. They perfectly portrayed how the baby was draining not only her energy, but her life. Kudos!!! An angry Edward keeps trying to convince Bella to let Carlisle save her by doing an abortion! Shocking! Carlisle also tells Bella that the baby is too strong for her and that she will die during child birth. Bella still refuses to harm her child. Good for you, Bella! With Rosalie backing her up and protecting her like a mother lion protecting her cub, the others don't stand a chance.
So, Jacob (horrified by the pregnancy) clues in that the baby, being half vampire, wants... blood. Am I the only one who came to this conclusion much sooner? Anyhow, so Bella drinks blood in a milkshake-like-looking-cup, through a straw. Nicely done. Very gross. So as Bella's health starts to improve ever so slightly, Edward begins to realise that the baby loves Bella and doesn't want to hurt her. Slowly Edward begins to accept Bella's pregnancy and starts to love his baby. The scene where he touches Bella's baby bump for the first time was beautifully done. Very emotional.
At this point let’s remind ourselves that the wolf pack has learnt of Bella's pregnancy and means to kill Bella and the baby, simply because they don't know what kind of creature Bella will give birth to. So the wolf pack is lurking around the Cullens' home, waiting for their chance to attack. Jacob, the true Alpha (remember, he declined and gave Sam the role) finally stands up to Sam, claiming his right as true Alpha of the wolf pack. He breaks away and Seth and Leah follow him, forming their own wolf pack. These three now protect the Cullen home from the other wolves. Tension! The CGI of the wolves was once again beautifully done; Although, I didn't like the scene where they were communicating in wolf form. For some reason I was reminded of the Power Rangers. But let's not go there.
Which brings us to the birth scene:
Yikes! So Bella drops her cup, bends to pick it up and the baby breaks her spine. Ouch! This scene was also very well done, very much like I had imagined it. Then comes the birth scene, which was filmed very weird but very effective. It kind of reminded me of the first Saw movie. So Rosalie gets blood crazy, literally gets thrown out of the room, and Edward (eventually) gets the baby out (by tearing Bella's skin with his teeth); Before the morphine even kicked in. Again, ouch. Welcome to the world Renesmee Cullen! Edward, completely taken with his daughter, doesn't realise that Bella is dying. Rosalie, now composed, takes the baby away and Edward and Jacob try to resuscitate Bella, who has flat-lined. Edward then slams a shot of his venom into Bella's heart ala adrenaline, and starts biting her all over her body to make the venom spread. Meanwhile, heartbroken over Bella's death, Jacob goes in search of Renesmee, to kill her. Only, when his eyes lock on hers, he imprints! That's right folks, Jacob Black loves Renesmee Cullen. I like the scene where her life flashes before his eyes, but I still find this relationship a little creepy.
At this stage the remaining Cullens return home from hunting, and the wolf pack finally attacks. This scene was also done really well, and it was really disturbing! It was awful to see them fight each other after having seen them fight together in Eclipse. Jacob now joins the fun and makes the big announcement. He has imprinted on Renesmee Cullen; Good news all round, since because Renesmee is Jacob's soul mate, the wolf pack can't harm her. The fight ends with everyone pretty much unharmed, and the wolves leave.
Meanwhile, back in the house Edward's venom starts to spread. This was one of my favourite scenes where Bella's life flashed before her eyes, and Bella's lullaby was playing. Again, a very nice touch. So as the venom spreads, Bella's body heals. Breaking Dawn Part 1 ended exactly as I thought it would. Bella opening her blood-red eyes.
I really enjoyed the movie, though I missed a part of it. Erika tells me that after the credits there is a little prelude to part 2 (thank you for that!) If, like me, you missed it,here it is:
The day was very cold and cloudy… perfect Forks weather accompanying me to the cinema to watch Eclipse. It was in anticipation that I settled myself in the comfy seats of Cine Centre at Mall@Reds, very curious to see what David Slade had done with the third installment of Stephenie Meyer’s The Twilight Saga. I follow Mr Slade on Twitter and through filming Eclipse he was kind enough to keep his followers up to date with the goings on of the Cullen Clan and the Wolf Pack. From these tweets I had high hopes for the movie version of my third favorite book in the saga. In order, my favorites are Breaking Dawn, Twilight, Eclipse, New Moon. That’s right, Eclipse is my third favorite book – But thanks to David Slade, my favorite movie so far!
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Unlike New Moon (which really disappointed me on the first viewing) I loved every single one of the 124 minutes of Eclipse. Props to Melissa Rosenberg who did a fabulous job with the screenplay; The film is very true to the book. The film features all of the essential scenes, as well as all of my favorites. The diamond effect of vampire skin in the sun was done beautifully - much more realistically than in Twilight or New Moon. A nice touch is Edward's sparkle reflecting on Bella's skin. Other vast improvements on previous attempts are the vampire speed and the look of the wolves. Added to the great visual effects, the score and soundtrack are both very dramatic and spot on!
The acting is also getting better with each film. To my utter delight Kristen Stewart doesn't stutter in an attempt to be dramatic, and there is much less hyperventilation than I've come to expect. Bella Swan is much less tortured, and in the process of becoming the mature Bella she will be in Breaking Dawn. Robert Pattinson does a respectable job as Edward Cullen, but somehow as the films progress I find him less and less believable as Edward. He doesn't quite bring book Edward to life for me. In direct contrast I find film Jacob Black much less annoying than book Jacob Black – kudos to Taylor Lautner! The tension between Bella, Edward and Jacob is portrayed perfectly, especially in the much anticipated tent scene where ice cold Edward has to watch space heater Jacob keep Bella warm in a blizzard. Awkward…
The Jacob, Bella, Edward Triangle (Photo from Entertainment Weekly)
Xavier Samuel is perfect as Riley Biers - Exactly as I imagined Riley to be! One thing I was worried about was Bryce Dallas Howard replacing Rachelle Lefevre as Victoria. If this is one of your concerns, no need to worry. Bryce delivers a wonderful performance. Very intense and a little insane, to my surprise I actually prefer Bryce to Rachelle! Boo Boo Stewart is introduced as Seth Clearwater, my favorite member of the Wolf Pack, and I’m not at all disappointed with his performance. He's young, sweet and eager to be friends with everyone... wolves, vampires and humans alike. Julia Jones is also very spot on with her portrayal of the tormented Leah Clearwater. I'm not a fan of the Wolf Pack in the novels, but Taylor, Boo Boo and Julia along with Kiowa Gordon (Embry Call), Tyson Houseman (Quil Ateara), Bronson Pelletier (Jared), Alex Meraz (Paul) and Chaske Spencer (Sam Uley) give the Wolf Pack a charm that I didn't see in the books. The Wolf Pack cast work together brilliantly and their scenes are actually quite fun to watch. I find myself wishing they had more screen time!
The Wolf Pack
Michael Welch is once again very funny as Mike Newton, as is Anna Kendrick as Jessica Stanley, even though their screen time is very limited. To my mind the only casting error ever made in The Twilight Saga (so far), was casting Dakota Fanning as Jane. I was disappointed when I heard she’d been cast, and I’m still disappointed. When I think sadistic, pain inflicting, powerful Italian vampire, I don’t think sixteen year old blonde haired, blue eyed teenybopper. Her acting doesn’t impress me one bit, and I don’t think she does the character justice at all.
What I especially love about Eclipse is that the other Cullens get more screen time. My favorite couple (except for Bella and Edward, of course) is Alice and Jasper, and especially in Eclipse the chemistry between Ashley Greene and Jackson Rathbone is very charming. Alice is as lovable as always, and Jasper is finally portrayed as the sweetheart that he is. Everyone’s favorite big brother, Emmett, is again perfectly portrayed by Kellan Lutz, and Rosalie is finally becoming more likable. Nikki Reed offers the perfect combination of sad and melancholy, but content. I also love the way Jasper and Rosalie’s back stories are introduced – again, exactly as I imagined it.
Melissa Rosenberg's screenplay along with David Slade's talents in the Director chair provides for a powerful film that can't possibly disappoint any fan of Stephenie's book. I can’t wait to see what Bill Condon will do with Breaking Dawn. With Melissa Rosenberg again writing the screenplay, I’m not too worried. The film will be split into two parts so that nothing vital of Stephenie’s 640 page novel has to be omitted. Filming of Breaking Dawn will start somewhere in the next six months, and part one is scheduled for release on 18 November 2011.
The choice has been made. Edward and Bella are finally engaged and planning a wedding. I'd be smiling too!
