REVIEW: New 'Twilight' movie actually has a pulse
“The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” is superior to its two predecessors in every possible way. The mythology finally feels comfortable in its own skin, aware of both its strengths and limitations, and appears to be striding confidently into the future. Like the “Harry Potter” franchise, it apparently took “Twilight” a few films to get up to speed.
With her high school graduation only weeks away, Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) has a significant decision to make: accept her boyfriend, vampire Edward’s (Robert Pattinson) proposal of marriage and go through with her plan to become a vampire, too, or admit that she also has strong feelings for werewolf Jacob (Taylor Lautner), Edward’s sworn enemy.
Either choice will grievously hurt someone she loves.
Meanwhile, just up the road in Seattle, Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard replacing Rachelle Lefevre) is creating an army of young, powerful vampires to hunt down and kill Bella in revenge for the loss of her mate at Edward’s hands. As she and her minions sweep down on the small town of Forks, vampires and werewolves carve out an uneasy alliance to protect the one human they both care about.
Thankfully, “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” doesn’t have the problem that plagued its successors — it isn’t mind-numbingly boring. Director David Slade (“Hard Candy,” “30 Days of Night”) is used to making thrillers bending toward horror, so he knows how to ramp up the PG-13 tension, including making this the most violent (yet bloodless) of all the films. Screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg, who seemed incapable of finding a dramatic bone in her body for the first films, has really come into her own here, even going so far as to add a lot more humor, both effectively and appropriately.
Though she does not even attempt to explain the who/what/why (she assumes you’ve seen the previous films and remember their salient points) a series of flashbacks explaining the origins of Fork’s supernatural residents enriches the mythology. Ultimately, however, even with a bit more of a pulse, “Eclipse” is just more of the same. A plot synopsis of the last two films would be indistinguishable. All the more reason to praise “Eclipse’s” dramatic arc, as it proves just how much better “New Moon” could have been.
“The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” is full of more sullen glances and morose looks. This has to be the most dull love triangle ever set to film. We may sympathize with the difficulty of Bella’s decision, but now that we’re three films in, she just comes across as indecisive and careless.
Great swaths of the film are taken up by conversations representing every possible permutation between the threesome. And though Bella continues to be utterly unworthy of all the adulation heaped on her, she is, at least, somewhat humanized this time.
That’s saying quite a lot since Stewart’s Bella has so little personality, she might as well already be one of the undead.
The “Twilight” films tend to attract two separate, but equally rabid, fan bases — teenage girls and thirtysomething women. One such woman is Sarah, an accomplished archeologist and dear friend.
I asked Sarah to explain why “Twilight” has become such a phenomenon with women of all ages. The mythology, she informed me, is the embodiment of the romantic ideal. The men in this ideal are quintessentially perfect — beautiful, profoundly strong, single-mindedly devoted, chivalrous protectors — and thus interchangeable.
Sarah is married, so she well knows (in a way most of her teen compatriots cannot) that the ideal is every bit as much an unrealistic fantasy as the existence of supernatural shapeshifters. But then again, most ideals are. For the few days one is lost in the pages of Stephanie Meyer’s books or the two hours one is absorbed in the film, anything — including a chaste, courtly love of unblemished purity — is possible. A woman never loses the dream for the perfect romance, Sarah told me. Just because it doesn’t exist doesn’t mean the desire for it ever fades.
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WANT TO SEE ALL THE MOVIES IN A RED CARPET VIP SHOWING?
All the theaters in our area except Kimball's and Gold Hill will have vampire marathon tonight, leading to the new "Twilight" saga movie, "Eclipse."
But if you want to really do the movie up in style, Cinemark and Rock Bottom Brewery offer a VIP event. Here are details.
Who: Anyone 21 years or older (under 21 may purchase tickets to the red carpet and movie premiere event, but may not attend the bar event afterwards)
When: TODAY
Time: RED carpet begins at 8pm; movie begins at 9pm
Where: Cinemark Carefree Circle, 3505 Cinema Point
Dress: Dressy attire; RED carpet (wear some RED)
Premiere Party: Rock Bottom Brewery Bar & Restaurant, 3316 Cinema Point - 11:30-12:30
TICKETS ARE $30-$60.
FOR MORE DETAILS, CLICK HERE.
GRADE: B
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Cast: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Bryce Dallas Howard, Dakota Fanning
Director: David Slade
Theaters: Tinseltown, Carmike, Chapel Hills, Cinemark, Hollywood
Rated: PG-13 (for intense sequences of action and violence, and some sensuality)
Running time: 2 hours, 4 minutes
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Cast: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Bryce Dallas Howard, Dakota Fanning
Director: David Slade
Theaters: Tinseltown, Carmike, Chapel Hills, Cinemark, Hollywood
Rated: PG-13 (for intense sequences of action and violence, and some sensuality)
Running time: 2 hours, 4 minutes
WATCH GAZETTE.COM TONIGHT FOR LIVE COVERAGE OF THE VIP SHOWING
