'Breaking Dawn' is a step backwards for 'Twilight'

Thursday, February 9, 2012
Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart reprise their roles of Edward and Bella in the latest installment of the "Twilight Series" "Breaking Dawn: Part 1."

After watching the third film in the Twilight saga "Eclipse", I held out some hope for the franchise. It had some cool werewolf scenes and as an overall film it wasn't that bad. Now we come to the latest film "Breaking Dawn: Part 1" and all I can say is -- wow.

Talk about one step forward and two steps back.

"Breaking Dawn: Part 1" is the most boring of the films thus far and has perhaps some of the worst dialogue in the series -- and that's saying something. I've not read the books, but if that dialogue is pulled from the books, Stephenie Meyer should have her laptop confiscated.

The film picks up with the dream wedding of Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward (Robert Pattinson) before the duo race away to a tropical paradise honeymoon. But the honeymoon turns to a nightmare when Bella discovers she's pregnant -- in a matter of 14 days. Say what?

Bella and Edward return to Forks, where Bella's quick progressing pregnancy is hidden inside the Cullen house. Jacob (Taylor Lautner), moody as ever, learns of her situation, as does the rest of the pack who make the decision to kill Bella before she gives birth.

The bulk of the film is spent waiting for the showdown between the vampires and werewolves. It takes forever for the showdown to arrive and once it gets here, there are a few moments of coolness, but it's quickly resolved with very little action.

I'm leaving out a ton of plot points, as I tend to do, because who am I to spoil your fun? As I stated earlier, I've not read the book, and this is a story I would actually like to be a fan of since it's a different take on the vampire tale, but it turns me off in so many ways.

I like it when a person takes on a tale and gives it a twist, but what these films do is give us a watered down version of something that has the capacity to be really something special. The books have a massive following, so there's must be something I'm missing.

The biggest problem I have with "Breaking Dawn: Part 1" is the fact they decided to break the final book into two movies. I understand Bella is going through some intense pain; I don't need you to show me that for a big chunk of the movie. Where I believe the final Harry Potter movie needed to be broken up, I can't see there's too much more to tell in this installment. Hopefully I'm proven wrong.

Since the filmmaker decided to take the to long way to get to the end, the movie feels drawn out and hard to stay with. Instead of the quicker pace we got with "Eclipse", this film is slow and spends too much time dwelling on moments I could care less about.

The acting core of Stewart, Pattinson and Lautner has improved with each movie and continues to do so. Don't get me wrong, there's more than a few bad scenes in the movie, but there are truly wonderful moments that are easy to enjoy.

The DVD, released tomorrow, has a six-part "Making-of" featurette as well as a three more featurettes. There's also a audio commentary with director Bill Condon.

Final Cut: "Breaking Dawn: Part 1" is a step back for the Twilight series. It's slow pace, ridiculous dialogue and shoddy special effects can only give us hope they've saved the best for last.

2.5 out of 5 stars

The Twilight Series: Breaking Dawn: Part 1

Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Billy Burke

Director: Bill Condon

Writer: Melissa Rosenberg