(Movie Review) Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2

Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2 is proof that bad acting, bad effects, and lying to your audience will make your franchise a success…as long as the cast is pretty enough.

It has never been a secret that I am not a fan of the Twilight film franchise. Most fans will protest that statement with “you should read the books” or “you just don’t get it”. They are correct. I haven’t read the books and I don’t get it. Because last night I was robbed. Not only of my ticket price but also of the experience of actually getting on board with this last installment. More specifically, I was sold a bill of goods that this movie yanked out from under me. For that, I plan to crush them.

Storyline: Newly turned Vampire Bella (Stewart) and Edward (Pattinson) are elated at the birth of their newborn daughter Renesmee. But when Renesmee proves to be special and her age increases at an alarmingly rapid rate the family begins to worry. Word soon makes its way back to the Volturi and they, worried that this child could expose Vampires or that she may challenge their power one day, decides to confront the Cullen Clan and take her by force.

So. This is where it is going to be hard to describe why I hated this movie so much and why it, surprisingly, is my least favorite of the franchise. Keep in mind that I have to do this without spoiling the movie for you. This movie sells you a lie. I went in to the film knowing not to expect much. Luckily for me this franchise knows exactly how to deliver that. Horrible CGI is used throughout the film. From the action scenes to the CGI baby. It is shockingly noticeable. But I overlooked it because there was a significant event that takes place at the end of this movie that, for a brief and shining moment, made me like the movie. I, for about 10 minutes, thought that FINALLY the “kid gloves” had come off and we were going to get to experience something worthy of the BILLIONS of dollars that people have spent on Twilight. But by the end of the film it is proven to be a lie. Nothing but window dressing to make you feel something for the characters and then wipes the slate clean so everyone wins. It was the ultimate writers cop out and felt like a slap in the face to me. Because of that, because in a world with Werewolves and Vampires the only way to make the audience experience loss in any way is to LIE to them, this movie will forever be considered the worst of the franchise to me and is BANNED from my home. This is not a joke. I hate it that much.

Worth the admission? No. That’s all I can say. 

SPOILERS:  Below is some of my "beef" with the movie. 

So you read this review and probably think that I am an overly cynical person, but I wanted to tell you where I was coming from.

I have hated these movie. Truly hated them. Even this movie was a lame duck for the majority of the film. Nothing really happened. It was just a bunch of waiting to see when the Volturi would show up. All we did was see Renesmee grow up a bit (and that CGI was trash. A CGI baby and the way they CGIed the kids face while she was growing up?) and watch the Cullens meet people. That was pretty much it. Then came the one thing that actually changed my opinion. The battle. Seeing Carlisle beheaded made it all very "real" and for the first time in the franchise I thought "oh hell. These folks CAN actually die". And die they did. You have a few fan favorites that are dropping like flies. Carlisle and Jasper specifically. Then the tides shift and the Volturi start getting wasted. Marcus and Alec were awesome to see. The look of fear on Jane's face after Alec is taken out and how she gets taken out was awesome. Then Aro, dear Aro, lost his head and got fire put to him. But wait...not really. 

That is where I honestly could have thrown my damn drink at the screen. I came into this movie as a "hater" but by the end of it I was really starting to enjoy myself. Then I find out none of it happened? No one died. No one fought. Technically, if im not mistaken, there was only one death in this movie and that was Irina (Maggie Grace). The reason that it ticks me off so bad is because my whole problem with this movie franchise is that everyone is always safe. No one dies. You might think they are going to but no one ever does. The bad guys, sure, but no one else. And as a person that never read the books I thought that this movie had finally stepped up to the plate and was going to raise the stakes a bit. 

To me, it comes off as cheap. Having your audience go through all of the emotional stuff with the loss of characters and the satisfaction of watching the remaining characters defeat the bad guys and then, just so you wont make any of the fans mad, you wipe the slate clean and say "just kidding. Nobody died. Yaaaaaay!". The ultimate case of getting your cake and eating it too.

My second big complaint is the fact that the movie borderline supports/glorifies a pedopheliac relationship. Jacob and Renesmee is not something that they should have really gone into much detail on. And I will give them credit for avoiding it for the most part. But his being overly protective of her and then the joke of "so can I date your daughter" was in really poor taste and really creepy.

So, that it my gripe.