FILM REVIEW The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2

Sun sets on Twilight saga

Mike Heneghan

I’ve never seen a Twilight film or read a Twilight novel. I’m not averse to stories of vampire love (big Buffy fan) but perhaps I’m too old. Perhaps I’m the wrong gender. It’s just not been my thing.

But it would be very cheap of me to swipe at the Breaking Dawn – Part 2 for that. So it was with my most mature and open mind that I sat in the cinema, red-faced and alone, a single man lost in a sea of teens, tweens and parents.

The story is too convoluted to completely untangle at this late stage in the franchise – the fifth of five, part two of the two-part ‘epic conclusion’ to the Twilight saga. But I’ll try.

Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) are married (Bella having staked her allegiance to Team Edward in the last film by betrothing her vampire love), and she has given birth to a half human/half vampire child, named Renesmee. Bella’s labour was life threatening and Edward was forced to change her to save her life.

So Bella is a new-born vampire, relishing her powers and the chance to at last be intimate with Edward. But all turns for the worse when the Volturi – the vampire ruling class – incorrectly surmise that Bella’s child is an ‘immortal child’ – a child turned into a vampire. This is a crime punishable by death.

Led by Aro (Michael Sheen sinking his teeth into a cartoon villain with great vigour), the Volturi embark upon a journey to destroy the Cullen clan. The Cullens must gather other super-powered vampires to testify that Renesmee (Mackenzie Foy) is their offspring … and in the worst case scenario fight with them alongside Jacob and his pack.

Without the love triangle (in a creepy twist, Bella’s other prospective beau Jacob has ‘imprinted’ upon her new-born daughter, marking her as his soul mate and putting an end to the contest for Bella’s love), the film’s opening act drags as there is just no drama to drive it. Even when the Volturi head for the Cullen’s Washington hideaway they really drag their heels for creatures able to travel faster than the human eye’s ability to process.

Dark though it is, the film is dogged by cheap special effects, particularly an unnecessary and frankly frightening CGI baby. Bella’s constant voiceover feeds us information that feels slapped on, and without giving too much away, the film presents an awful lot of plot points and reveals that live in the realm of “Okay, I’ll just have to accept it.” Criticisms about brooding, beautiful people (it seems all vampires have the super-power to look really, really smug all the time), dodgy dialogue and broad characterisation have been levelled at the previous movies, and will be easily made again here.

But you know what? That’s okay. Again, I have to say the movie is just not made for me. This is a fairy-tale love story, screaming “happily ever after” at the top of its lungs. It’s not hard to watch, and sometimes it’s even fun. I hadn’t taken into account the pantomime factor: the audience’s squeals when Taylor took off his shirt, the cheers whenever the ‘Irish’ characters appeared onscreen, and the belly laughs at the expense of the twist ending (not present in the books and fabricated for the movie).

But make no mistake: This is a fan’s movie, and if you are one then you’ll go to see it anyway. If you’re not, but you like the sound of Taylor Lautnor taking his shirt off and Kristen Stewart hunting pumas in a cocktail dress, then you’re in for a treat. For anyone else… leave it be.

Rating 4 out of 10