Hello.
This is not just a review for Breaking Dawn
part II I needed to discuss the previous films and the books so Please
be patient. Also, it may contain spoilers so if you don't know the
story and want to be surprised, please don't read it. Actually, if you
want to be surprised, go watch another movie coz there ain't no
surprises in this one... Also, let me make one thing clear, I am not a
twilight lover or hater. I have read the first three books and seen all
the movies and even enjoyed a few moments (Why else would I continue
watching them).
So the series started with twilight, which IMO, was actually a decent
film and book. I liked how Bella was courageous enough to fall for a
vampire and the plot of a vampire protecting his human lover was also
interesting. It was also interesting to see vampires who don't harm
humans. The shiny skin bit was lame but that was more an issue with the
film than the book. Bad make up has been a recurring problem with these
films. Even Kristin Stewart was average in this one. But all in all, I
enjoyed it.
The problems began with the second film/book and the two leading women
associated with this series - Stephanie Meyer and Kristin Stewart - are
to be blamed. The book had too little story for the number of pages it
lasted and Bella, who I thought was strong came out to be outright dumb
and mentally challenged. She doesn't even tries to move on. When I went
to watch the movie I had my reservations. But I thought it can be a
great chance for Stewart to show her acting skills. But you can look
with a microscope and you wouldn't find any skills. Her expression
(don't ask "in which scene" as it is the same in every) is like Joey's
smell the fart acting from Friends. And the character comes out as a
whiny teenager who needs to be slapped and sent to a shrink. And The
film is flatter than Voldemort's nose.
The third movie, Eclipse, was utterly pointless, IMO. The film is about
Bella torn between Edward and Jacob. This even started the dreaded Team
Edward - Team Jacob hashtags on twitter. But after seeing Bella whine
for Edward like that, we all knew whom she would pick. Also, what is
Bella's fascination with becoming a vampire? She has a loving family,
adoring friends and all she can think of is deserting them and becoming
a bloodsucker. That is not the character anybody will root for or
respect. Also, the fight scene with Victoria might have been
interesting, had the Visual effects were well done. Even in the book,
Meyer is her worst when she writes action. Why include it if you are
not comfortable writing it? Twilight could have easily been a love
triangle between a Woman, a Vampire and a big dog (I know, why can't
she ever for for a human, It's one thing to want a sparkling ring, but
to obsess about a shiny man is just too much)!!!
The next book is Braking dawn, which I couldn't read. It was just too
dull. Meyer really needs to learn how to edit her novels. The movie was
divided into two parts. The first part was about Edward-Bella wedding,
Edward-Bella sex, and pregnant Bella. There were three problems with
this film, the wedding was too dull because of the lacklustre acting.
The sex was too badly shot. There are a lot of films which show sex
scenes beautifully without any nudity. And this wasn't it. The third
problem was the pregnant Bella. Neither was Stewart able to emote the
part of a woman in extreme pain, nor was the make up efficient enough
to show her transformation seamlessly. This by far was the worst film
in the series, IMO.
And finally, the last instalment came. I couldn't watch it at the time
of it's release and rented a DVD just today. There's no way I was
spending money to buy a movie I knew I would most likely watch just
once. Meyer had introduced the Volturi clan in the second movie as the
evil Vampire clan. They were so bad that they ate a whole group of
tourists including kids. And this movie is a build-up to a final battle
between the Cullens along with their werewolf accomplices and vampire
friends and the Volturi with their force. We expect a battle, we
deserve a battle. what kind of a story shows the hero/heroine and the
evil villain talk and mend the differences? Why introduce a villain and
not have a fight? It's one thing if your hero looses but what kind of a
wimp lets the bad guy walk away? Why did Meyer waste our time telling
us a story about such losers? They were supposed to be the good
vampires.
The movie did contain a battle sequence but even that ends in a
pathetic twist. It's not the screenwriter's fault. He did his best to
show you the battle you deserved to see, but he couldn't change the
ending of Meyer's book. But this actually makes matters worse. When the
twist in the battle comes, you feel like throwing rotten eggs on the
screen. This series has one of the worst endings in history.
Now, you may think that what is the need for a battle but here's the
thing - Why establish a villain (who eats kids) and don't go anywhere
with it? Harry Potter and The Hunger Games series have often been
compared to Twilight saga but in those stories, teenagers fought,
knowing very well that the chances of them dying were very high,
because it was the right thing to do. Harry goes to Voldemort to die
when he knows he is a horcrux and Katniss volunteers to save her
sister. They do it because it is the right thing to do. If teenagers in
other series can have such courage, why can't 100+ year old vampires?
Pointless. Also, there is a computer generated toddler which looks like
Chucky and emotes almost as bad as Stewart.
As far as acting by the other cast is concerned, they try their best
but are restricted by their unidimensional characters. The cardboard
cut- outs many girls keep in their houses of these characters have more
depth than these character.
This series could have been a great story of a love triangle between a
woman, a vampire and a werewolf or a story about fighting great evil to
protect the ones you love. But it ends up being all about a whiny girl
wanting to become a shiny girl and get a shiny guy, without caring
about the greater good, as long as she is safe.
This series has no moral compass, characters who are self centred and
unidimensional and special effects of a b-movie. Highly disappointed.
Specially with the ending.
Thanks again for reading!
XOXO
Abhimanyu
