Breaking Dawn Part 1 - 2011

You know, I was thinking the other day, as much as people love to hate on the Twilight Saga and all of the people working with it, the films sure do bring in buckets of gold. If I remember correctly on opening weekend Breaking Dawn brought in around 138 million dollars, and when a movie is making that much I really don't think Bill Condon, Stephanie Meyer and the producers give a care if they are getting Oscar nods or being slammed by the critics, it's all the same to them. And being the prelude that it is, Breaking Dawn was bound to receive unusually negative reviews, even for the franchise. However, with that being said, I thought the film was by far the best i've seen, and I would actually go as far as saying it was well-made. Of course, that does not in any way mean that I liked it, I am just here to say Condon (director change) seems to actually have a grip on the franchise, and expect decent to bad reviews for the final installment.

The story basically follows the same path as the other three films, only this time Bella and Edward are married. I don't want to write a short summary, as I might make myself sick. To all the guys out there that have seen the film, you understand what I mean. I guess if you are a fan of the book series you will love how they work with the story, from what I hear at least. I for one am not at all interested in the source material, which I suppose I cannot criticize the film for that, but it does make it all the harder to watch. The movie as a whole is developed fairly well, it sure will put half the audience asleep, but for what it is Condon does a nice job directing it. If there was a fit for the role, Condon's directing style is probably one of the few that can pull the franchise through.

I have heard many people say Breaking Dawn is filled with unintentional laugh out loud moments, and that is the biggest failure of the entire film. The script is utterly atrocious, absolutely nothing but a joke! How can we sit and bash these actors and actresses when they are the ones being told what to say? It's an embarrassment really, and truthfully Meyer is the main person to blame here. Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson may not make for great leads, but in my entire life I can't think of an example of more poorly written characters than this, and truly the script belongs up there as well.
It's all just one giant mess, an intelligent five year old could do better.

The supporting actors were decent, they won't make your eyes roll but they won't impress you either. Quite honestly, given the storyline, you probably won't even notice them (not necessarily a good thing). Stewart and Pattinson seem to have settled into their roles (don't misunderstand the word "seem" here). But unfortunately, as I have already mentioned, anything close to resembling a performance by those two is entirely smeared over by the work behind the scenes. I often wonder what it would be like to read this screenplay, an ugly site for sure.

Final Word: Breaking Dawn is proof that the franchise will not fall into the category of worst in history, with improvements in many major departments of the film. Unfortunately, these improvements cannot get past bad special effects, makeup and a horrid screenplay, that in turn ruins any serious moment the film attempts to have.

4/10