Finale has received best reviews in
'Twilight' history, with one critic saying the cast 'brings liveliness
to a franchise known for being soulless.'
At this point in the lengthy, angst-ridden and obsessed about nature
of "The Twilight Saga," all signs point to the fact that the final film
in the franchise, "Breaking Dawn - Part 2," is going to be a massive hit.
The experts are predicting potential record-breaking-type box office
numbers and there are millions of fans who have already bought tickets,
so with all that monetary ammunition, does it really matter what the
critics think? Do reviews for "Breaking Dawn - Part 2" need to be
written?
Perhaps it's not a question of need but want, because the
critical mass seemed to want to write all about how Stephenie Meyer's
vampire soap opera comes to an end and surprisingly enough, more liked
it than did not, which makes "Breaking Dawn - Part 2" the least hated
movie of the franchise. Prepare yourself for one last bite as we hunt
through the "Breaking Dawn - Part 2" reviews!
The Plot
"After Bella (Kristen Stewart)
nearly died during pregnancy in the last movie, her undead husband,
Edward (Robert Pattinson), saved her by piercing her neck, thus at long
last making a vampire out of her. Now with newborn Renesmee, baby makes
three. Played by what look like digitally altered tots and an actual
flesh-and-blood girl (Mackenzie Foy), Renesmee is the nominal
centerpiece for the final movie and its reason for being. As half-human,
half-vampire, and conceived while Bella was still breathing, Renesmee
turns out to be an instant problem child. Not only does she look as
creepy as the baby Brad Pitt in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,"
she's sprouting as fast as a magical beanstalk and, worse yet, has
attracted the attention of the Volturi, a vampire coven in Italy with
papal-like authority. Led by Aro (a fabulous, flamboyant Michael Sheen),
the Volturi come to believe that Renesmee is an "immortal child" whose
milk teeth will instigate a large-scale calamity." — Manohla Dargis.
The Long Goodbye
"By the time the great
vampire showdown finally got started, I was good and done with 'Breaking
Dawn - Part 2.' But the big action scene is so campily over the top —
with one twist so unforeseeable — that it sent me out on a burst of
grudging goodwill. The film's endlessly drawn-out ending, with its
multiple spoken and written iterations of the book's last word,
'forever,' over an image of the matte-skinned, cultishly beatific
Cullens, may be the scariest moment in the whole pulpy yet vital
Twilight series — a teenage girl's fantasy of perfect domestic
contentment, frozen in time and doomed to last forever." — Dana Stevens.
The Final Word
"
'Breaking Dawn - Part 2' starts off slow but gathers momentum, and
that's because, with Bella and Edward united against the Volturi, the
picture has a real threat. It's structured as a classic monster-movie
showdown, and when the two are standing with their ragtag rebel team in
the Northwest snow, facing Aro and his monk-hooded Volturi army, the
film takes off -- into eye-popping violence and spectacle. ...And wait
until you get to the twist ending! It's one of the most shocking moments
in the series, yet also one of the lightest. It made me realize that,
as narratively lumpy as they can be, I like the 'Twilight' films because
they're really about the eternal movie romance of vampires at play." —
Owen Gleiberman.
