Eclipse Movie Review
(Photo courtesy of Summit Entertainment)
This third installment in the film series of the Twilight Saga is the best yet to take Stephenie Meyer's hugely popular book series to the big screen.
What, or who, was most memorable? Jacob Black -- hello, shirtless much?! Jacob, played by 18-year-old Taylor Lautner, was for sure what most teens and women in the audience were "ouuing and ahhing" about. But it's not only his muscle chops that Lautner has been working on, his character was by far the funniest in the film!
Other than the occasional interjection of comedy, there was lots of action which at times had me on the edge of my seat. The Cullens and werewolves take on the evil Victoria and her newly formed "army" of vampires which made for some amazing chase and fighting scenes. Bryce Dallas Howard, who has replaced actor Rachelle Lefevre as Victoria in this third film, was eerily convincing as a vampire and did a great job I think in portraying Victoria. On a personal note, I would have wanted to see Lefevre continue in this role.
As for Edward and Bella, oh Edward and Bella and their tortured love affair. I have to say my heart has been converted to "Team Jacob" after seeing Eclipse. This change in heart is more to do with the storyline and less with the actors themselves. My friend and I both wanted Bella to choose Jacob! Robert Pattinson (Edward) does bring the character to life (pun intended), but he just doesn't have that "swoon" effect in this film as he did in the others, not for me anyway.
Okay, that aside, Pattinson and Kristen Stewart (Bella) appeared much less awkward on screen during their romantic scenes than in the previous films. This is partly due to how the characters progress in the book, Bella and Edward were awkward with each other in the beginning and became more comfortable with each other as the saga progressed. However I think Stewart was a bit too "jittery" in the earlier films and did a good job developing the character to have more maturity and confidence in Eclipse.
So what about the rest of the Cullen clan? The storytelling of Rosalie and Jasper's past was quick but well-done. I'm glad they didn't drag the movie on with sideway storylines. And with the werewolves, the actor playing Leah Clearwater (Julia Jones) is fantastic! I can't wait to see more of her in the next films.
As for any dislikes -- they still haven't mastered the wigs that some of the actors are wearing. There has to be better, more natural looking wigs out there! And Edward's sideburns were a little too full or hairy from what I remember. I also love how Jasper seems to have his Southern accent in this film, yet did not in the two lines he had in the previous films... but we still love you Jasper!
All in all, best of the three yet and it will delight any Twi-hard fan out there!
And to my mid-twenties surprise, there were very few tweens at the theatre. Which I can only assume means most tweens likely saw it the minute it came out and that us adults can know we're not alone in our love for a teen-geared book series and films!
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