breaking dawn part 2

 

It was a Monday night and the place wasn't crowded by any means but still... As I walked up to the ticket counter the girl behind it asked me which movie I wanted to see.  I quickly glanced both ways, leaned in just a little, raised my right hand to the left side of my mouth and whispered behind it "twilight".  She laughed and told me I didn't need to be ashamed so either she was endorsing the movie or the fact that I was seeing it without an accompanying female. I'm pretty sure it was the latter.

 

It seemed that there were an awful lot of chick-flick movies in the previews and I suddenly recalled my very recent conversation with the ticket counter girl and exactly which movie I was about to see and thought "oh, right, duh!"  A couple came in carrying a baby car seat which was completely covered in a blanket and I wondered if they were hauling their newly bought stuff (mall theater) or actually had one of those really miniature babies that doesn't actually require oxygen to continue living.  Right about the first time Jcub took his shirt off we ALL found out they hadn't been shopping so you know the kid didn't last long.  At least mom will be able to tell her friends she went to see the last twilight movie in the theater. Even though it will probably take her three or four more attempts with the DVD six months down the road to actually finish the whole thing.

 

The movie began as usual with some grand scenery shots of the now familiar Pacific Northwest and music which definitely seemed old school twilight to me. After trying various other kinds of musical scores in the flyover films it was a refreshing return to the original musical feel of the first film which I've always thought is the most twilighty.

 

Vampire Bella is distractingly pretty and I'm not just imagining this.  bd2 contains flashback scenes which show her progression through the five films and she is definitely not the same girl she was when Edward saved her from the blue van of death.  Edward looks pretty much the same I think but I'm pretty sure his hair has gotten progressively shorter every movie.

 

It's been four years since I read the book and I've forgotten most of it I'm sure.  breaking dawn 2 is all about vampires and werewolves.  Most of the ordinary human types are absent from this story or reduced to minimal cameo appearances. Charlie does get his cringe inducing need to know explanation but he at least gets to see and hug Bella which was nice I guess. 

 

It is obvious that each twilight film has had more money to spend than the one before and bd2 is no exception.  It is the richest movie of all of them in look and scale. While the money has enabled progressively grander productions the intimacy and cozy feeling of the first movie has had a corresponding decrease I think. It also seemed to me that they are no longer trying to appeal to any wider of an audience than they already hold.  No more explanations of the twilight world. It's assumed that you're there because you want to be or at least that it's not the first twilight movie that you've been dragged to.

 

Baby Renesmee is obviously a CGI baby but thankfully they used a real human for the young girl version. Several other new vampires debut in this movie and it was hard to keep track of them all but I was pleasantly surprised to see Ned the pie maker from Pushing Daisies (Lee Pace) show up.

 

Back to the beginning if I may.  Bella is on screen for several seconds or maybe even a couple of minutes before she says anything. The very first words she speaks are "I love you". (to Edward not Jcub. Isn't it just tragic that I need to actually clarify this?)  By the end of the movie I think I finally believe her.  I don't recall even one time where Bella jumps into Jcub's arms in this movie.  This is mostly due to Jcub imprinting on her baby of course.  In fact probably the funniest scene in the movie is where Edward and the others stand by while Bella lays a beating on Jcub when she finds out. Edwards comments are great during this.

 

breaking dawn 2 is a big production with a relatively small story, or maybe I should say concentrated story.  Like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 2 it is mostly the build up to and excecution of the final confrontation. While I found DH2 a bit anti-climactic and a let down breaking dawn 2 delivers a bigger ending than is even contained in the book.  It is well done and generously satisfying.  One thing I did remember from the book was Bella letting Edward into her mind at the very end. This scene was also the last scene in the movie and was very well done.  In the end it was just Bella and Edward, each knowing that the other loved them above all else, forever.  Really though, what else is there?

 

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The end credits are some of my favorites ever.  All of the significant characters from all the movies are included and the whole thing is surprisingly nostalgia inducing.  They bring the whole story together and are the perfect end to the five movies.