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A much used saying in the movie world is “saved the best for last”. It’s mostly on last movies in a franchise and sadly it’s almost never true. My little vampire marathon has come to an end with Eclipse, the third movie in the Twilight Saga and in this case, I also didn’t save the best for last though this is the most high profile movie of the three, making more money than previous two movies combined. But those movies didn’t appeal to the young and middle aged female demographic who flock theaters in herds just to catch a glimpse of R-Patz or Taylor Lautner.
Eclipse has, as is usual by now, two story lines it concentrates on. One is a throwaway story about certain impending danger which will eventually lead to a big show down at the end of the movie and function as a catalyst for the other story line which is the never ending relation ship between human Bella and vampire Edward, with a little love-triangle element thrown in with werewolf Jacob.
The first story line doesn’t really get going until the last 20 minutes. Before that it’s all build up. Scenes involving werewolves and vampires both working together and even training together to handle the threat. This threat is a group of recently turned vampires who as is explained are much more vicious and lethal in their first few months than they are when they’ve gotten used to their new life. Yes I know, that sounds a bit stupid. The sudden pact these two natural born enemies have to make results in constant remarks about how the other species stink, which once again pretty much defines the level of intelligence on display here.
But the majority of the movie once again revolves around the tormenting relationship that is the center of this “saga”. Once again it’s the same old, same old of her being, well obsessed with Edward who, to at least shift gears in their relation, proposes to her. She still wants to be turned into a vampire and he still refuses. At 18 years old she has a firm belief that this will be a relationship that will last forever even though they never seem to have any fun at all. They actually never smile, just look at each other with brooding eyes. I can understand some level of animal attraction, but they don’t even have sex.
In fact the only smart thing said is that she has a better future with Jacob. He’s attractive, has body heat, doesn’t sparkle in the sun, doesn’t live on human blood, doesn’t require her to change in to a werewolf or a vampire, doesn’t require her to leave all her relatives and friends behind due to the fact that vampires don’t age.
Tough choice.
But this is why I hate the character of Bella. She’s this one dimensional obsessed fan girl. And when you hate the lead character it’s hard to care for a movie. She should be taken in protective custody, protected from herself and the choices she wants to make that will effect her entire life but apparently is too young to see what these choices actually will do to her. But hey, it’s OK, as long as you make those choices for a boy you’re seeing. It’s not like relationships never result in break ups or anything.
This is just another 2 hours of those little romance novels with doctors and what not for middle aged women in a movie form. The only thing I liked were some of the training and action scenes as well as the scenery of the area. Other than that this movie has no redeeming factors and is just yet another sucking installment in a tired vampire-romance franchise.
