Released in theaters: 6/30/2010
Fan or not, most will agree that the Twilight Saga gets better with every installment. As a fan of the books, it totally does. Eclipse is darker, scarier – and hotter – than the first two films. More importantly, it’s the first time we see more depth and history with all of the characters. Three main things happen: an army of newborn vampires are planning an attack on the Cullen family, Victoria is still seeking revenge on Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart), and Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) and Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner) fight over Bella’s love.
In the first film, Victoria’s mate, James, is killed by Edward after his attempt to kill Bella. So in the second and third film, she wants to get Edward back by killing Bella. She creates an army of newborn vampires – that is, she turns humans into vampires. A vampire in the first couple months is considered a newborn, and that is when vampires are at their hungriest, thirstiest, and strongest. The movie portrayal is pretty good…the newborns reminded me more of zombies than of vampires because they can’t seem to actually think straight. They just smell blood and attack. The love triangle, though, is what this movie is all about, and it’s the first time we really see the love between Bella and Jacob. Film I is just a friend, film II is best friend. Jacob is basically heart broken that Bella won’t choose him. He and his wolf pack are forced to join sides with the Cullen family to fight the army and save Bella, and to say it’s hard is a huge understatement. Vampires and wolves do not mix well. Seriously, they can’t stand the smell of each other.
While Jacob is trying to convince Bella that she’s in love with him, Edward is trying to convince Bella to marry him. His deal is that if she marries him, he’ll turn her into a vampire….oh yea, and have sex with her.
He’s from the 18th century, remember? He wants to do it right, and that means marriage. For Bella, though, it’s ridiculous to get married at her age unless she’s pregnant, and her father would be furious. He already doesn’t like Edward as it is. The fight for her love and their hatred for each other stir up some very funny moments throughout the movie. Finally, they have a chance to talk “man to man” about their feelings and have a somewhat mutual understanding. In the end, there’s no question about who Bella will choose. It will always be Edward.
There are three flashbacks in the movie that were very exciting to see. Jasper and Rosalie Hale (two members of the Cullen family) talk about their past and how they were turned into vampires. Another flashback involves the history of the Quileute family (the werewolves) and how they first became enemies with the vampires, also known as the cold ones. The build up to the war with the newborns does not disappoint. It’s an exciting action sequence with vampires and werewolves working together against an army. Yes, there’s a lot of CGI, but the editing is done well enough that the quick cuts make it look good. I’m not picky.
The conclusion of the film satisfies the end of the small war, but something is brewing with the Volturi that is bound to take place in the last two films. It also sets up the marriage between Edward and Bella. Will Edward keep his promise and turn Bella into a vampire? That might be awesome.
I love Jacob (more in the book, but Lautner isn’t bad), but let’s be serious….go team Edward!
IMDB: 4.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 53%
Movie Wiseguys: 7.5/10