Sadly not being a ‘die-hard twi-hard’ myself, my excitement leading up to the fourth edition of the Twilight saga was limited. Nonetheless, I dug deep, found the inner teenage girl within me – and was still disillusioned by a film which can only be described as ‘a shame’.
Breaking Dawn: Part 1 begins with the marriage of Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson). After the typical festivities of a vampire wedding, the newlyweds depart on their honeymoon, a trip to an island off Rio De Janeiro. Following many a night of supernatural romance, Bella finds herself pregnant, obviously a complete defiance of Vampire biology. The film plot pivots upon this crisis as the “demon foetus” begins to drain Bella of life whilst the Cullen’s attempt to protect her from the disgruntled Werewolf contingent.
In truth, Stewart and Pattinson have grown into their roles over the years. The only issue is the roles themselves. Stewart captures Bella’s intense expression of distress which pervades the film and the saga, while Pattinson has mastered the emotional torment of Edward Cullen, appearing at many a window as he contemplates the issue of existence. One could regard such characters as being slightly one dimensional – I would refer to them as dimensionless.
To be fair, they are not helped by the script. Trying to squeeze half a novel into a film is undoubtedly a challenge, but writer Melissa Rosenberg has managed to create script which is professionally cringe-worthy. The dire script is complemented by the appalling performances of the side-lined characters who have a tragic inability to deliver their solitary line with any level of conviction. The script, the acting, is all too superficial and obvious.
That is not to say that there aren’t positives to observe from the production. The CGI for example is, at times, fantastic. At others, however, it’s simply not. This is not helped by the fact that it’s main purpose is to provide token displays of ‘vampireness’ – just in case the audience had forgotten the basic premise of the film.
I should remind you though that I am by no means a ‘twi-hard’; there are those that are will adore this film. Many a teenage girl will worship Pattinson’s emotionless character. They will sympathise with the artificial Stewart. They will quiver at the opening scene where Jacob (Taylor Lautner) rips off his shirt to reveal an offensively attractive torso. Rarely do films strike such a divide amongst an audience. For the rational critic, this film is bad. Really bad. But for the many ‘twi-hards’ amongst us – you are in for a real treat.
1 star