Everybody has an opinion on the Twilight series; whether you love it or loathe it you certainly can’t avoid it. The series has always been something of an enigma to me; I just don’t know what to make of it. The first film was OK, despite being too long and the presence of that horrible baseball sequence. New Moon however, is one of the most tedious films I have ever seen. With this fluctuation in quality in mind I went into Eclipse with low expectations despite the film being helmed by David Slade, a director of real potential, and I was right to.
OK, so Eclipse is an improvement on New Moon, and there are some nice lines here and there. The one that stands out is when Edward (Pattinson) asks Bella (Stewart) if Jacob (Lautner) ever wears a shirt. My thoughts exactly. Another aspect of the film which was strong was the angst ridden tension between the three protagonists. The relationships (however overly hormonal) between Jacob, Edward and Bella hold the film together. Much of the credit for this has to go to Kristen Stewart, who is clearly the strongest actor of the three, and carries Pattinson and Lautner through many of the film’s most challenging scenes. Another strength of this film compared to its precursor is the big action sequence which the entire plot drives towards from the film’s opening sequence. The battle is well shot, fast paced and possesses the kind of animalistic brutality that the premise of the entire film is built around. Surely the tension that exists between the Vampires and Werewolves should only ever result in this level of violence, rather than having a chat about things in a tent halfway up a mountain.
Although there are positives to the film, there are also many negatives. At 124 minutes, the film is far, far too long. A decent editor could cut at least half an hour of mood swings and posturing out of the movie, in doing this the film would be significantly less boring and make the big action sequence more impactful as, by the time it came around, I was already disconnected from the film because I was bored of watching three teenage characters whine, bicker and complain for an hour and a half. Another major criticism I have of the film is the way the main threat to the protagonist’s world, Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard), is developed through the film so that the audience can see her as a real threat. Simply put, they don’t. At no stage can I believe for a moment that Victoria is going to do any kind of lasting damage to Bella, Edward or Jacob. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that Eclipse is so obviously a lead up to the final part of the series; Breaking Dawn. As a result the feeling that no real harm can come to the primary characters is intensified and leaves the viewer feeling that the exercise of watching Eclipse is simply pointless and unfulfilling.
Despite the occasional bright spots and the undoubted improvement upon the dire New Moon, Eclipse, like its precursor is mired by the fact that it is not a film in its own right, but a two hour preamble to the next film. This major problem is undermining the entire series as the stories of each film cannot seem to stand on its own as well as a part of a larger narrative. This problem can only be made worse by the announcement that Breaking Dawn will be split into two films; this kind of blatant profiteering by the studio can only further erode the legacy of the series.
