As a 20-year-old Twilight fan, or maybe just a fan of all things Robert Pattinson, I am well accustomed to defending the book and movie series, both of which have faced so much scrutiny. Although I knew that the latest film installment, Breaking Dawn: Part 1, wouldn't exactly be on par with a quirky Woody Allen film or a cinematic wonder by Martin Scorsese, I knew it would contain things such as a vampire wedding, a fantastical honeymoon in Brazil and the conception of a vampire-human baby. How bad could it be?
Unfortunately, I couldn't help leaving the theater feeling that the latest product of the Twilight saga was far too forced and melodramatic for it to cross the threshold from tween culture sensation and acceptable movie choice. Perhaps it was the fact that I attended the movie with a group of non-Twilight lovers, but I couldn't help but laugh out loud during some of the scenes, the images of werewolves stoically fighting one another and vampires delivering over-exaggerated one-liners proving too much for me to take seriously.
And yes, while the wedding between Edward and Bella - eclipsed in anticipation only by the vows of Prince William and Kate Middleton - was beautifully executed, the whole plot of the movie seemed overwrought and tedious. The film focuses solely on the first half of the fourth and final book, and I thought it paid too much attention to inane details and outlined minute aspects for viewers who hadn't read the books.
In addition, the portion of the movie devoted to Bella's pregnancy with Edward's half-vampire spawn was far too grotesque and graphic for me, not to mention the hordes of 12-year-olds who will undoubtedly flock to the film. Images of her emaciated body and her spinal cord snapping in half were not exactly high points of the film, nor was the actual birth scene - comprised of a solid five minutes of screaming, exceptional blood loss and overall agony. As one of my friends put it, "The ratio in Breaking Dawn was totally off - 10 percent actual baby-making and 90 percent baby birthing. No one wants to see that." If I wanted to see indulgent amounts of gore and explicitness, I would have turned on the Discovery Channel, not paid for a $10 movie ticket.
All in all, if you are willing to overlook the general camp and over-dramatization which bolsters the majority of this film, you will be satisfied with your Breaking Dawn: Part 1 experience. For discerning film critics and squeamish movie-goers, however, I recommend a different choice, as the latest screen rendition of Stephanie Meyer's saga is far too ridiculous to be taken as a serious movie.
Read More
The best albums of 2014
By Noah Zeidman | December 4, 2014Across genres, it has been a pretty great year in music.
Top 10 movies of 2014
December 4, 2014This has been an excellent year for film, offering everything from gripping blockbusters to innovative personal films.
Iggy Azalea is “Reclassified”
December 4, 2014It has become common practice among music artists to repackage their albums in an effort to simultaneously boost single sales and dish out new content by slightly renaming the album or slapping “Deluxe” onto the title.
