Kimmy’s ‘The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1′ Review

EDIT: I saw the movie at the world premiere…and I take it back about it being too drawn out! It was so much better the second time, and I think I only felt like it was too long because I was waiting on every word…in anticipation!

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It is time for my Breaking Dawn – Part 1 review! Fans always rightly dismiss movie reviews from major media regarding the ‘Twilight’ saga since the movies aren’t for people who don’t ‘get,’ Twilight. They are for the fans. I believe fans of the books will love ‘Breaking Dawn – Part 1.’ This movie has major scene after major scene that keep the suspense going: the wedding, the honeymoon swim in the ocean, the sex scene, imprinting, the birth, and Bella’s vampire transformation.

First of all, the wedding is beautiful. Kristen Stewart owns this movie, and in this scene she really makes the audience know Bella’s thought process just from the expression on her face. She is nervous, obviously, and doesn’t know if she is doing the right thing because of her whole experience with her mother also marrying young and eventually leaving her father. However, she sees Edward at the end of the aisle, and Robert Pattinson’s look of pure joy and “I love you, I’ve been waiting so long for this,” is just perfect. Bella’s worries melt away and it is perfectly romantic, you will all love it! I also enjoyed all the little touches they included in the wedding; there are funny pieces that will make you all laugh. However, thought that the wedding was noticeably drawn out. There were many scenes that could have been cut down to make it flow a little bit better.

Second, the honeymoon is a major portion of the film. Fans will get what they are all so eager to see: kissing, romantic time in the ocean, adorable moments, and hilarious parts that I won’t spoil for you but will leave the theater laughing. The honeymoon scenes are where the mainstream media will begin to criticize, “Do we really need this much time in bed?” Fans will answer with a resounding ‘Yes!” At points I also believed that it could have been cut down, but I think that just comes with the territory of splitting this novel in half. For the filmmakers, it is much more freeing to have extra time to expand, rather than have to cut a lot out and disappoint the fans. Robert Pattinson also seems to have let his quirky personality shine through, which I really enjoyed. It was great to see a less sullen Edward. My favorite scenes during the honeymoon were the hilarious little touches added after their sex scene, when Edward has refused to touch her since he saw that he hurt her the first time. Let me just say, Bella is very persuasive.

One spot where the movie stumbles a bit was when they had to show the wolves mind reading, and ‘talking’ using their thoughts. It was done in a way that is to-be-expected, and makes the most sense, but it was hard to understand and confused the audience a little bit.

Moving on to the pregnancy, I believe it was handled well. You really believe her dedication to keeping the baby, and she just seems so fragile. The effects used to make Kristen look emaciated are absolutely phenomenal, and shocking. They looked real! I really do not want to spoil Jacob imprinting, I’ll just say it was handled very well, and does not come off as creepy!

The last 30 minutes of the movie which include the birth & Bella’s transformation is the best part, in my opinion. It’s very suspenseful, and the birth works well shooting from Bella’s perspective. Fans will know exactly what is going on without seeing too much blood and guts. When Edward thinks he has lost Bella after the birth, you really believe his desperation and heart-break. All I’ll say regarding Bella’s transformation: Kristen makes an absolutely gorgeous vampire!

To close, I thought the movie will really make fans of the books happy, while it will not appeal to the general mass media. Andrew Sims of Hypable and I were chatting after the screening and thought that the movie could have been stronger and dragged less if it had been 1 hour 30 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes, rather than just under 2 hours. That was the main issue for me, it just felt a tiny bit too long. I think that The Twilight Saga: Eclipse is my favorite movie of the series right now, but I think Breaking Dawn – Part 2 has the potential to take over that spot. I can’t wait to see vampire Bella and Renesmee! Lastly, don’t forget to stay after the credits of the movie for a scene introducing you to Part 2.