The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010)

Okay, third movie in the series, we're 60% of the way there. We're officially past the halfway point. Now, as you're aware I thought 'Twilight' was garbage and that 'New Moon' was a much better film, so would 'Eclipse' prove to be even better? Look at the poster. Look at those vacant expressions. What do you think?

Following on from 'New Moon', Bella (Kristen Stewart) is now involved in a love triangle with Edward (Robert Pattinson) and Jacob (Taylor Lautner). However while she ponders what to do, Victoria (Now played by Bryce Dallas Howard) decides she actually wants to be part of the plot now and raises an army with the help of her newly turned vampire Riley (Xavier Samuel). Now the Cullen's and the wolf pack have to form an uneasy alliance to face them.

And for once I'm talking about the story first, not the characters. The story, is meh. Thankfully it's a break from what 'Twilight' and 'New Moon' did, but, it feels slow and tedious. It's like it was afraid to break out of the shell from the last two films and therefore didn't was hesitant to do anything else. It was afraid to take risks, more of that will be revealed in the spoiler section. Yes, I actually have the spoiler section back this time.

Actually now that I say this one breaks away from the other two, now that I think about it, not really. The film still relies on 80% of what the other stories were. For God's sake Meyer can you not write anything else? Can you not expand on your story? You have arch rivals (figuratively) fighting for Bella's love, and nothing virtually happens. Well, one thing did but I'll get back to that. The love rivalry is mild at best, Hell, the story is mild at best. I've already mentioned that I saw 'Twilight' twice before doing the review, but I watched it a third time to jog my memory, and I watched 'New Moon' once before writing the review. I had to watch 'Eclipse' a second time, because the film is so dull I had forgotten the main aspects I wanted to talk about. It's that bland. Well, it's bland, and the Twilight Saga films are all blending together, so I can't tell which one's which.

The characters, well, as always I'll start with our dear Bella. She has come a long way, from the insecure, depressed-for-no-reason teenager in 'Twilight', to the manipulative bitch we see in 'Eclipse', especially when it comes down to her feelings with Jacob and Edward. More with Jacob, using his feelings towards her as a means to get what she wants, even in 'New Moon' she was doing that. First mention of Edward, zip, she's gone. Hell, I forgot to mention this in the last review, but when she goes to the Cullen's to ask them to vote whether she should become a vampire or not, there's one key person missing; HER FATHER (Billy Burke)! Oh my God how selfish can you be to not consider what your father would think to his only daughter, his only child, becoming part of the undead? To no longer be alive, to no longer be warm, Hell, have you even considered watching him die? Watching all those close to you die? Oh of course, Edward has taught you well to shut everyone but him out of your life! I'm sorry I keep writing this as if I'm talking to her. Oh, and of course Bella is soooooo in love with Edward, that she's willing to put her life on the line for him, wants to become a vampire so that she can spend all of eternity with him, and yet she hesitates when he asks her to marry him?

I can't really complain about Edward, I've already raised the same points in the last two reviews, to raise them again would be repetitive. Though he does even now say to her that he doesn't want her to interact with anyone else apart from him, especially Jacob. Jacob, speaking of which, has now become bitter and jealous, so much that it actually gets hard to like him. Any other character is basically forgotten, as are the Cullen's.

I have to say though, I prefer the villains in this. Riley is a tragic villain, and you know how I love them. Even Victoria seems to have found a new lease of life. Then again that's pretty much because Bryce Dallas Howard gives a great performance here, as does Xavier Samuel. In fact, they are pretty much the best performers in the film.

Yeah, you guessed it, everyone else is bland. Bland, bland, bland. In fact, Stewart has somehow gotten WORSE. Now it's even more obvious that she rarely closes her mouth. Pattinson, *sigh* you're still not giving a crap are you? Now, while I said I enjoyed Lautner in 'New Moon', like Stewart did during the transition from 'Twilight' to 'New Moon', Lautner has gotten WORSE. Now HE also doesn't give a crap. In fact, most of the actors and actresses in this are outshone by 'Silent Hill's Jodelle Ferland. But the film does belong to Dallas Howard. In fact the only time when Lautner and Pattinson give a good performance was when they had a one-to-one talk in a tent.

The effects are pretty much the best thing in this film though. Again the wolf effects are the best, while the effects used in the battle scene later are really good. I also really enjoyed the scene where the vampires rise up from the water, it's basically the same scene where the zombies rise from the water in 'Land of the Dead'. Otherwise there are a few slip ups but nothing too serious.

Overall though, this film is meh. Only Bryce Dallas Howard and Xavier Samuel, more Howard, is worth watching, but apart from them, this film is not memorable in the slightest. The acting is bland, the story is dull, the characters are tedious, and the dialogue is non-existent. At least I can remember 'Twilight' and 'New Moon', 'Eclipse' is basically the same as watching paint dry.




Spoiler Section

The climatic fight towards the end between the Cullen/Quileute alliance and Victoria's army, the one where Bella kept telling Jacob and Edward that people are going to die because of her. She feels guilty for about five minutes by the way. But yeah, in this huge, climatic battle, the entire enemy force ends up being killed. And how many of our heroes die? NONE! Not a single person dies! Why did we worry? We're three films in, two main fights, and not a single good guy dies! How can we take any threat seriously in this? How can we take the whole thing seriously if every single good person is protected by the power of...simply being a good person?