Breaking Dawn Part 1

 

I would start off by saying that if you have any respect for the art of acting, do not go and see this movie.  If you have any respect for the art of film as a whole, do not see this movie.  If you read the books (like me) and have no choice but to give in to your own curiosity... well... see this film expecting only the worst.  (which I'm sure most of you do anyway)

Breaking Dawn is the fourth installment of the twilight series.  It revolves around the characters of Bella, Edward and Jacob, as Bella and Edward are preparing for their wedding, honeymoon and impending future together.  However, the honeymoon gets cut short due to her unexpected pregnancy.  The film follows this series of events leading up to the main problem - what exactly is she impregnated with? 

In short, the acting was pretty useless.  Taylor  Lautner, for me, was the absolute worst this time around.  His emotions never come off authentic.  Robert Pattinson wasn't horrible, wasn't great, yet somehow was still less than mediocre.  And Kristen Stewart was awkward - I couldn't care less about her attempts at acting.  At least she wasn't breathing so heavily in this film, like her usual (usually when she doesn't know what to do with her body or her expression in a scene, she exhales heavily every few seconds) - something I noticed in the past three films.  

As a whole - with visual effects, soundtrack, and picture - the film was unoriginal and extremely boring.  The visual effects were not impressive and nothing really stood out to me.  The wolves weren't anything special at all.  The soundtrack was either sappy music to dramatize an already dramatic scene, or music used from the first film, repeated throughout the entire movie.  As for the picture, the set design was impressive and the picture itself was sharp and strong - probably overcompensating.   

The only part I will point out is the birth scene and her pregnancy.  The birth scene was the only scene they made somewhat realistic with the given circumstances.  It may have been unnecessarily gruesome but at least they cared enough to attempt some kind of realistic approach.  I appreciated the attempt as a fan of the book, way back when I read them.  But, like I said, it was the only part worth mentioning.  

Inevitably, I give this film 4/10.  Frankly, without the sharp picture and wonderful set design, this film would have been worth even less.  I think I'm being generous, but there it is.