PLOT SYNOPSIS:
Oh hi! I’m a vampire now!Breaking Dawn Part 2 continued with Bella’s newfound vampire-ness and birth of her and Edward’s child, Renesmee. She also awakens to find that Jacob has imprinted on her daughter (not in a romantic way), and has become VIP to her little girl. The half-mortal-half-vampire child has a super fast growth rate, looking like a young girl in a few short months. While playing in the snow, propelling herself into the air to catch a snowflake, she is seen by Irina, a cousin from the Denali coven. Irina believes she is an immortal child, which is outlawed by the Volturi due to their past inability to control them. She tattles on them to Aro, causing an uproar. Thinking the law has been broken, the Volturi descend on Forks to confront the Cullens and Renesmee. Determined not to let the child be murdered, the Cullens gather friends from different covens around the globe to help prove to the Volturi that Renesmee is not immortal and should be left alone, being she is no harm to the vampire race. After initial apprehension, the other vampire covens join the crusade to save her along with Jake’s new pack, consisting of Quil, Embry, Seth, Leah, and some new young werewolves – but will they be able to change Aro’s mind or will they all be slaughtered by the Volturi?
MY TAKE: (SPOILERS)
As much as I adored the love story in the books, I was growing tired of the Trifecta of Emo known as Bella, Edward and Jake. With that said, I felt Breaking Dawn Part 2 finally allowed more characters to shine. Carlisle had more presence, Charlie was heartwarming, and Emmett arm-wrestled and silently provided backup for his brother and niece (hey, it’s all I’ve got – so here’s a photo…)
Hey girl hey…I’m Emmett…Honestly, I thought the addition of other covens made all the difference in this movie. I enjoyed their interactions with the Cullens and each other. Vladimir and Stefan of the Romanian coven were hilarious to me – one sounded like Dracula and the other The Count from Sesame Street.
One! Ahh Ha Ahh!My favorite was Benjamin from the Egyptian coven – his talent for controlling the elements was pretty cool. Zafrina from the Amazonian coven had the ability to create illusions which came in handy, although she looked weird too. Creepy appearances aside, they all added depth to the character list. There are multiple more that I won’t go into detail about here, but once you see the movie you will understand my feelings toward them.
Zafrina on the right
Newborn Bella’s ability was that she became a “shield” – able to focus and create a barrier around herself and whoever needs it. Luckily she learned how to use it – she was able to hinder Jane’s pain ability on Edward, and shield the entire group as well. All in all, I think this was the best acting job Kristen Stewart has done given the first 4 films. Less lip-biting and whining, more range. Her little argument with Jake after finding out he imprinted was funny. (“You nicknamed my child after the Loch Ness Monster!”) Jacob was the protector in this movie, and it was nice to see his swooning over Bella gone, and his relationship with Edward on an upswing. One odd thing I did notice was that the Cullens were a lot less pale in this movie. I’m sure they needed to make Bella look more flushed when she was human, hence the over-whiteness of their skin before, so once she wasn’t they were able to make everyone the same color. Much better.
SPOILER ALERT!!!
That twist you’ve been reading about – yeah. To say I threw my hands in the air a few times would be an understatement. In the book, nothing really happens between our brood and the Volturi. Everyone is okay, kosher, cool beans. In the movie, when Alice and Jasper come back to the fight, Alice allows Aro to read her thoughts into the future. She then nods to Bella, initiating Jacob’s escape with Renesmee before the battle. When it begins,Carlisle is decapitated by Aro and set on fire! What the WHAT!!! I was so mad / devestated / anguished / irate by what I had just witnessed. NO ONE DIES IN THE BOOK! Then, Jasper gets killed too?! Oh my god, Bill Condon you are killing me on the inside! The fight scene, although it ripped me apart emotionally, was very well done compared to previous “fights” like that in Eclipse. Not really any more of the dumb ceramic vampire-cracking, a lot more heads being ripped off and a couple of werewolf maulings (although not bloody – it is PG-13). I enjoyed seeing Jane getting eaten by a werewolf and Caius having his head ripped apart from the jaw by Tanya, Kate and Garrett. So after all is said and done, many of our heroes and all of the Volturi are dead. But alas!! It was all a premonition that Alice has revealed to Aro, who is still holding her hand reading her mind!!! Rejoice!! No one is actually dead!! Oh, you crafty devils, you!
After my initial pain and suffering over this twist, I can look back and say it was brilliant! For a movie adaptation of a book that has not too much drama, you need an intense battle to keep viewers on the edge of their seats, and this did just that.
RECOMMENDATION:
WATCH!! If you are a fan of this series, you definitely must see this movie, not only to finish up the story, but to see what was, in my opinion the best installment yet. It surely was worth the fat lady opening cans of soda and crinkling her McDonald’s bag behind me for two hours. Don’t judge me, I love this series, I love the story, and will most likely re-watch the entire thing one day. Sure, they are not Oscar-worthy movies by any stretch, but they appeal to so many people adult and tween alike to not be touted as some of the most influential movies pop-culture has seen in years.
“And then we continued blissfully into this small but perfect piece of our forever.”
