OK, I had to review the latest Twilight saga installment, Eclipse. As Oprah put it on her show, the series is a major cultural phenomenon, akin to the Beatles. Sure, the books and movies may not seem of the same quality as those British boys (I’m a huge fan of John Lennon—just wait until the film Nowhere Boy comes out in November—it’s fantastic), but the screams the cast members induce, the frenzy of it all, and all of the emotions and major tears spell phenomenon. There’s no other way to cut it.
So I went last night and somehow squeezed into a packed showing at the Gateway. The mostly female audience screamed as soon as the movie started, and the women next to me hardly paused their chatter. (I actually asked them to keep it down.) There were also lots of tears. I mean lots of them. It’s a phenomenon I tell you. (And Oprah tells you.)
OK, OK. Let’s get to the film itself:
It was actually better than I expected. You’ve got to lose any snobby film school notions when you sit through these things. Just go along for the ride, enjoy the uber-romantic storyline (Edward and Bella, Bella and Edward, forever—wait, also, Jacob and Bella, Bella and Jacob, for oh, some intense, pained moments when you really want her to choose him…come on Bella, what are you thinking? Ooh, ooh, and they share a pretty hot kiss.)
Right, so the film: The acting was better than in the other two films of the series, and Jackson Rathbone (Jasper) actually (finally) gets a ton of lines (which is appropriate since Eclipse opened at about the same time as Rathbone’s other summer blockbuster, The Last Airbender). I particularly enjoyed Jasper’s visual backstory (he was an officer and gets transformed by three vampiresses), and while we’re at it, the backstory of his sister Rosemary, too. It was cool to see how the vampires were “made,” and if I recall correctly, in Rosemary’s case, the book didn’t have as much detail about her history. (I could be wrong.)
The teaming up of werewolves and vampires in Eclipse was also pretty cool, along with the gorgeous cinematography and the fast (and impressive) fight scenes. (No one fights like these guys—not even in Ironman.)
The movie feels a little like a soap opera when you watch it, but that’s part of its appeal. Like I said, you don’t go into a Twilight film expecting a serious intellectual experience. Some of the scenes (like those in Seattle, especially) were still a little campy like the first Twilight, but they just added to that All-My-Children-what’s-happening-in-Salem appeal.
If anything, Eclipse is worth a viewing for the mere experience. It’s a cultural phenomenon, after all.
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