Latest movie based on ‘Twilight’ books is easily the best

Then it comes to the latest vampire craze, I prefer the undead on HBO’s “True Blood” to child’s play in the first two “Twilight” films – which I found to be a broodish bore.

But the third time proves to be the charm with the latest adaptation of the wildly popular Stephenie Meyer novels, “Twilight: Eclipse.” Yes, there is still plenty of the girlie love triangle between the three leads, but this is a more confident film in the hands of director David Slade, who crafts a summer popcorn flick that will appease its fan base, while managing to hold the interest of nonfans as well. This is easily the best film in the series, and the first one that will likely appeal to everyone, not just the diehards.

“Eclipse” begins with Bella (Kristen Stewart) and vampire Edward (Robert Pattinson) going forward with their plans to wed and have Edward turn Bella into a vampire. The romance isn’t without its problems (other than the fact that Edward is dead), with werewolf Jacob (Taylor Lautner) also vying for Bella’s affections.

Teen love is forced to take a backseat, however, when a string of mysterious killings in nearby Seattle are linked to a vampire (Bryce Dallas Howard) plotting her revenge on Edward’s family and Bella.

With an army of newbie vampires fast approaching, Edward and Jacob, and their families, are forced to put aside their differences and unite to save Bella and their small town.

The love triangle is still center stage, and sometimes the dialogue is eye rolling, but Slade (who previously directed the underrated “Hard Candy”) is smart enough to keep the film rolling with much more emphasis on action and back story than the previous two films. The result is a film that feels less like a script from a “Tiger Beat” contest and more like an actual creation of an alternate universe where vampires, werewolves and humans all coexist.

Melissa Rosenberg’s screenplay also takes time to give us back stories on several members of Edward’s family, as well as the origin of the feud between the vampires and wolves, which allows the uninitiated in the audience to feel more emotionally attached to the material.

The three leads, who have never been mistaken for master thespians, are also tolerable as well. Pattinson is still the weakest of the three, but he is passable. Stewart seems to have carried some of her screen presence from “Adventureland” and “The Runaways” into this film, giving a performance that isn’t nearly as one note as the previous two “Twilight” films, while Lautner actually shows some comedic touch – even if his dramatic moments don’t always ring true.

The result is a film that proved to be way more entertaining than I expected. While I’d still consider myself team Bon Temps (the fictional town where “True Blood” is set), I can now say that there is at least hope for the next “Twilight” film. I’m not a fan of the series yet, but this film was a giant leap in the right direction.

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