The Twilight Saga:
Breaking Dawn Part 1
Year: 2011
Director: Bill Condon
Starring: Taylor Lautner, Robert Pattinson & Kristen Stewart
Runtime: 117 mins
BBFC: 12
Published: 13/05/21
Director: Bill Condon
Starring: Taylor Lautner, Robert Pattinson & Kristen Stewart
Runtime: 117 mins
BBFC: 12
Published: 13/05/21
During the early 2010’s YA film adaptations had a habit of splitting the final book into two films. This was done primarily because money, two films will earn you more than one especially if you film them back-to-back and have them in production at the same time so to keep costs down. But also, to appease book fans who wanted to see more of the novel brought to life, something a two-hour film simply isn’t able to do for a 400+ page book.
Twilight was no different, the four-book series expanded into five films, with the final entry, Breaking Dawn, receiving the two-part treatment. With the amount of story the Twilight films had over the previous three films, it’s difficult to understand how they could possibly fill two films for one story, even when the final book was seven hundred pages long. But remember, the main reason behind this is money, and Breaking Dawn certainly did make a whole lot of money.
Bella has graduated, Victoria and her newborn army have been defeated, all is well in Forks, Washington…sort of. Unfortunately, the Volturi are still in the picture and their patience with the Cullen’s is wearing extremely thin. They want Bella to be turned, or they want her dead, and they want it done now. But Bella and Edward’s big wedding day has finally arrived, and as promised, Edward will turn Bella into a vampire provided she marries him.
The wedding goes off without a hitch, but the honeymoon is another matter. Bella falls pregnant, something that the Cullen’s thought impossible, and Bella is falling ever weaker as the baby quite literally eats her from the inside. So, it becomes a race against time to save both Bella’s life, and that of the unborn child.
Twilight was no different, the four-book series expanded into five films, with the final entry, Breaking Dawn, receiving the two-part treatment. With the amount of story the Twilight films had over the previous three films, it’s difficult to understand how they could possibly fill two films for one story, even when the final book was seven hundred pages long. But remember, the main reason behind this is money, and Breaking Dawn certainly did make a whole lot of money.
Bella has graduated, Victoria and her newborn army have been defeated, all is well in Forks, Washington…sort of. Unfortunately, the Volturi are still in the picture and their patience with the Cullen’s is wearing extremely thin. They want Bella to be turned, or they want her dead, and they want it done now. But Bella and Edward’s big wedding day has finally arrived, and as promised, Edward will turn Bella into a vampire provided she marries him.
The wedding goes off without a hitch, but the honeymoon is another matter. Bella falls pregnant, something that the Cullen’s thought impossible, and Bella is falling ever weaker as the baby quite literally eats her from the inside. So, it becomes a race against time to save both Bella’s life, and that of the unborn child.
To be fair to Breaking Dawn Part 1 (and I haven’t read the book so take this for what it is), I actually can’t imagine how Breaking Dawn as a whole could have been one story. Part 1 is a fully fledged narrative that has a conclusive beginning middle and end, as well as its own separate conflict from Breaking Dawn Part 2. It doesn’t feel like Deathly Hallows or Mockingjay in the way that the story is haphazardly split and unevenly distributed; in fact, quite surprisingly, Breaking Dawn Part 1 is perhaps the best paced Twilight film in the entire series, with the most clearly defined story arc.
It can feel like you’re dropped into the middle of things, with the opening of the film being the day before the wedding. But it makes sense considering that Eclipse ended with Bella’s graduation and the wedding on the horizon.
The first half of the film primarily deals with Bella & Edward’s honeymoon, in fact for most of this time Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart are the only actors. Now whilst Stewart’s performance is still very wooden, and Pattinson’s is kind of lazy, the two have some genuinely good chemistry in these sequences. Unfortunately, most of this time is just spent alluding to the fact that pair are humping like rabbits and not a lot of actual story happens. It’s around the midway mark, once Bella is brought back to Forks for Carlisle to examine her and the pregnancy, that things start to pick up narratively.
From here we get quite a decent amount of extra insight into the feud between the vampires and the wolves, and how Jacob’s (Taylor Lautner) decision to leave the pack plays havoc with his mental state.
It can feel like you’re dropped into the middle of things, with the opening of the film being the day before the wedding. But it makes sense considering that Eclipse ended with Bella’s graduation and the wedding on the horizon.
The first half of the film primarily deals with Bella & Edward’s honeymoon, in fact for most of this time Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart are the only actors. Now whilst Stewart’s performance is still very wooden, and Pattinson’s is kind of lazy, the two have some genuinely good chemistry in these sequences. Unfortunately, most of this time is just spent alluding to the fact that pair are humping like rabbits and not a lot of actual story happens. It’s around the midway mark, once Bella is brought back to Forks for Carlisle to examine her and the pregnancy, that things start to pick up narratively.
From here we get quite a decent amount of extra insight into the feud between the vampires and the wolves, and how Jacob’s (Taylor Lautner) decision to leave the pack plays havoc with his mental state.
We’re also treated to a handful of half decent fight sequences of vampires’ vs wolves, that whilst never reaching the complexity or scale of Eclipse’s sequences, are tied so well into the story that they don’t feel like they simply exist to stop you from falling asleep but are instead as important as the dialogue exchanges.
So far, I’ve been exceedingly positive, but of course something had to be wrong. But it’s probably not what you’re expecting me to say. Breaking Dawn Part 1 is a little bit too graphic for my tastes. In fact, I’m shocked that it got through the BBFC with a 12 rating. Where the previous Twilight films were certainly surprisingly violent, Breaking Dawn doubles down on the sex and body horror. I like that Breaking Dawn does try to normalise sex in teen films somewhat, as I find it absurd that sex is considered more taboo than violence in films, but it is surprisingly explicit at times. Add to this Bella’s horrifying transformation from her normal state to her grotesque pre-birth form; then to top it all off we’re treated to a very bloody and very violent birth scene. It’s actually quite hard to watch at times, and I feel like considering the kind of gruesome horror films I usually enjoy that’s kind of saying something. Did the film need to be so gruesome? Did it need to be so explicit? Because it would have still made its point perfectly clear.
I have to give credit where it’s due and Breaking Dawn Part 1 is a solid film. It’s competently made, and not only justifies splitting the story into two parts but is probably a better story overall for doing so. Whilst the acting and the script are still below par for what one would hope for, they aren’t as distractingly bad this time around. Whilst I have issues with the amount sex and blood on display, it’s a small complaint for an otherwise enjoyable film.
But will Breaking Dawn Part 2 be just as strong as Part 1, or will it squander all the good that has been done?
So far, I’ve been exceedingly positive, but of course something had to be wrong. But it’s probably not what you’re expecting me to say. Breaking Dawn Part 1 is a little bit too graphic for my tastes. In fact, I’m shocked that it got through the BBFC with a 12 rating. Where the previous Twilight films were certainly surprisingly violent, Breaking Dawn doubles down on the sex and body horror. I like that Breaking Dawn does try to normalise sex in teen films somewhat, as I find it absurd that sex is considered more taboo than violence in films, but it is surprisingly explicit at times. Add to this Bella’s horrifying transformation from her normal state to her grotesque pre-birth form; then to top it all off we’re treated to a very bloody and very violent birth scene. It’s actually quite hard to watch at times, and I feel like considering the kind of gruesome horror films I usually enjoy that’s kind of saying something. Did the film need to be so gruesome? Did it need to be so explicit? Because it would have still made its point perfectly clear.
I have to give credit where it’s due and Breaking Dawn Part 1 is a solid film. It’s competently made, and not only justifies splitting the story into two parts but is probably a better story overall for doing so. Whilst the acting and the script are still below par for what one would hope for, they aren’t as distractingly bad this time around. Whilst I have issues with the amount sex and blood on display, it’s a small complaint for an otherwise enjoyable film.
But will Breaking Dawn Part 2 be just as strong as Part 1, or will it squander all the good that has been done?