MOVIE REVIEW: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2

★ ★ ★ out of 5 buckets | Matinee or DVD

Rated: PG-13 - Sequences of violence including disturbing images, some sensuality, and partial nudity
Release Date: November 16, 2012
Runtime: 1 hour 56 minutes
Director: Bill Condon
Writers: David O. Russell, based on the novel by Matthew Quick
Cast:  Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Peter Facinelli, Elizabeth Reaser, Ashley Greene, Jackson Rathbone, Kellan Lutz, Nikki Reed, Billy Burke, Mackenzie Foy, Maggie Grace, Jamie Campbell Bower, Christopher Heyerdahl

SYNOPSIS:  After the birth of Renesmee, the Cullens gather other vampire clans in order to protect the child from a false allegation that puts the family in front of the Volturi.

REVIEW: Dream Girls and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 director Bill Condon returns to put the final stake in the coffin for the franchise with the final installment to the Stephanie Meyer series of supernatural young adult books. Melissa Rosenberg, writer of all but the original film, returns to scribe the film that will have to say goodbye to Bella, Edward, and Jacob.

Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart, Snow White and the Huntsman) and Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson, Cosmopolis) come back from the brink as Bella gives birth to their half-vampire/half-human daughter Renesmee (Mackenzie Foy, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1). Bella is then turned into a newborn vampire by Edward in order to save her life. Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner, Abduction), as part of his werewolf nature, becomes imprinted to Renesmee and pledges to protect her at all costs.  While Bella becomes more familiar with her new powers and needs, Renesmee grows at an astonishing rate. When Cullen cousin Irina (Maggie Grace, Taken 2) witnesses the child exhibiting vampire powers, she flees to Europe to report to the Volturi leaders Caius (Jamie Campbell Bower, Anonymous), Marcus (Chistopher Heyerdahl, Hell on Wheels), and Aro (Michael Sheen, Midnight in Paris) that the Cullen coven has broken the laws by creating a child vampire - an immortal - who must be destroyed. In order to avert a bloody battle, Dr. Carlisle Cullen (Peter Facinelli, Loosies), Esme Cullen (Elizabeth Reasers, Young Adult) and the rest of the clan decides to persuade their friends to become witnesses to the miracle that Renesmee is - and to prove that she is not something to be feared or killed.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 brings the saga of Edward, Jacob, and Bella to a spectacular close. For fans of the film series, this final installment will delight and not disappoint. For the fans of the Stephanie Meyers book series, I am sure that the classic words will still be spoke ... "The book is better.". For the uninitiated, this is not the movie to jump on board with. If you were not a 'twi-hard', Breaking Dawn will not turn you into a sudden blood thirsty or rabid fan. But the film has its moments of coolness, levity, and fierceness.

The cast of characters is vast. Like the Harry Potter series, Breaking Dawn builds each story on the back of its predecessor. You care for the characters because you have become quite attached to them over the course of several films. Now, as the eve of the final battle against the Volturi approaches, familiar and new vampires come to the aid of both sides. Soothsayer Alice Cullen (Ashley Greene, The Apparition) and Jasper Hale (Jackson Rathbone, The Last Airbender) disappear through the middle of the story, even though Alice is a prize that Aro covets. Strongman Emmett Cullen (Kellan Lutz, Immortals) and others from the clan, including Rosalie Hale (Nikki Reed, Catch .44), look to defend their family, and the newest hybrid addition. Carlisle recruits powerful vampires from around the globe, ranging from elemental master Benjamin (Rami Malek, Larry Crowne) to war veteran Garrett (Lee Pace, Lincoln) to sideliner Alistar (Joe Anderson, The Grey).

As Bella settles into her new cold, undead skin, she and Edward are faced with married life together, a child like no other, and the rising threat from the Volturi, the story plods along until the final stand-off. Fans get their share of bare abs and intimate moments during the quiet first act. When Alice foresees that the Volturi are heading to the wet West Coast to claim the child and purge the Cullen clan, the story becomes somewhat more interesting as the Cullen family head to different parts of the planet to recruit others to their aide. Bringing together such a varied and eclectic group of blood suckers changes the family dynamic and offers cool visuals, but the story finally reaches its destination as the Cullens and their witnesses face off against the Volturi and their guards on a field of freshly fallen snow. The vampires and the werewolves show their powers and fighting skills in the final battle against the ancient power-hungry self-appointed monarchs. The white backdrop remains uncharacteristically pristine as opposing sides rend limb from limb, ripping heads from the sinewy connections to necks and shoulders. For the characters you have grown to love, be prepared to lose some of the them to the wings of war. 

I was never a huge fan of The Twilight Saga, neither in book nor film format. Put off in the earlier films by the adolescent love triangle and Stewart's lip-biting, brooding, wishy-washy Bella, I had started coming around to liking Bella's character at the end of Breaking Dawn - Part 1 when she delivered Renesmee and started her blood-letting journey as a glistening vampire. But although more strong-willed and ready for battle, Bella still doesn't command the respect that she needs in order to carry this final chapter to a close. The gathering of the Cullen witnesses is interesting in both locale and variety of  vampires, their powers, and their personalities.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 closes the book on vampire/werewolf/human girl love triangles. While the concept of vampires versus werewolves is not new - see Underworld or the Universal Monsters - Stephanie Meyer's version of glamoured skinned blood suckers and tribe packs of wolves enthralled a generation of young adult movie goers. Whether you're on Team Jacob, team Edward, or a general Twi-Hard fan, you will like this last installment. For the rest of us, The Twilight Saga may have been just a huge suck of time.

Chuck Ingersoll is the editor and movie reviewing contributor for Hot Butter Reviews. You can find hundreds of reviews at www.HotButterReviews.com.