The long-awaited fourth installment to the five-movie and four-book series "The Twilight Saga" has finally arrived.
"The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn: Part 1" was as enjoyable as any of the other "Twilight" movies, if you are a fan. However, some viewers may get bored during the first half of this latest episode. This movie covers the first half of the book "Breaking Dawn" by Stephenie Meyer. The book was split into two movies -- in "Harry Potter" fashion -- due to its length and the director's desire to preserve some of its smaller details.
The new movie follows once again the romance between Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), a vampire, and Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart), a human. In the previous book, "Eclipse," Edward asked Bella to marry him, which is where this film begins. Their wedding is a beautiful outdoor ceremony, followed by an exotic honeymoon to a private island off the coast of Brazil.
When Bella discovers that she is pregnant after a mere couple of weeks on their honeymoon, she is rushed home so the curiously fast-growing fetus can be examined by the "father" figure of the coven, Carlisle Cullen (Peter Facinelli), who is also a doctor. Chaos ensues when the neighboring werewolf pack is told of the "mutant half-breed's" existence, and the werewolves try to kill all of the vampires, much to the chagrin of Jacob (Taylor Lautner), a member of the pack as well as Bella's best friend. Bella's life hangs in the balance as her baby finally arrives, a girl the parents name Renesme.
"Breaking Dawn: Part 1" leaves off in an exasperatingly cliff-hangery manner, which makes the viewer a little annoyed, if not excited to see the next movie ASAP.
Kristen Stewart has been criticized in the past for her portrayal of the much-loved character Bella, but in this installment she did really well, opening herself up much more to how Bella really is presented in the books. Pattinson didn't do quite as well in this installment as he did in the previous three movies, although he still gave a great performance. Ashley Greene outshines Pattinson in her role as Alice, the fashion-conscious, wedding-planning sister of Edward.
Die-hard "Twilight" fans may have noticed author Meyer in the audience of the movie's lavish outdoor wedding of Edward and Bella, along with the film's screenwriter and two of the producers.
The music throughout "Breaking Dawn" was so much better than in the past movies, which had mediocre at best sound tracks, with only a few good songs on them. In this film, the sound track meshed better with the mood and feeling of the series.
Although director Bill Condon has said that he had a PG-13 rating in mind when filming the honeymoon and the birth scenes, they were still uncomfortably graphic. If I was a mother, I would feel uncomfortable having my kids watch those parts of the movie.
"Breaking Dawn" was a better addition to the series, despite the fail that was the first movie, "Twilight." This film was more detailed and more accurate, whereas "Twilight" was loosely based on the book rather than following it closely, making the idea of this final book being split into two movies welcome.
The final film "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn: Part 2" -- due out in November of 2012 -- is eagerly awaited. It's going to be a long year waiting for the sure-to-be epic final chapter in Bella, Edward and Jacob's lives.
Alyssa Roberts is a senior at Davis High School. She loves reading and "Glee," and is an avid hiker and devoted dog lover. Email her at sassy44@gmail.com.
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