Or Breaking Wind as my friends like to call it.
The boyf and I went to see the long anticipated 4th installment of the Twilight Saga last Wednesday (Orange Wednesdays, you've got to love it) after reading some reviews about it the night before I was expecting the worst, but I was pleasantly surprised.
As a massive fan of the series it was inevitable I was going to love the film whether it was bad or not, what are die hard fans for, eh? It wasn't the best of the batch so far though, I admit that. Not a lot happened if you cancel out the wedding, the sex scene and pregnancy. If you haven't read the books I think you'd find it hard to enjoy it, to like the characters or understand the bizzare friendship between Jacob and Bella. The boyf did, he found it weird that Bella wasn't complete unless Jacob was hanging around. In the real world the last thing a new husband would want is a buff ex boyfriend popping up everywhere he went.
There were a lot of flaws in Breaking Dawn.
- The pre-wedding scene was too long winded, we get the idea they're getting married, don't drag it out, or expect your audience to get bored, It just wasn't captivating enough. Bella looked as if she was having second thoughts, Edward was his normal brooding self, staring into outer space and Jacob as usual was stripping to show how angry he was about the affair.
- The cast didn't seem directed. That's down to the director, I don't think he was the right candidate for this film. Everyone seemed stiff, it was like they were waiting to be told what to do, or where to stand. I didn't find this in the other films. I found the characters harder to understand this time round.
- It wasn't as funny as the last few films, I know why this is. I looked it up on the wonderful IMDB, Stephanie Meyer was a Producer on Breaking Dawn, she wasn't on any of the others. I don't think she helped in any way, there were certain lines in the film which potentially could have been really humorous, but were just flat. I'm not 100% sure this is because the Author was working on the film or not, but I do believe her input didn't help. For example the scene where Bella tells Jacob and Edward what she's going to name the baby if it's a girl. She wants to name it after their mothers, Esme and Renee, she comes up with Renesmee. They should have taken the piss a little then, but Meyer obviously takes her brilliant imagination too seriously to let them have a joke about the stupid name. Or in fact have any joke throughout the film. She must take her writing skills very humorlessly to have anyone (even herself) to mock them. So the end result was a little dull I'm afraid.
- The wolves, I don't think they were as bad as the critics made out. They weren't brilliant, but I don't think they looked rubbery. There was one scene with the wolves that made even myself cringe with embarrassment. They can talk to each other through thoughts in their wolf form. When they're all running to meet up I was excited, a bit of action, or so I thought. They have a conversation about Bella being pregnant (through thoughts) if the wolves had started talking with their mouths I would have left the cinema without looking back. The voices were too loud and menacing. This is Jacob, I know his voice, so why have you put some ridiculous effect on it? I think that was the first time I laughed throughout, and not because it was funny, far from it. I laughed because I could have done a better job.
- There's always been religious undertones in this series. We all know (or should do) that Stephanie Meyer is a Mormon and beneath the surface of these tales of teenage vampire love lurks a moral tale of faithfulness and true love. In the 4th part however, this undertone became very much an overtone. I felt quite uncomfortable with how heavily the point of original sin is laboured. Bella is Eve, the girl who can't say no and Edward is Adam, heroically resisting his animal urges. The quite frankly simplistic analogy of a game of chess is used in the most literal sense, culminating with Bella check mating Edward and finally getting her evil way with him. Everyone is entitled to their views, but I did find this rather 2 dimensional portrayal of the female of the species rather insulting and again, didn't seem to fit in with the previously more subtly played character of Bella - independent, yes, but not pig-headed to the point of annoying.
You don't notice so much in the other films, because like I said it's very subtle, but it's there. You just don't realise until you watch Breaking Dawn. You have to remember Bella is a teenager, she has urges, she's in love with this mysterious handsome fellow and she wants to get under his clothes - but it's done in such a way you think she's an ungrateful moody bitch and gets angry if she doesn't get her way.
When they do finally have sex after they're married, he warns her that he's strong and he might hurt her (this doesn't happen in True Blood, and that's hardcore in comparison), but she doesn't care, she just wants it. The day after she's bruised, then she finds out she's pregnant. And of course it's all her fault, and it's quite detestable to watch. It's dirty, suddenly Bella is seen as a villian who wants to keep the baby that is growing rapidly in her stomach. But you forget the poor girl is bruised, who cares that he's hurt her, she's now pregnant with a baby that he wants to abort. Now she's hurt him in an unimaginable way.
You know us women won't stop until we get what we want, even if the results are catastrophic.
Even if I do find that insulting, I enjoyed the film. I read the books, and I've always had an image of what the wedding would look like, the house they spend their honeymoon in, and how the birth scene would play out. It's always fun to watch it come to life.
And if you don't think about those points I've stated then you might enjoy it too. I'm definitely looking forward to the 2nd part.
