The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

David Slade! A clear win and a big problem that this "emo-vampire" series has encountered. It's not a problem to spot the numerous scenes where Slade makes fun of the entire saga. Especially the cockfight over one ordinary girl is done with a detachment that even a serious parody could withstand. Then comes the perfectly "staged" action and the plus points climb high above the average. Yet when you realize that it takes up about 10% of the runtime, you are swept away by the most tragic love mating call in years. Especially in the last film, thanks to Weitz's ineptitude, you could giggle all the way through. Here, Slade’s attempt to make it serious goes severely wrong, making it all mostly an awkward and sad cramp as you sense the director being shackled by the script (or the book) and you suffer along with him. It also obviously didn't entice the fifteen people around me, as I heard an absolute minimum of amorous giggles and excited comments in the crowded movie theater. But I admit that I naively believed in it until the last moment. 2 ½. [this is the best - though at the same time the most boring - film in the series. You'll understand when you watch it in the movie theater]. (30/06/2010)

A step forward, yet at the same time a light stepping in place. David Slade is a director who can best tame a problematic script, and thanks to excellent flashbacks and gripping action, he knows how to build anticipation for the finale. And yet he also suffers from having taken on this particular installment. Eclipse hurts in terms of plot progression. There is no crucial decision made or any action taken that would fundamentally change the situation. There is only one big battle, which is lucky to have attractive fighters on both sides. Though the third installment loses something by not having a solid face of its own (Twilight is a cold opening, Twilight: New Moon is an intimate melodrama), and in the very end it feels like a nostalgic installment with its battles in the mountains, it works great in this form. Even if Bella's doubts and decision-making sometimes get on my nerves. But I have never spit on the Twilight saga and it seems that I won't in the future either. So, we'll see each other at Twilight: Breaking Dawn. (30/11/2011)

OK, David Slade is a fairly good director and he pulls the saga up in terms of execution, atmosphere and visuals, but there’s nothing he can do about the contents. Bella is a total antihero, or rather, an antihero posing as a hero. She doesn’t do anything, doesn’t want to do anything, everyone can be ripped apart around her and she just stares blankly. The fact that some young girls may take her as a model is a lot sadder and more dangerous than a boy taking Edward as a model. (29/08/2010)

The first film had a scene in the woods and a baseball game, the second Italian porn, and the third... has a blooming meadow and the story of Rosalie and Jasper Hale. The recasting of Bryce Dallas Howard's is just one of many oddities, like the fact that Kristen Stewart still doesn't look much older than she did in Panic Room. I mean, wow. However, the lines heard about Bella having to be home by four, graduating from English studies, and Edward asking her if she will get out of the car if he asks her to...? Uh....what? "I kissed Bella. And she broke her hand." "Eau de wolf coming up." "Oh, my God. Dad. I'm a virgin." "I Am Hotter Than You!" "If we weren't natural enemies, I might actually like you."!!! (08/11/2011)

It's probably impossible to avoid sweet talk and saccharine moments in films like this anymore. Bella doesn't sigh as much, doesn't come across as old and tries to keep the bullshit to a minimum. But I'd kill for that beginning in the meadow! The actors will probably never be convincing enough, but whatever. Well that's the end of my gripes. I liked the music, it was snappy and complemented the gaps in the film well. The werewolves were given more space, which pleased me, and the big battle looked really realistic and gritty. Well, there were probably a few more issues, but I've already mentioned the biggest ones. And there will not a star more! After a lot of pondering, I've come to the conclusion that the third and second films are on the same level. (20/07/2010)