Eclipse Review
There was something about the atmosphere in the theater last night, or I guess I should say this morning, that gave Eclipse a head start on seeming like it was going to be a great movie. At the theater I went to, every single screen was showing Eclipse. The place was crawling with women (and a few men) ranging in age from 7 to 50, wearing various forms of Team Edward or Team Jacob shirts, many simply emblazoned with pictures of Jacob’s famous abs (and that includes the men).
With my 15 year-old-sister-in-law in tow to make my 29 year-old self feel less weird for going, I settled in eagerly to watch the third installment in the Twilight series. My sister-in-law and I had just finished a marathon night of watching (for the third or fourth time) the first two movies, and for good measure, and my own professional need to analyze the success of the adaptation, reading (for the third or fourth time) the book that this movie was based on, as well as the new spin-off novella The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner.
We were pumped and ready when the movie began, and we were not disappointed. Of course the movie varied from the book, but as I explained in my first commentary on the first Twilight film, it did so in absolutely necessary and appropriate ways that didn’t take anything away from the story. Eclipse is probably the most visually dynamic, action-packed, and riveting of the four books, but even still it, like the other 3 takes place primarily in Bella’s bedroom, Jacob’s garage, or somewhere at school. As much action as there is, it’s incredibly dialogue-heavy.
All the books are filled with talking and thinking and feelings. The first about how much Bella loves Edward, and how good looking he is, the second about how much she misses Edward, and how good looking he was, the third about how conflicted she is over her feelings for both Edward and Jacob, and how good looking they are. These concepts work well for books aimed at teenage girls (and teenage girls at heart) but would make terribly boring films. So the writers make necessary changes to get the characters outside and moving. Eclipse did this wonderfully, and the resulting film was still true to its emotional, love triangle roots while packing in enough action to keep even those few poor men who weren’t there for Jacob’s muscles, satisfied.
When you strip away the trendiness and teeny-bopper aura surrounding this film, and lay aside your prejudices about not wanting to like something so many others do, what you’re left with is a great story. Of course it’s campy, and yes the vampires sparkle, which makes them seem a little lame, and it still suffers from some incredibly wooden dialogue and poorly delivered lines like its predecessors did (Sorry Dakota Fanning but I didn’t buy your “Decisions, decisions.”) But overall, I think it was a great movie, full of everything that makes a great movie. It’s got romance, love triangles, and intense suspense and action. There are dozens of characters to relate to, all with understandable motivations and complex feelings based on fascinating backgrounds. The tension between many of the characters ups the intensity of the drama, and there is an incredible sense of danger, even to those of us who know how it’s going to turn out, that sustains the action and fighting sequences and will keep audiences on the edge of their seat, eagerly anticipating more than just the next shot of the shirtless werewolves.
