"BREAKING DAWN, PART I" (2011) Review

 

"BREAKING DAWN, PART I" (2011) Review

Over a decade ago, Warner Brothers Studios had decided to split its adaptation of J.K. Rowling's last HARRY POTTER novel, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" into two movie adaptations. The first was released in the fall of 2010 and the second half, during the summer of 2011. Apparently, the studio had decided to do the same with Stephanie Meyer's last TWILIGHT novel, "Breaking Dawn".

I had discovered that Meyer wrote the 2008 novel in three sections. The first section dealt with Bella Swan's marriage to vampire Edward Cullen and their honeymoon in Brazil. There, she discovers that she is pregnant and that her unborn child's growth is accelerating at a rapid pace. The second section dealt with shape-shifter Jacob Black's efforts to save Bella and her unborn child from the Quileute wolf pack, who believe that the child is a monster and poses a threat to the community. The child's birth nearly kills Bella and leads Jacob to "imprint" (or sense his "soul mate") upon her. And Edward saves Bella by turning her into a vampire. The final section dealt with Bella's transformation into a vampire; and the Cullens and Jacob's efforts to save the new baby named Renesmee from the Volturi, who sees her as a threat. This third section was adapted for "BREAKING DAWN, PART II". Melissa Rosenberg based the screenplay for "BREAKING DAWN, PART I" on the novel's first two sections.

How did I feel about "BREAKING DAWN, PART I"? I might as well be frank. It sucked. There. I said it. All right. There were a few aspects of the movie that I found entertaining. Billy Burke was funny as ever as Bella's sardonic father, Charlie Swan. However, not all of the humor came from him. I have to admit that the entire sequence featuring Bella and Edward's wedding struck me as rather funny. Taylor Lautner, as usual, made some sequences from the movie rather bearable. I realize that I am going to be slapped down for this, but his screen presence has grown rather considerably since he first appeared in 2008's "TWILIGHT". Both Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattison gave decent performances. But I was really impressed by Lautner. The final action sequence in which the Cullens, Jacob, Leah Clearwater and Seth Clearwater fought to protect Bella and her child from the Quileute wolf pack struck me as pretty exciting. However, the birth of Bella and Edward's child turned out to be one of the most tense and excruciating birth scenes I have ever seen on film. I never want to experience such a thing again. The only reason I had listed it as a virtue was because I thought it was well shot by director Bill Condon.

Despite the virtues I had listed in the previous paragraph, I still believe that "BREAKING DAWN, PART I" sucked. And I cannot decide whether it was the worst or second worst movie in the franchise. The movie had its share of overwrought dialogue and one-dimensional characterization that has marred the franchise since the beginning. Melissa Rosenberg has a lot to answer for. Since the adaptation of this last novel was divided into two films, moviegoers (who were not squeeing fangirls of the franchise) were forced to endure Edward and Bella's excruciating honeymoon in Brazil. God, what a torment that turned out to be! I realize that the honeymoon sequence was important to the story, considering that it featured Renesmee's conception and Bella's discovery of her unusual pregnancy. But was it really necessary to inflict a long and agonizing montage of the newly married couple cavorting on a private Brazilian island?

There is another aspect of "BREAKING DAWN, PART I" that really disturbs me. Why on earth did Charlie Swan's closest friend and Jacob's father, Billy Black, never warned Charlie about Edward's true identity? Now, I realize that such a revelation would have forced him to tell Charlie the truth about his family and tribe. But one would think that Bella's safety was more important. He kept his mouth shut when Edward and Bella first dated. And continued to remain silent when the young couple finally married. I hate to say this, but Billy Black's silence on the identity of the Cullen family continues to astound me to this day. One can only wonder how Charlie will react to Bella's transformation into a vampire.

I wish I could say that I enjoyed "BREAKING DAWN, PART I", but . . . who am I fooling? I disliked the film. Hell, I dislike the franchise. And no action sequence or tortuous childbirth scene could save this movie for me.