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@JamesEpplerWhat we have with "Breaking Dawn part one" is one of the best "Twilight" movies in terms of performances and direction, but the story itself flies off the rails in ways that are both disturbing and surreal.
Based on the final book in author Stephenie Myer's wildly popular series, we finally see the wedding of heroine Bella to Vampire Edward Cullen. Their chaste and abstinent romance leads to violent bed-breaking sex on their honeymoon, leaving Bella bruised black and blue. So we go back to Edward being afraid to have sex with Bella - same place we've been for three movies. This extremely negative view of sexuality seems to indicate a number of things about the author and her motives here, but I'll leave that to the psychologists.
There's another problem - that first roll in the sack gets Bella pregnant. The baby being some kind of human vampire hybrid proves too powerful for Bella's body, putting her life in danger.
Plus, neighboring werewolves want the baby dead, fearing its power over them. That means young werewolf Jacob must leave his pack in order to protect Bella, whom he still loves.
It all culminates in one of the most bloody and bizarre birthing sequences I've ever seen, and a weird love story involving the baby. Really.
Director Bill Condon is the best thing to happen yet to this series - the visionary director of "Gods and Monsters," "Kinsey" and "Dreamgirls" makes this material look a lot better than it is. And he gets the best performances yet out of Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner.
It's an often beautiful film, even. But Myer's source material is so strange and unsettling.
And this is just part one of the last book. The studio opted to make two films out of it to bleed more money from viewers, in case you wondered who the real vampires are.
The final installment opens this time next year.
EPPLER'S RATING: * * 1/2Out of five stars
