Return of the Cullen: Eclipse Movie Review
When it comes to love, we as humans often want what we want, or rather who we want. This could defy logic, sense, or reason. Then again, the heart doesn't compute such things. Doesn't understand them, nor listen to them. The heart listens to fire, desire, passion, and rapture. Edward (Rob Pattinson) offers this. Jacob (Taylor Lautner) does not. This puts Bella (Kristen Stewart) in between that rock and a hard place in choosing which man she will be with: Edward, who has brought spark and romance and turned Bella's world completely upside down, or Jacob, who offers the support system and friendship a relationship must have, but he offers minimal-to-no drama. And, he doesn't have to turn her into a wolf. Decisions decisions.
Unlike the third film in most trilogies (save for Toy Story and Lord of the Rings), Eclipse could be unanimously and logically the strongest film yet. Although the film juggles a number of characters and points of view, there is a strong foundation for the narrative, and everything else works off that: the love triangle between Bella, Edward, & Jacob.
By the beginning of the film, Edward unceremoniously proposes to Bella, who instead of saying yes, requests a compromise: turn me into a vampire and I'll be your bride. They agree, and set Bella's transformation for after graduation. Jacob, on the other hand, has been playing cold (ironically) shoulder to Bella to show his disgust over her choice of companion, and her decision to become a 'cold one' -- he's in the dark about her engagement though. Jacob loves Bella, but the feeling isn't exactly mutual; Bella doesn't know if she loves Jacob, and doesn't really want to know -- she's with Edward, and that's it. Bella definitely is not used to hunks fighting over her. This central dynamic is what drives the story and film, ultimately. Bella's journey in finding her love, her place, and whom should be with her in that place is the heart of the film.
Having established this as the emotional core, the story's plot sees a series of vicious killings going on in the area by unknown vampires. The vampires turn out to be newborns (newly turned vampires), possibly led by Victoria, who still has major beef with Edward for killing her man in the first movie. The film has an effective buildup towards the bad vamp army arriving in town to trade blows with the Cullens and whoever else. The tension towards this final showdown and its danger is not unlike the buildup towards the Helm's Deep battle in LOTR: The Two Towers. This tension allows the characters to grow and develop amongst each other, seeing Team Jacob sign with Team Cullen for the greater good to fight off the bad vamps. It also creates an opportunity to go into the backstory of numerous characters. Rosalie Hale (Nikki Reed) has a great sequence revealing to Bella her cautionary life's tale, ala I Spit On Your Grave, seeing her exact a just revenge on her assailants. We also witness how the conflict between the wolves and vampires began, through an effective campfire storytelling.
Eclipse is shot better than its predecessors, albeit many close-ups. Director David Slade is no stranger to a tight shot; his Hard Candy was almost exclusively all close-ups. Slade employs a similar approach with Eclipse, not afraid to go in tight at the risk of putting the acting under an already large microscope. It works. Near the beginning of the film, there's an overhead, bird's eye shot of Bella leaving her house and getting in her car. Many directors for economy sake would cover this with a simpler, more pedestrian shot -- Slade instead uses this as an opportunity for a more dynamic shot, one that lets the audience know he's here to milk every ounce of awesomeness he can out of things most fans won't be expecting, such as Bella walking to her car. Such approaches are contagious with the cast and crew when making a movie.
Eclipse may not win over many new fans, but I doubt Twilight needs many new fans. Twihards and the ole faithful will enjoy this third part even more than the others, which may not sound like much, but considering how popular and successful the franchise already is, this is certainly a triumph creatively.
