What is there to say about David Slade’s entry into the Twilight world? Eclipse won’t convert anybody or change their minds. He’s done vampires before in 30 Days of Night but they were pure killing machines and there was plenty of the red stuff to show it was a proper horror film.
Here we are dealing with star-crossed (and life-crossed) soul-mates. What is Dracula but a love story with a cruel irony attached? Bella finds eroticism in death and Edward, although hesitant, will supply it. Romantic agony and frustrated desire is important in Eclipse – not bloodletting.
The story continues with Edward and Bella’s mounting troubles. There’s a vengeful Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard) to take care of, a newborn vampire army and the Volturi turn up to see why things are getting so out of control on the Olympic peninsula. Jacob and Edward’s rivalry intensifies to great lengths, too.
Slade promised a darker movie but the only thing dark about Eclipse is the night time scenes. Melissa Rosenberg’s script is the great offender. Of course we can lay the blame solely on Stephenie Meyer’s less than sparkling (pun intended) prose and the effort it takes to wield it into movie form. The dialogue was awful in the original, it was awful in New Moon, and there’s no change here.
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse has a lot on its plate and various plot lines to run, but it is strongest when focusing on the love triangle. The exchanges and tension between Edward and Jacob are very well handled, fun even. Their mutual distrust and racism infuriates Bella.
Taylor Lautner’s performance is easily the best of the bunch. Jacob is forthright, funny and very sure of himself. There’s even a gag about his abs and his posing, with Edward remarking. ‘Doesn’t he have a shirt?’ It works as an in-joke and an attack on the young lad’s superiority complex.
The scene in which he kisses Bella and receives a fist to the face provides the greatest laugh. See? There are laughs to be had in this series! Of course Jacob’s great tragedy is he loves Bella, but she loves Edward more.
In terms of set-pieces and action, the movie falls short. The end battle on the mountaintop is gorgeously rendered with the scenic splendour of the Olympic Mountains allowing the movie its gothic backdrop. However the film feels unsatisfying because of its uneven script, rushed pace and sometimes bland direction.
Lautner, Stewart and Pattinson embody their iconic roles with great earnestness and it’s they who provide the emotional weight and interest. The rest of the characters are given little to do but turn up to propel certain narrative points. We get some individual back-story with Rosalie (Nikki Reed) and Jasper (Jackson Rathbone) but it’s hardly riveting.
The CG has improved slightly but in the age of Avatar it doesn’t look good enough. But criticising the film when fans love it regardless is quite useless. Eclipse, in essence, is bulletproof. The barbs and jibes will ricochet off carrying on unharmed all the way to box office glory.
The Twilight Saga is archetypal stuff with an age-old narrative wrapped, in admittedly, eccentric clothing. Stephenie Meyer has done some radical things to the vampire and her heroine. The vampire has become a figure of moral goodness impeded by elements conspiring against them. A love and longing for death consumes Bella. This allows for a rather perverse take on the character. After all, she’s choosing between a man-beast and a ‘cold one’.
Rating: ★★★☆☆
UK Release: 9th July (previews 3rd and 4th July)