The newest film of “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn-Part 1,” was finally released about two weeks ago on Friday, November 18. The film made $139.5 million during its opening weekend and $30.3 million within the opening day. With some highly anticipated scenes like Edward and Bella’s honeymoon and the birth of their daughter, opinions about the extremely popular film will vary.

Breaking Dawn Offers Baby Bumps, Blood and Bad Acting

by Sydney Morrison ’13

With the plot line of a best-selling book series by Stephanie Meyer and the rabid support of an enormous fan base,”The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1″ should have been the epic fourth installment to the “Twilight” series. Instead, it was an extremely horrible—and at some parts nauseating—epic fail of a movie. Between the infamous stutter of the clumsy protagonist, 18-year-old Bella Swan, and her marriage to the 107-year-old Edward Cullen, “Breaking Dawn” is just painful to watch.

The first half of the film was a drawn-out, uncomfortable, melodramatic sex scene between the newlyweds, paired with an apparently important montage of them playing chess. The second hour was centered around a vomit-inducing image of Bella’s deteriorating self. Not to mention the pointless, and numerous, camera flashes to minor characters’ blank facial expressions throughout the entire film. No need to give them lines, just show their faces.

The major issue is the unfortunate application of special effects. The five-minute scene of snarling computer generated werewolves who communicate through their minds is horrendously done. And dear lord, who knew animation could make humans look so bad? Is Bella supposed to look like she’s suffering from the Bubonic Plague? Or was Kristen Stewart forced into anorexia beforehand in order to look that disgustingly ill? At least her two giant front rabbit teeth distract from her grotesque image whenever she speaks, or stutters. And when her father’s pedophile-esque mustache is done infiltrating the screen, there is just enough time left for Bella to give birth to her half vampire monster child. Now isn’t that a pleasant scene, watching Edward rip open Bella’s stomach with his fangs.

Making the film even worse is the terribly predictable cliché of an ending when Bella’s new blood red vampire eyes pop open and the screen goes black. Needless to say, “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn- Part 1” is hardly worth the wait.

More Mania than Movie

by Isabel Paterson ’12

As soon as the “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn: Part 1” begins, fan-girls have reason to scream or swoon. Jacob Black, played by the ab-ridden Taylor Lautner, rips off his shirt in the pouring rain and transforms into a … wet dog; a poorly animated wet dog. Although most of the fans of “Breaking Dawn” overlook special effects, lighting, plot and even acting, the film series is going to have to step up its game the next go-around to be taken seriously by film critics and aficionados.

Not to side with ‘Team Edward’ but at least the Cullen family knows how to act. In one section of the movie, Jacob has a serious talk with Leah Clearwater, a fellow wolf and confidante of his who is played by Julia Jones. However, instead of coming off as meaningful, Leah’s suggestions regarding Jacob’s troubles over Bella come across as poor acting and cheesy lines. Another thing, and this still does not mean ‘Team Edward’ is better, but what is with the completely unnatural animated wolves and their oddly confusing voiceovers? In the book, it is clear that the werewolves can talk to each other telepathically, but the special effects in the film just look like a silly attempt at an animated puppet show.

As for the main attraction, Bella and Edward, computer animation alarmed all of the blood-squeamish people in the audience, especially when the newest Cullen was born. The CSI-like microscopic view of Bella’s insides seems a little out of place and disconnected from the overall feel of the movie, though the effects done on the newly-named Ms. Cullen were impressive.

But then there is how sick Bella looks. Of course, she does have a vampire sucking her blood from the inside, but the effect on the already-skinny Kristen Stewart makes it uncomfortable having to look at her.

Because the animation of the Cullens, even the creepy-eyed cousins, is more impressive than that of the werewolves, it seems as though they won, but in the grand scheme of things, ‘Team Jacob’ was vastly overlooked.

A Heart Pounding Love Story

by Katie Nolan ’12

As the saga began to draw to a close, hundreds of teenage girls lined up on opening night, Novermber 18, to see the latest film in the Twilight series. The expectations of many, myself included, were exceeded by the film’s depiction of the novel series’ thrilling love story.

Rather than waste time refreshing the audience’s memory of what had happened in the previous film “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse,” the new film picks right back up where it left off. It is rare for a movie to blend an imaginary world and reality so well, but the latest movie,” The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1″ does so.

Director Bill Condon does a flawless job of intertwining events like the wedding ceremony and the honeymoon with scenes highlighting the tensions between vampires and werewolves. “Breaking Dawn” is a replica of the story that captures every event and emotion perfectly.

Looking as enchanting as promised in movie trailers, the much-anticipated wedding scene made every girl in the theater crave a fairytale romance complete with a mysterious vampire who had the looks equivalent to those of Edward, played by Robert Pattinson. More importantly, however, is the scene that follows the wedding, the scandalous honeymoon. Bella, played by Kristen Stewart, and Edward portray the build-up and sexual tension perfectly without being too racy.

Vampire love, however, comes at a price, and tragedy strikes the beautiful newlyweds, when a dangerous pregnancy is revealed. It melts the hearts of female fans to see Edward kneel at his wife’s side as she suffers the effects—ones that show Bella in a less attractive light—of giving birth to a vampire. As the story goes on, the popular werewolf heartthrob, played by Taylor Lautner, is reintroduced, once again causing every girl in the theater to swoon. Despite doubts that the film could not recreate the magic of the novel, “Breaking Dawn” depicts each scene as readers have imagined in their heads and recreates the forbidden love story on screen.