While following books to the letter
These movies do keep getting better
Bella's much less nervous
The others will service
It works as a good table-setter
The "Twilight phenomenon" has proven remarkably review-proof. The books are a triumph of concept over execution, as Stephenie Meyer's prose is pedestrian at best and luridly over-the-top at worst, particularly in the final novel. The movies, however, improve as they go along – the first film was a digitally graded blue bore and the most recent release is a generally solid story.
That said, once you peel away the Team Edward/Team Jacob fervor, there's not a whole lot actually happening in this installment. The basic story concerns the Cullen's nemesis raising an army of newborn vampires in order to kill Bella, who's knee deep in a love triangle featuring a bloodsucker and a shapeshifter. Each of those threads is given appropriate attention and come to conclusion, but as the credits rolled I realized this one was of the few movies that I felt actually could've been longer. Plot points and backstories get touched on more than explored, so it all feels a little "lite."
There are a couple particularly odd elements, too – the vampire Jasper has unexpectedly evolved from a quivering weirdo to a swarthy Southern dandy. And while the series' vampires have always been described as incredibly strong and solid, it's somewhat weird to see their bodies break apart to reveal a powdery silver inner structure not unlike a shattered statue. Not that these ruin the movie or anything, I just didn't picture the villain as Victoria de Milo.
Eclipse basically serves to wrap up and set up – the love triangle loses a side and some life-altering (or ending) decisions get made. It features more action than the first two films, but don't expect Underworld-level wall-to-wall fight scenes; these movies will always be more about anguished choices and significant glances. And it does all these things pretty well. Is it worth a watch? Sure, if you're invested in the franchise. If a viewer walked into it cold, they'd likely be a little lost, but that could be said of the later chapters of most series.
I'm neither Team Edward nor Jacob – being, you know, a guy – but I can say I'm Team Twilight. With increasingly better directors and more natural performances, Eclipse is the best of the bunch so far... which hopefully bodes well for the upcoming Breaking Dawns.
