I will say first, I'm not a fan of the Twilight series. Nor am I a hater of it. I'm pretty much indifferent to the whole affair. It has some intriguing ideas and moments, but it also has it's glaring faults. This also pretty much sums up the final chapter in the saga.
Picking up from the events of Breaking Dawn Part 1, Bella (Kristin Stewart) is now a vampire, ready to start a life with Edward (Robert Pattinson) and their half human/half vampire daughter Renesmee (Mackenzie Foy). But when keepers of vampire law, The Volturi, are mistakenly led to believe Renesmee is a human child transformed into a vampire, outlawed due to their ferociousness, the Cullens are sentenced to death. Desperate to clear their names, the Cullens scour the globe looking for allies to help clear their name.
With the main thrust of the series, the love triangle between Edward, Bella, and Jacob (Taylor Lautner), dealt with in the last installment, the story pretty much comes down to a battle of good versus evil. It makes the movie feel like the most un-Twilight of the entire saga. While it won't win over any of the series' detractors, it should make the movie a bit more palatable for non-fans. It starts off well enough, quickly establishing the new status quo, and providing some very nice humour, including one priceless scene between Bella's father and Jacob. Once the Volturi threat rears its head though, the movie stumbles, becoming a succession of scenes introducing new characters who we really don't get a good feel for, including a group of 'Oirish' vampires, stereotypical wooly jumpers and all, who had the entire screen in stitches whenever they were onscreen. The movie picks up again in the third act, just in time for the epic final battle. This is the biggest departure from the source material, the books finale not being much of one at all. A big battle teased at from the very start, fizzling out and just becoming speechifying between the two groups in a snow covered field. Director Bill Condon understands that this won't fly on the big screen, and orchestrates a thoroughly enjoyable and surprisingly brutal action sequence, that is sadly let down by its resolution. It feels too much like having your cake and eating it too. Some will argue that it was the only way it could have gone without angering the fans, but it really lessens the impact of a fantastically realised battle sequence.
Special effects abound in this film, with most of them being the best of the saga combined. The one that stands out the most though, is the mapping of Foy's face to the bodies of different children playing Renesmee at various ages. It is probably single worst effect of the entire series. The acting is also what you have come to expect, though Stewart does provide a harder edge to Bella, but still falls back on the old stand by of looking pained and staring a lot. Michael Sheen is the highlight as Volturi leader Aro. He is just so wonderfully flamboyant that I wish he was used more in the previous movies.
The twihards will ignore this review and love the movie unconditionally. The haters will ignore this review and despise the movie unconditionally. For those in between, while not without it's faults, Breaking Dawn Part 2 is a good enough night at the cinema.
