"Twilight" rolls on.
The forbidden fruit...is still forbidden. "Eclipse" is a step up, but that’s not saying a hell of a lot
About two-thirds of the way into Eclipse, there’s finally a “eureka” moment for the series. Through the first two cinematic installments of the ridiculously popular book series, Edward (Robert Pattinson) has come off either as an abusive boyfriend, a strangely distant and sexually confused cousin of Ziggy Stardust-era Bowie or both. Here, there is a scene where he and Jacob (the inhumanly ripped Taylor Lautner) finally carry out their blood dispute over a sleeping Bella (Kristen Stewart), and as Edward explains that he never wanted Bella to have his life or make the sacrifices that come with it, he finally appears to be the character that Stephenie Meyer imagined when writing the source material, a tragic romantic hero who truly does love Bella, wracked with guilt over his compulsion to be with her but knowing what this will inevitably entail.
If, while watching Eclipse, you’re moved to think “it’s about damn time,” you’re not alone. Pattinson’s performance anchors what for its pervading flaws is the best of the three films in the series. Thinking back to the first film, he’s matured considerably as an actor and steps up to take control of a series that so far has suffered from minimalism (Twilight), over-the-top dramatics (New Moon) and some seriously questionable ethics (both). His Edward benefits both from some toned-down makeup work and from the necessity of establishing him as the definitive center of the series, going into the two-part Breaking Dawn finale. For once he looks like the better choice for Bella, and the film does a thorough job of establishing the central romantic issue: Bella wants Edward, but can stay human with Jacob.
The problem with this scenario is that it highlights the film’s major flaw, which is still Stewart as both actress and character. Bella is inherently obnoxious, because her propensity to put herself in repeated danger to prove her mettle to the undead is moronic. There’s no logical reason for her to continually insist upon being in the middle of the action, or to become bait, when there are two supernatural creatures (and their families, for some odd reason) who are willing to get killed to keep her alive. Stewart’s whimpering mannerisms, which work better in indie fare like last year’s Adventureland, don’t befit a romantic heroine, particularly not one that’s somehow captured the zeitgeist for an entire generation of young females. Her primary function throughout the 2+hours of Eclipse is mostly to whine and wear a terrible wig that seems to appear and disappear at will.
The film’s full title (The Twilight Saga: Eclipse) testifies to the other major issue present. Nothing really happens during the entire running time. The films, unlike the Harry Potter adaptations, haven’t been designed to stand alone as their own movies. The series is meant to be watched as a whole, which is admirable in a way, but also allows the movie to get far more listless than it should. As the third director in three movies, David Slade brings some of the visual aesthetic of his prior vampire film 30 Days of Night to the table, but still can’t corral a script that includes 15-minute passages of soap opera dialogue and endless close-ups of quivering lips and furrowed eyebrows.
There’s also no excuse for the lazy CGI werewolves, which are probably the worst digital characters in a major summer release since Van Helsing. One would think that a film like this, which is going to print its own money, could invest in some basic demonstration of effort. Until the climactic battle between vampires and werewolves and Bryce Dallas Howard, the film is perfectly content to focus on Jacob’s abs for a cheap pop, without telling much of a story.
One final note on the pink elephant that’s always in the room when discussing these movies. The Twilight series has both on page and screen drawn serious heat not only for quality but also for the message portrayed. On the surface it’s a screed about the dangers of premarital sex, while also being a chastely sexual fantasy in its own right. Going deeper, there are accusations that Bella and Edward’s relationship is teaching a generation of young women that emotional abuse and love are synonymous. While there’s nothing in Eclipse as blatantly offensive as the moment in New Moon where Bella runs off with a biker gang in order to see visions of Edward, there’s a sequence of ham-handed “big message” theatrics that’s both unintentionally comical and a bit disturbing.
Bella tries to seduce Edward, but he…just…can’t. As they argue back and forth, he explains how he doesn’t care what people do now; he’s old fashioned and waits until marriage. In a Jersey Shore world this message should be admirable, but in a film where the man making this statement has almost drunk his girlfriend to death, left her alone in a forest to “protect” her and repeatedly pulled her into deadly situations, it’s hard to not take serious mixed messages away. Like its annoyingly confused heroine, Eclipse doesn’t really know what point it’s trying to make.
2/4 stars
Posted by Dominick Mayer on Jun 30, 2010 @ 9:21 pm
