Breaking Dawn Part 2

Director: Bill Condon

Rated: PG-13
Based on the Book: Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
Date Released: November 16, 2011

I went to see the movie the day after it released and the theater was packed.  Filmgoers, of course, will go see this movie because it will be talked about, no matter if it turns out to be good or not.

Screenplay by Melissa Rosenburg:

To begin with, it is extremely difficult to adapt books to film.  The screenplay is the building blocks of the process and Rosenburg, who wrote all the movies, did not do it for me.  However, this movie showed her writing the most through so many awkward conversations (that were not meant to be awkward).  These scenes came out wrong and even a bit laughable, where it is supposed to be serious.

One thing that I loved was the amount of interaction with Renesmee.  In the book, I hated both Edward and Bella’s parenting.  I didn’t find Edward to be the best of parents and it really put him in a negative light.  In the movie, I found that I enjoyed their parenting skills much better and loved to see them interact with Renesmee.

Acting (list of cast):

Repeating myself with the awkwardness of the conversations because it is not only the writing’s fault but also the ability of the actors.  They could have made some expression to make it less awkward but it seems that all vampires on this movie can’t show any emotion whatsoever.  It could be a vampire thing and it could also be an acting thing.  Every vampire had to be rigidly straight and look bored with life.  The only one who showed any expression was possibly Ashley Greene (Alice) who seemed most like the character in the novel, all bubbly and fun. 

I don’t know whose decision it was but it was a bad decision to constantly have everyone touching someone else.  Almost in every scene, each couple in the room had to be standing next to their partner so the audience knew they were together.  It was annoying and unnecessary.  Not every couple should be so clingy to each other.  The only couple that could stand apart happened to be Edward and Bella.

Editing by Virginia Katz:

I adored the use of the novel as the end credits to the movie.  It was a lovely wrap up to the series and how it was done was gorgeous. 

Cinematography by Guillermo Navarro:

The coloring of everything was so light and gorgeous.  As much as I would have loved to see the lighting get darker as the plot got a bit darker, it was still very beautiful.

Book to Movie:

I remember when I first read Breaking Dawn, right after the book came out and I remembered thinking that it didn’t feel like Stephenie Meyer’s style.  I still believe that and not just because so much that seems out of place happens in the novel, but because it doesn’t sound like the rest of the books.  That being said, I still liked the book and thought it was a good wrap up to the series.

How does the movie compare to the book?  Overall, I think the movie did a nice job at showing some of the scenes in the book well.  I did not like how the audience did not get into Jacob’s head like we had in the book.  But the best part had to be the war against the Volturi which totally caught me by surprise.  By not giving anything away, the war scene was riveting and something that is definitely different from the book but in an extremely good way.

Now do I suggest seeing this movie? Not if you haven’t read the book.  If you have read the book and loved it, you don’t want a miss a chance to see Meyer’s vision come to the big screen.  If you’re not a fan, I would skip it.

Screenplay: 2

Editing: 4

Acting: 3

Cinematography: 4

Book to Movie: 3

Overall: