I had high hopes for this movie. I hadn’t really liked the book because, for me, once the love triangle died with the marriage of Bella and Edward it was over for me. That and the idea of imprinting on a baby always creeped me out no matter how hard they tried to explain that it wasn’t a sexual thing. Sadly, much like the book, I struggled to get into the movie.
I find it hard to believe that Taylor Lautner really truly likes this movie the most as he has been saying as he repeats his answers on the promotional circuit – he’s barely in it! To be fair he and Booboo Stewart, who plays Seth, are the best actors in the group which is saying something.
The much anticipated wedding was a let down. Reviews have complained that the wedding was dragged out over 30 minutes but my issue with it is that it just lacked any real passion. With such a beautiful setting you’d think Kristen Stewart might crack a smile at some point coming down the aisle, instead she looked so terrified that if I was Edward I would have been worried that she would turn and run and any moment.
The movie was filled with unflattering outfits, terrible make up and hair for all these supposedly phenomenally attractive vampires, some of whom 
seemed to have picked up a tan.
After the wedding we enjoy the insane scenery of the Brazillian honeymoon but again it lacks any real passion. It’s hard to see why Edward feels the need to break the bed with the passionless, slow, uninspired love making that apparently then goes on to produce a demon child.
Twilight fans around the world were led to believe they were in for a seriously romantic wedding and a passionate honeymoon by the very intelligently constructed trailer for the movie. Instead the wedding was awkward, ending with Lautner declaring the act of consummation would kill Bella, and a large number of shots of Pattinson’s pasty, muscle free back.
While the directorial style of Bill Condon doesn’t really fit well with the previous Twilight movies, particularly when the wolf pack are made to sound like Megatron from Transformers as they voice their outrage over Bella’s pregnancy, what the do well is Bella’s death.
Stewart does a great job of revolting audiences as she starts drinking blood but something finally starts happening when 
Bella goes into labour. While it’s not entirely clear who does what as Renesmee (stupid name by the way) is born it is gruesome and Stewart does her most realistic acting as a dead, or almost dead person.
What I can’t understand is how Edward, a being who should excel at detecting pulses and life, could think Bella was dead but then needs Carlise to turn around and tell him to listen to Bella’s heart. Despite my confusion about that, and why Edward was happy to have Jacob imprint on his daughter (I don’t remember it going down that way in the book), whoever did Bella’s make up as she became more anaemic did a phenomenal job of making her look truly unwell.
The movie really does leave a lot to be desired but I think they made the right decision splitting the last book in two despite nothing really happening in the first instalment. Sure some of it will be seen as a money making decision because this movie basically serves as an extended build up to the finale, but it would have been and incredibly confusing movie if the fourth book was condensed into one movie.
I can’t give this movie more than a pass but I will still go and see the final instalment.
2.5/5