THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN PART 2

RYAN: The fifth and final installment of the Twilight franchise is – and I can’t believe I’m saying this – outstanding! 

CAROLINE: Presumably you mean in a cheese-tastic way? 

RYAN: No, I actually really liked this movie, even though as you know, I’m not a Twi-hard or even particularly a fan of this franchise.  Until now.  This one was less cheesy in the bad makeup and wig department. In fact the only bad makeup was Dakota Fanning’s eyeliner. 

CAROLINE: I have to disagree with you on the wigs.  As usual, Nikki Reed and Jackson Rathbone bore the brunt of it.  I just don’t understand how they can get away with such ugly wigs.

RYAN: To be honest, Ashley Greene and Peter Facinelli’s wigs weren’t awesome either.  

CAROLINE: I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, though I was consistently aware of its high cheese factor. Starting with the animatronic-looking CGI baby at the beginning. 

RYAN: What the ‘ELL was that?!!  I couldn’t believe that was happening.  Why couldn’t they have just used a real baby like every other movie in the history of movies? 

CAROLINE: It was seriously mind-boggling.  I could understand if it was a wild animal or something but there was no reason for it.  Such a strange choice.  Luckily for us, baby Renesmee grows up very quickly. 

RYAN: It was very creepy and unnecessary.  Meanwhile, I’m thrilled that Kristen Stewart didn’t do even one hair tuck in this movie.

CAROLINE: She had so much damn hair too!  What was with the extensions everywhere? I did love that she’s finally a vampire and that we go to see how her life had changed accordingly.  At least she can finally have sex with her husband properly. 

RYAN: The elements that have annoyed me in previous Twilights didn’t bother me in this one; like the romance.  This movie won me over.  And the action is so great that during the climactic scene, I was audibly gasping and even applauding.  

CAROLINE: OMG the fight scene is amazing and intense.  Apparently it’s not even in the book but it totally made the movie so much more worthy.  I was cheering too. 

RYAN: I saw this with 10 members of my movie club, all Twi-hards, and they all loved it and even appreciated the changes from the book. Also, the obligatory Taylor Lautner shirtless scene was hilarious. 

CAROLINE: I watched him stripping down and thought, “Will he ever work again in the movie industry?”  Probably not.

RYAN: For all the gossip and shenanigans surrounding their on-again/off-again romance, K Stew and R Patz certainly had great chemistry. 

CAROLINE: They really did.  I noticed that too and it felt very believable. But whoa, this movie was kind of über violent for PG-13, no? 

RYAN: Yeah, but you didn’t really see blood spurting everywhere.  It was like Hunger Games violence.  

CAROLINE: True, but I was a little surprised at how much killing there was.  I guess the audience has grown up a bit since the first one so they can probably handle it; but I wouldn’t recommend this for anyone under 13.  

RYAN: I liked Kristen Stewart’s wardrobe as a vampire.  

CAROLINE: Really?  I thought she needed to wear more pants and less micro-minis.

RYAN: I loved Michael Sheen and I loved that Dakota Fanning had basically one line in the whole movie. 

CAROLINE: Meanwhile, were you as surprised as I to see Lee Pace of TV’s Pushing Daisies fame in this? 

RYAN: Beyond, and I couldn’t love him more.   

CAROLINE: He looked hawt.  But some of the other vampires they rustled up were so bizarre-looking. But I guess that’s to be expected in Twilight.  

RYAN: I really liked the closing credits too. It was a great homage to the entire franchise.

— BOTTOM LINE — 

RYAN: This movie turned me into a Twilight fan.  I definitely want to see it again in the theater and it almost makes me want to re-watch all of them

CAROLINE: Wow, I don’t think I’d go that far but I enjoyed it.  I don’t think I could sit through it again though. Overall, to me this franchise is for the teens and ‘tweens and though it’s all in good fun, there’s no great filmmaking going on here. I could certainly see myself being obsessed with this franchise if I were 15.

— RATING —