Movie Reviews  |  PG-13  |  View Trailer  |  Jun 30, 2010

The sullen Cullen clan is once again faced with insurmountable danger and destruction in the newest installment of the “Twilight Saga.” “Twilight Eclipse,” opens on a flower strewn field. Bella and Edward embrace each other. They’re so passionate about wanting to be together. Bella loves Edward to no end, but she has trouble believing in the institution of marriage. “It’s just a piece of paper,” she says. With the fact that she would be marrying the undead, her last worry should be whether or not the institution of marriage is fundamentally sound, but that’s Bella for you. Always the worrier.

As a matter of fact, everyone is worried in “Eclipse.” An army of “newborn” vampires is being created by the bloodthirsty Victoria who would like nothing more than to drain Bella of every ounce of her blood. The Cullen clan, through Alice’s visions, has found out that an army is being formed to find Bella and kill her. War is inevitable. Jasper makes us think that these newborns are indeed stronger than regular vampires, and this is going to be one tough fight. They enlist the help of the resident Indians who turn into Werewolves at will when defending their land from vampires.

Director David Slade (“30 Days of Night”) takes the extreme close-up to a whole new level. It’s possible to count on two hands the number of times you actually see a wide shot of scenery in this film. The majority of the screen is filled with close-ups on the actors as they try their best to furrow their brows to make themselves look intensely distressed. It’s like they have so many emotions bubbling up inside of them they’re not really sure which one to actually emote, so blank intenseness suffices.

The world of “Twilight” is full of glum characters settled in gloomy surroundings. Bella wants to become a vampire, and begs Edward to change her into one. Edward refuses, saying that the life of a vampire isn’t something he’d wish on anyone. Other Cullen children beg Bella not to become a vampire, it’s the worst thing that’s ever happened to them. So, why do they make it seem like such a cool life? Let’s see, no real weaknesses, live forever, have superpowers, why wouldn’t anyone not want to be a vampire?

“Eclipse” delves deeper into the “Who is Bella going to choose: Jacob or Edward” dilemma. Edward wants to get married, Bella loves Edward, but Jacob loves Bella, and Bella may also love Jacob. Problem is Bella is quite possibly the most selfish character ever written. She cares only for herself. She wants Edward to change her, but doesn’t want to give in to the whole marriage thing because of silly technicalities. She wants Jacob to stay around has her “friend,” but we all know what being friends really means. Bella is tough to root for, when all she’s doing is acting like a spoiled teenager that wants to have her cake and eat it too. On top of that Bella keeps pushing Edward to get more intimate with her. Which begs the question, how exactly does sex with a vampire work? Apparently in this version vampires are akin to giant icicles being void of blood. A substance that comes in handy during mating situations.

Perhaps the real problem with the whole franchise is there’s never been a time where we really understand that Bella and Edward actually really love each other. They lust after each other, but love? Do they really? They throw that word around like they really understand the meaning. She’s only a teenager anyway, and it’s pretty common knowledge how teenagers view love during their high school years. This brings up another fundamental question. What does Edward see in Bella? While he looks her age, his intellect from years and years of life must be far beyond that of a silly teenage girl.

In the end though, this is what the hordes of “Twilight” fans want from this franchise, and that’s fine. The movie will attract loads of movie-goers who will swoon when Jacob appears on screen, shirtless, for the tenth time. It’s exactly what the fans want, and you can’t really fault it for that.