THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE (2010)

DIRECTOR: David Slade
STARRING: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner

I’m going to admit something I’m not very proud of: when I first started reading the Twilight books, I ate them up. I loved ’em. Studying for my finals became a distant second to consuming them within a two-week period and I thought Rob Pattinson was a fox. Since then I’ve become a feminist and graduated with a degree in English and writing, so you can imagine how deep my shame runs. That being said, I’m well aware that liking these books is only okay as long as you don’t take them seriously, and I also want to point out the fact that I thought vampires were sexy way back in middle school when I discovered Anne Rice’s Lestat — does that give me any credibility at all?

Anyway, back to the movie.

Eclipse is the third installment of the series, following Bella (Stewart) and her intensely co-dependent relationship with stud vampire Edward (Pattinson). They’ve gone through a lot together — other vampires desperately wanting to eat her, Edward nearly committing suicide in Italy because of a little misunderstanding, and the like. Recently, however, what Bella is really having a hard time with is the fact that in spite of her all-consuming love for Edward, she also is in love with her werewolf friend Jacob (Lautner). To make matters worse, Edward and Jacob don’t get along, not only because they’re in competition but also because they are natural enemies. And, on top of everything, Victoria (a.k.a. hot evil redhead vamp) is still on Bella’s trail, determined to kill her as revenge against Edward. Needless to say, Edward and Jacob may have to get along for the safety of their delicate ladylove...

Let me be honest here. I know these movies are crap — anybody who actually believes otherwise is in denial. However, I have to commend Eclipse for being a considerably higher grade of crap than the first two. There aren’t nearly as many cringe-worthy moments, no music-video-esque slow motion montages, and the sexual tension and romance going on actually feels somewhat genuine. I would like to believe that Kristen Stewart has the potential to be a good actress (see my review for The Runaways) and it seems that as Bella she is gradually evolving past the obnoxious, stuttering mess that I can’t stand. Her character seems to be slowly sneaking towards having a spine. Of course, Rob Pattinson is still pretty and bland, sleepwalking through what could have been an interesting role, but I won’t hold that against him (but please, can’t he tweeze just a bit?).

I guess I have to say that I was actually a little bit impressed. Not impressed in that it was a good movie, but that it was a better one. It managed to improve in a lot of ways. Let’s just say I’m extremely curious to see how they pull off movie #4 — anyone who’s read it knows exactly what I’m talking about.

FINAL GRADE: C+