'Entertainment Focus' About 'Eclipse'

Cast: Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Kristen Stewart, Peter Facinelli, Ashley Greene, Dakota Fanning, Anna Kendrick, Bryce Dallas Howard
Director: David Slade
Release Date: Friday 9th July 2010
Running Time: 124mins
Certificate: 12A
Released By: E1 Entertainment
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Bella (Kristen Stewart – Adventureland) has made her choice and it’s Edward (Robert Pattinson – Remember Me). But despite his proposal of marriage Bella is still reluctant to get engaged without Edward ensuring that he turns her into a vampire. This is something he doesn’t want to do. Jacob (Taylor Lautner – Valentine’s Day) has returned and is determined to win Bella’s heart even though she has made her intentions clear. In the meantime, a spate of mysterious and brutal killings in Seattle could spell danger for the Cullen family and could also put Bella into grave danger. A pact must be formed between the werewolves and the vampires if they are to overcome the evil that is fast approaching them, an evil led by Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard – Spiderman 3).

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse is a rare find, a sequel that shows signs of maturity and fresh perspective whilst never sacrificing the key elements of its appeal. Along with this maturity comes an engrossing story that captures your attention throughout and makes the 124min runtime just fly by.

Leading the way once again is Robert Pattinson who is simply outstanding in the role that made him a superstar. He brings his multi-layered portrayal of Edward vividly to life and has fun exploring some of the characters motives and emotions in greater depth. He is matched by Kristen Stewart’s portrayal of Bella which keeps getting better with every passing movie. The two young actors are very much the heart and soul of this franchise and it’s their believability as a couple and as soulmates that makes all of this such a worthwhile watch. And that’s why Twilight as a franchise works so well. This is fundamentally a story about true love, a timeless tale and one that uses the fantastical settings of Vampires and Werewolves to enhance its core story, not define it.

Taylor Lautner continues to steal every scene he is in as Jacob and nicely builds upon his larger story-arc from the previous chapter, New Moon. He makes this love triangle so interesting and it helps that author Stephenie Meyer hasn’t felt the need to paint either Edward or Jacob as a bad guy. Both of these men are perfect for Bella which makes her actions all the more intriguing. There is a fantastic scene (perhaps the best moment in Eclipse) where Bella is asleep and Jacob and Edward start talking about what Bella means to them both. It’s done so well and both Pattinson and Lautner should be proud of their work here, it’s a pivotal scene and a captivating watch.

Of the supporting characters, Jasper (Jackson Rathbone) gets a chance to shine in Eclipse and he doesn’t disappoint. Both he and Rosalie’s (Nikki Reed) back-story is explored further and it explains their characters motives more (which helps those who haven’t read the books before). Kellan Lutz always entertains onscreen and looks like he had a lot of fun filming his scenes. Xavier Samuel also does well as Riley, the newborn leader looking for a fight and Bryce Dallas Howard gives Victoria the right amount of savvy and vindictiveness to make her a great villainess.

There are some new additions to the wolfpack and Booboo Stewart is the pick of the bunch as a young pup that looks up to Jacob. Peter Facinelli also does well and uses his limited scenes to really drive home the severity of the Cullen’s current predicament and of the dangers that lie ahead. I would liked to have seen more of Facinelli, Ashley Greene and Billy Burke - they were all underused this time around - but with so much happening onscreen this is easily forgiven.

The effects are a huge improvement, especially weighed against the first movie. The Twilight Saga’s success has meant a larger shooting budget this time around and director David Slade does a great job in utilizing every penny to full effect. The opening scene set in a rain soaked Seattle introduces us to Riley and is filmed very well indeed. The training sequence which finds Jasper tutoring the wolves and the vampires in ways of fighting newborns is both energetic and well paced and it uses the films wonderful soundtrack to full effect too. All of this is building up to an end battle that will leave you at the edge of your seat and is well worth the admission price alone. It’s full of cool stunts, great CGI and breathless “wow” moments.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse is a fantastic movie. From the actors, director and script through to the impressive special effects, Eclipse takes you on an enthralling journey and one that will leave you wanting more. With the news that Breaking Dawn will be split into two separate chapters (much like Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows), at least we have more Twilight drama and angst to look forward to. For now, Eclipse manages to put both Twilight and New Moon into the shade and is without doubt the best film of the series thus far. Simply unmissable.


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