You will know from reading my review of BDP1 that I was and still am a big fan of the Twilight movies and books. However, as BDP2 was filmed back to back with BDP1 I couldn't help but wonder why they weren't released closer together. They made the fans wait a year and a half between New Moon and Eclipse and I understood that this was due to the other filming commitments of the cast, primarily Kristen Stewart filming The Runaways (hence her awful wig for Eclipse). But there was no such reason for the year long delay between BDP1 and BDP2 so I felt like this was dragged out unnecessarily.
In the year between movies I started to grow tired of the whole franchise. The constant noise in the press about RPatz and KStew and their eventual break up over her affair with Rupert whats-his-face. It had nothing to do with the film and if it has all been a ruse to generate publicity then I feel sorry for those whose lives have been ruined along the way. I digress of course, this is a review and not the Twilight cast biography. What I guess I'm trying to say is that my enthusiasm for the Twilight films waned. And as such I found myself feeling less than excited at the prospect of ANOTHER Twilight film.
Having said that, I decided to give the films one last chance to win me back and I booked me and my bestie tickets to the midnight screening for her birthday. We'd seen all the others at midnight (with the exception of the first film) so it felt like a tradition we should see through to the end.
We set off at 11.30pm having watched Breaking Dawn Part 1 in preparation. All bleary eyed and wondering if we were just too old for all this nonsense. Mingling with kids half our age trying to get into the club next door to the cinema. Buying coffee to keep us awake. We settled into our seats and awaited the final film in the Twilight saga. We knew how it ended of course as we'd read the books, but as I had heard that the filmmakers had changed the ending of Stephenie Meyer's original story to be a more fitting cinematic experience, I still didn't quite know what to expect.
Then as the opening credits appeared, I noticed something I hadn't seen on a Twilight movie before. A Producer credit for Stephenie. This immediately made me relax a little, and pushed my excitement up a notch. If Stephanie produced the film, surely she wouldn't have allowed any of the changes to be detrimental to the story she wanted to tell?
The film starts immediately where BDP1 ends. Bella wakes from her deathbed a vampire. We see straight away that unlike other newborn vampires, she is restrained and well, still her. But without the awkwardness. We meet Renesmee again who has grown substantially considering she is only weeks old, and we learn, as we suspected from the end of BDP1, that Jacob has 'imprinted' on her. We soon find out that the Volturi, the Italian vampire clan who keep the vampire world a secret from humans, have gotten wind of Edward and Bella's immortal child and that they plan to journey to Forks to kill the Cullens once and for all. As Renesmee is not immortal, a child born of a vampire but not bitten, Edward and Bella must gather those willing to stand up to the Volturi in order to protect their daughter, and themselves, from certain death.
I won't spoil the MASSIVE twist at the end but what I will say is that even those who've read the book will be surprised at how the filmmakers have manipulated Stephenie Meyer's book in order to give the film audience something that the readers were sorely lacking. I think that they've done a wonderful job of bringing the final part of the story to the big screen and I think fans of the book and those who haven't read it will equally enjoy what the film has to offer.
BDP2 introduces some great characters to the saga and also some great actors. I particularly enjoyed the addition of Lee Pace to the cast as I've been a fan of his since I saw him in Pushing Daisies. I must also say that the existing cast look better in this film than they have since the first Twilight. I think they finally decided to ditch the wigs which were making actors like Peter Facinelli and Elizabeth Reaser look faintly ridiculous.
So despite my trepidation, in the end I did enjoy BDP2 and I would recommend you see it. Even if it's just to put that final nail in the vampire coffin. 8 out of 10.
Viewing Date - 15th November 2012
UK Release Date - 16th November 2012
Cast Overview:
Kristen Stewart ~ Bella Swan
Robert Pattinson ~ Edward Cullen
Taylor Lautner ~ Jacob Black
Peter Facinelli ~ Dr Carlisle Cullen
Elizabeth Reaser ~ Esme Cullen
Ashley Greene ~ Alice Cullen
Jackson Rathbone ~ Jasper Hale
Kellan Lutz ~ Emmett Cullen
Nikki Reed ~ Rosalie Hale
Billy Burke ~ Charlie Swan
Chaske Spencer ~ Sam Uley
Mackenzie Foy ~ Renesmee
Maggie Grace ~ Irina
Jamie Campbell Bower ~ Caius
Christopher Heyerdahl ~ Marcus
Michael Sheen ~ Aro
Daniel Cudmore ~ Felix
Charlie Bewley ~ Demetri
Dakota Fanning ~ Jane
Cameron Bright ~ Alec
MyAnna Buring ~ Tanya
Mia Maestro ~ Carmen
Lee Pace ~ Garrett
Noel Fisher ~ Vladimir
Julia Jones ~ Leah
Booboo Stewart ~ Seth
Director ~ Bill Condon
Writer(s) ~ Melissa Rosenberg (Screenplay) and Stephenie Meyer (Novel)
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