Breaking Dawn Part 2

On Thursday night, I went to the 10 PM showing of Breaking Dawn Part 2.  It was the first time I ever went to a first showing.  I loved it!  I thought it stayed true to the book for the most part.  I didn’t care for the song in the first scene.  There was a beautiful score at the end of BD1 and BD2 continued with a song with vocals.  And not just any song.  It has to be a male singer singing his highest tenor.  I found it very distracting for the scene I've waited months to see.  I would have preferred score.  Save the tenor for when they leave the house to go hunting.

Another thing I really didn’t care for was the animated face on Renesmee.  I know critics have criticized George Lucas for focusing too much on special effects and not enough on the acting, but I think sometimes it’s called for to be a perfectionist on CGI;  especially in this day and age.  You want your audience to be focused on the story, not getting distracted by the visual effects that are in sad need of improvement.  Maybe they should have had baby Renesmee be totally CGI?  When I visualized her in my mind while reading the novel, I thought of her looking like a regular baby.  They should have used the same baby they used for Bella and kept the facial expressions at a minimum.

I’m not one for "spoiling" movies for others, so I won't go into much detail here. The twist . . . to steal a line from Flynn Rider, “I did not see that coming!” It's like they took a page from M. Night Shyamalan! Everyone who made this film was probably laughing at us! I wouldn’t be surprised if they filmed audience reaction in selected theaters. I would have actually liked to have seen my reaction, like the pictures they take on amusement park rides! Anyway, I thought it was ingenious! This is storytelling at it’s best!

One thing I wished they would have put in the script were a few of Edward's lines from the novel.  I wish they would have put in when he says to Bella, "This is what you've been keeping from me?" and he addresses Jacob as, "My brother . . . my son."  The book made me cry during that scene, but the the movie did not.  The only time I teared up was when Bella realized her fate after her meeting with J.  New Moon was my tear-jerker movie in this saga.  I don't quite get why fans are so emotional about this being the last film.  Be happy it was made and that you finally got to see it!  And you never know, someday they may make another movie. 

I loved the final scene as it stayed true to the book, yet they changed the setting. And having A Thousand Years Part 2 playing was perfect! I absolutely loved it!  The credits had a curtain call, like at the end of a play, where the actors come out to take a bow.  What a great way to end the saga!

 

Afterthought:

Alice. 

Alice can be so pixie-like and sweet, but can be quite the she-cat when loved ones are threatened!   She’s one of my favorites out of the female Cullens.   Although, there has been one thing that has bothered me about Alice.  I’ve done some reading about physic ability, from Allison DuBois to John Edwards to Sylvia Browne.  I’ve found many common characteristics between them and other people who share their ability.  It seems most people, including those in TV and movies seem to share the misconception that psychics are all-knowing.  The irony of it is psychics are not psychic about themselves and are rarely psychic about their own family and friends.  I see this happen so many times on TV shows and realize that the writer's are going on misconceptions rather than bothering to research it.  Granted, I will give Alice’s character a break because her ability to foresee the future was magnified when she became a vampire, along with her other senses.  And I have to remember that she never claimed to be psychic.  That is the assumption we make when we learn she can see the future.

Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving!

Veronica