Review Time: I liked the Eclipse movie!

Discussion of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Moderator: bac

Forum rules
Click for Forum Rules
andypalmer
Learning to Love Green
Posts: 75
Joined: Sat May 01, 2010 8:24 pm

Re: Review Time: I liked the Eclipse movie!

Post by andypalmer »

My anticipation of Eclipse was no less intense than that of New Moon, but filled with far less apprehension. The production quality had been greatly improved with New Moon and, while Eclipse has some touching, emotional moments, it is a far easier story to tell. Mostly, I was just looking forward to the big fight scene :-)

Overall, Eclipse was the most accurate to the book of the movies so far, though certainly had a touch of the Bree Tanner book thrown in to add some flavor and context. The production quality was even higher than that of New Moon with better make-up, better special effects, and better wolf CGI. Only Kristin Stewart’s awful wig tarnished the movie in that regard.

The story of Eclipse is highly action focused and the movie was definitely paced in such a manner. As such, it was lean, lacking any fat. Each scene covered the material it needed to cover and moved on. Unfortunately, the Twilight Saga is not an action series; even Eclipse is a romantic drama with some action scenes so the lack of “fat” made some of the more emotional scenes fall flat. The follow through with the food analogy, you often need to keep some fat in order to fully enjoy the flavor of the meal and Eclipse certainly lacked that. The tender moments occurred, but you were not allowed the time to live in the moment, to experience the emotion before you were flung to the next scene.

The flashback scenes were masterfully done, just enough to portray the story yet still adding insights into the characters. I was especially impressed with the portrayal of Rosalie’s last days – it’s a feat to tell of what was, effectively, a brutal gang rape in such a way to make it clear what occurred without using any disturbing imagery. I also enjoyed the tribe flashback as it solidified images from the book that were not fully clear to me; the European clothing on the vampires was a great touch.

The most famous scene of the book, the “tent scene” was done well, but not incredibly so. Still, it was challenging to portray so I’m not going to be too harsh there.

The training scenes and the mass fight with the new-borns were very well done. There were some “Hollywood” liberties taken but overall it was quite entertaining and more than sufficient to satisfy male Twi-noobs looking for a testosterone fix.

I was disappointed that Edward was again portrayed as a vampire wimp, that his extraordinary speed and mind reading was not correctly portrayed (again!) in a combat situation. This time, instead of hurting herself to save Seth, she did it to save Edward from getting his head ripped off by Victoria and Riley. They took a scene which was intended to portray that, despite her best efforts, Bella was a helpless pawn in these supernatural struggles and instead made her the heroine. First Felix and now this - don’t you read the books, people!?!?

I was also disappointed that Melissa Rosenberg had to add her snarky liberal comments into the script, with Bella replying that waiting until marriage for sex was “ancient” and that, once married, she would keep or hyphenate her last name. Hello!? Last I checked the author of Twilight was Stephenie Myer, not Melissa Rosenberg – keep your personal views where they belong and just tell the story!

My biggest disappointment was probably the “Bella kissing Jacob” scene (day of big fight). It’s the case where the “lack of fat” was felt the most. In the movie, you barely got the sense that Bella even felt bad for kissing Jacob yet it’s a poignant moment in the book in which Bella recognized her love for Jacob but decides to put that part of her behind her and in which she feels so bad that she actually *wants* Edward to be mad at her. It’s a touching scene that provides real closure to the tent scene and was effectively brushed over.

Overall, I was pleased with the production quality and overall flow of the movie and appreciate that it captured all of the major plot points of the book in a mostly accurate manner. By far the most commercial of the Twilight movies, Eclipse will appeal to a large audience of Twi-hards and new fans alike. The emotional elements of the story could have been told better, but overall, I rate the movie an A-
sophiie-e
Settled in Forks
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Jul 14, 2010 5:16 pm

Re: Review Time: I liked the Eclipse movie!

Post by sophiie-e »

OMG i Love Eclispe so much.
this movie was amazing.
next week i´ll watch it again :)
all these kissing scenes and the fighting. everything was perfect i think.
the music was also amazing.
but i misses Rachelle Lefevre :/

but all in all eclipse is an amazing movie.

xx
tufano79
Settled in Forks
Posts: 12
Joined: Fri Jun 18, 2010 3:03 am

Re: Review Time: I liked the Eclipse movie!

Post by tufano79 »

Originally, I was on the fence about Eclipse. However, I've seen it two more times (such a dork...but I'm okay with it) and I am more on the like side of the movie. Originally, I thought that it was too fast. However, I think that was due to me. I was SOOOOOO excited to see it, my perception of the movie indicated that it was fast.

Anyhow, positives.
1. Love the chemistry between Rob and Kristen, especially in the beginning scene. The cuddling and couple-y things were sweet, but had some "heat." I also adored the proposal scene (partially because I secretly wished that I was Kristen and also it had my favorite song on the soundtrack as the background). Finally, the last meadow scene was OOOOOOOOOKAAAAY. I liked how Kristen remarked the Edward was bullet-proof.

2. Billy Burke -- TOTALLY rocked as Charlie! His scenes (other than the aformentioned scenes) were the best in the film. Love Billy Burke!

3. Flashback scenes - Jasper's in particular were great. Definitely enjoyed seeing the back stories of both Rosalie and Jasper on film (I've pictured them in my head, but they do not come close to what was on the screen).

4. Rob.... sigh! 'Nuf said.

Hugs, Josie
Jazz Girl
Making beautiful music with Edward as only I can
Posts: 5119
Joined: Mon Dec 08, 2008 9:25 am
Location: Rob's HalfwayHouse, shacked up with some FicWard.

Re: Review Time: I liked the Eclipse movie!

Post by Jazz Girl »

So, I'm on my 17th viewing. Each time, for me, there's more to love. I still have those moments where I want to hurl stuff at the screen. But, overall, my satisfaction and love of this film has only grown.

The reason why, other than the fact that I love it, I see a movie so many times is to be able to truly see every scene. Especially this movie, there is soooo much going on in each scene, so much context and "little things" that complete the scene. It is this reason why I have a new favorite scene to add to my list. The final confrontation with the Volturi. Watch Rob. Overall, the entire cast is fantastic in this scene, bringing each nuance of their characters truly to the screen. But, it is this (amongst soooo many others) moment where you so truly see how deeply Rob embodies Edward. Watch his body language and facial expressions, particularly when he is not speaking. His body is planted firmly between Bella and any threat, even adjusting when Felix starts to move through them, angling forward and wrapping his arm around her to move between them. The look on his face when Carlisle says "if the Volturi had knowledge of Victoria, they would have stopped her." For those who have read The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, you see him nod at the moment when, in the novel, we find out she is communicating directly with him. Such dedication to his character(along with his own inhuman beauty) is what makes Rob such the perfect embodiment of Edward Cullen.
“Directing 7 Cullens at once=herding cats" :ROTFLMAO:
C-Dubs is TwitterRoyalty
Image
Turning Page is Gospel~Ashley=MiniMe~HHBS
Marie Masen
Settled in Forks
Posts: 10
Joined: Mon Apr 18, 2011 2:24 pm

Re: Review Time: I liked the Eclipse movie!

Post by Marie Masen »

Just a random thought about the wardrobe that Bella wears in the movie.
In the book, she wears a skirt and blouse to graduation and the party.
They have her dressed so plainly, even when Stephanie has mentioned the prettier outfits she wears in the books.
mybrandofheroin
Settled in Forks
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed Jun 29, 2011 7:06 pm

Re: Review Time: I liked the Eclipse movie!

Post by mybrandofheroin »

I absolutely loved Eclipse! My problem with Twilight was I thought the acting could be better, and I had such high expectations that I was slightly let down. I liked New Moon a lot better, but I thought there could have been better music selections. With Eclipse, I loved every musical choice. Plus, I think all of the actors/actresses had matured. I believed the story line and I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. That happened with Twilight and New Moon as well, but the cast did so well capturing the raw emotions in Eclipse. It was exactly how I pictured it in my head.
"These violent delights have violent ends, and in their triumph die, like fire and powder, which, as they kiss, consume." ~ Romeo & Juliet, Act II, Scene VI
Post Reply