Eclipse

The third chapter of the Twilight saga, Eclipse is actually the best so far.  I would attribute that to the level of intimacy, comfort, and confidence that has taken root among the top billing stars.

Granted, Kristen Stewart still could not act even if her life depended on it, and maybe I’ve just gotten used to it by now.  Taylor Lautner once again spends so much time half naked (and this is NOT me complaining...), they actually joke about it in the movie (Edward sarcastically asking Bella if Jacob even owns a shirt).  Meanwhile Robert Pattinson, who at first showed the most promise, seems to have grown weary of the whole enterprise, displaying the same facial expression over and over.  And in spite of all that, this is still the best of the 3, so you can imagine how pathetic the other two are.

Synopsis: Jason is still trying to pry Bella away from Edward’s fangs, but their love is so much stronger than whatever Bella feels for Jacob.  With the date of her turning fast approaching, Bella also needs to decide whether she really wants that or not.  Meanwhile, someone’s killing a lot of people and the Cullens recognize the telltale signs of a new vampire army being created, which will attract the attention of the Volturi if they don’t take care of it first, further endangering Bella.

The quality of the screenplay isn’t that much better than the two predecessors’, but at least this time there’s so much happening that the story moves along.  The visual effects and makeup do get better (although I’ll never be able to take seriously the sparkly vampire skin in the sun -- vampires are creatures of the night and that’s a cardinal rule of their mythology, sorry), but the oversized werewolves, to which they’re now committed, still look ridiculous and cartoony.

The Bottom Line: Eclipse might be the best of the bunch to date, but that doesn’t mean that it’s good.  In fact, unless you’re a fervent fan of the saga, I’d advise you to keep your distance from this barely watchable episode as well.  The extra action and added storylines hardly make up for the overall weak backstory.

Grade: 5