Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Eclipse
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse reviews are in. The ones featured below are definitely more downbeat than the two positive ones from trade papers Variety and The Hollywood Reporter. (Some of the reviewers clearly haven’t read the book on which the movie is based — or if they have, they weren’t paying attention while reading it, e.g., not getting what the Volturi are doing near Forks.)
Directed by David Slade, Eclipse stars Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, and Taylor Lautner. As in Twilight and New Moon, Melissa Rosenberg adapted Stephenie Meyer’s novel.
The supporting cast includes Bryce Dallas Howard, Kellan Lutz, Xavier Samuel, Dakota Fanning, Peter Facinelli, Nikki Reed, Jackson Rathbone, Ashley Greene, Elizabeth Reaser, Billy Burke, Daniel Cudmore, Anna Kendrick, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Michael Welch, Alex Meraz, Tyson Houseman, Booboo Stewart, Bronson Pelletier, and Jodelle Ferland.
Eclipse opens tonight at midnight. Fans are already lining up.
After referring to Chris Weitz’s The Twilight Saga: New Moon as "dreadfully dumb," The Associated Press‘ David Germain goes on to say that "with returning screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg delivering her sharpest adaptation yet, Slade keeps the rather episodic story moving at a good clip, though things still bog down often enough in the same old routine."
"With the third film Eclipse, director David Slade doesn’t just bring a much-needed dose of humor to the glum franchise, but cranks up the action to the point that some sections could be considered genuinely exciting. Much of the film is still a slog, of course, and atrocious dialogue and wooden acting abound, but Eclipse is the first Twilight film that works at all on its own, giving us better characters, tense action sequences, and a wry acknowledgement that, yes, this is maybe all a little bit silly." Katey Rich at Cinema Blend.
"In director David Slade’s hands, the story plays like two movies in one, neither being particularly well-made, whether it’s the would-be action horror of a brewing vampire-on-werewolf fight, or the endlessly talky Bella-Edward torpor. Slade was considered an unusual choice as director for this third chapter in the series, a guy who supposedly earned horror cred with the more violent vampire voyage 30 Days of Night. But he has plenty in common with the Twilight series: two previous features that were generally overrated by fans, and a knack for creating characters nowhere near as appealing as they need to be." Luke Y. Thompson at E! Online.
"Things are looking up in Forks. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, the third movie based on Stephenie Meyer’s sparkly-vampire romance books, is an improvement on the previous two films." Sean P. Means in the Salt Lake Tribune.
"While director David Slade’s unnerving psychological drama Hard Candy (2005) was fascinating in its unpredictability, he is hampered here by Meyer’s leaden plot, adapted like the previous ones by Melissa Rosenberg. Early scenes have a gritty tension, but the rest of the movie, with its slow pacing and lackluster cinematography, doesn’t live up to that initial promise. … The huge contingent of girls — and women with girlish fantasies — who liked the first two movies will doubtless enjoy Eclipse. But this third go-round won’t make Twihard converts of the rest of us." Claudia Puig in USA Today.
Photo: The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (Kimberley French / Summit Entertainment)