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9/10
The crew performed on the highest level
22 November 2011
Warning: Spoilers
I am a fan of Twilight books, for I admire Stephenie's writing style, and as for the movies, I used to consider them a nice addition to the books, since none of them really reflected the book plot and details - that is, until Breaking Dawn.

Ms Rosenberg must be praised first of all for sticking to the book and finding a perfect balance between an exact reproduction of the book and creating a story which would be amusing to look at. Can't but add a point my friend expressed - if this is your first Twilight movie, you will hardly get the point - although why one would watch BD without the previous movies I can't imagine.

The cast performs on the highest level. Kristen Stewart portrays all confused emotions Bella experiences in a very believable way, and the scenes in which she has to cry are so touching you may also get upset. Robert Pattinson also does a great job - with his face all happy and amused in the first half of the movie, and then when he learns about the baby, it turns into a mask till he hears the baby's thoughts. Some consider it lack of acting, but I believe that's the way Stephenie imagined a vampire "in shock". Taylor Lautner with his brand-new stubble looks more mature which is very suitable for the situation. The supporting cast, not to mention every single person, can also be commended.

As for the characters, I must mention this movie changed my opinion on Jacob. I know it's not how he was designed, but he used to irritate me a lot with all his first-do-then-think pranks. Here, however, we get a much closer look at his personality. He still makes mistakes, but he also arrives at right conclusions, makes important decisions and in general tries to behave very wisely. The character of Leah is developed extremely well. We see her struggle as she tries to fight her inherent hatred for the Cullens for the sake of Seth, and eventually we see her overcome it during the fight between the Cullens and the werewolves - she pushes another wolf off Alice.

The most memorable scenes for me were: "toasts" at the wedding; Bella preparing for the first night with Edward (Kristen illustrated the nervousness in such a humorous and touching way, and the soundtrack was incredible); then of course the lovemaking (Pattinson said it was little for him, but well, if they showed more, the movie would be NC-17, definitely); Jake "overpowering" Sam and refusing to obey his orders - it was done in such a simple and yet genius way; the fight between the Cullens and the werewolves; Jake imprinting on Renesmee (nicely done, with flashbacks, flash-forwards and amazing editing) and Bella turning into a vampire - it was fascinating how her body was being healed by the venom, and the last thing we get to see on the screen is her pale face with crimson eyes opening.

Tip 1: don't miss a chance to watch it on the big screen - some scenes were just meant for that. Tip 2: if you aren't a native-speaker of English but your English is good enough, watch the original. I've already watched two translated versions and there was a number of ridiculous mistakes in the translation.
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7/10
Good if you haven't read the book
1 July 2011
Warning: Spoilers
I was quite eager to watch this movie first of all because I'm a great fan of Mrs Picoult and her novels. I hoped to see a very refined story of happiness diluted in tragedy and family bond that overcomes everything.

Unfortunately, the movie doesn't quite meet the expectations of a book- reader.

I don't even pay attention at the fact that not all the key plot lines were shown - that's understandable, not all movies can last 3 hrs like my beloved "Titanic". But the ones that remain are mostly rudely messed up with.

Let's start with the age of the main character. In the book she's 13, in the movie - 11. Not that much of a difference, it might seem. No, there is. The girl is trying to demonstrate and prove that she can make her own decisions about her body and health. With a 13 y.o. girl that looks quite credible. With an 11 y.o. kid that looks quite ridiculous, and sometimes her actions looked stupid, especially since the girl starring in the movie looks very childish. Not to offend the very girl, of course.

Secondly, the character of Jesse. Perhaps, they chose an actor who's too young again. Perhaps, something was wrong with directing. But a young guy with serious psychological problems and yet some life philosophy portrayed in the book turned into a capricious kid. Still, to director's credit, the importance of this character for the plot was underlined in a proper way.

Lastly, the ending. Without the author's agreement, the creators of the movie changed it completely. In the movie Kate dies and Anna thinks of her often after that. In the book, however, Anna and her solicitor Alexander get in a car crash and Anna dies. Her kidney is given to Kate and the latter suddenly recovers completely from her disease. Kate's death also has a point, I mean, the movie does have an idea, and something to think over, but that's something totally different from what the writer was trying to tell, which I consider not really appropriate.

My rating is not higher because I had read the book before watching, but not lower since, if you haven't read the book, you'll most probably love the movie a lot.
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