As the fourth installment in the Twilight Sage, the movie “Breaking Dawn: Part 1” is one for the ages. Currently, the film is topping the global movie charts, but does that mean it’s a good movie? Kristi Brasley, a senior at PSU, says, “I loved the movie. there was a great moment when Edward [played by Robert Pattinson] heard the baby’s thoughts for the first time. Edward had this look in this face that conveyed so much. It made the movie for me.” Still, that’s one only person’s opinion. As a Twilight fan and as an acting major here at PSU, I can say that there were some great acting moments. The one mentioned above was one of those moments. Pattinson’s face said more than words could. His expression in this single moment was such a drastic change from the rest of the series. Jacob, played by Taylor Lautner, breaks down in one scene, literally collapsing under the emotional pressure that has just struck him. If you have ever had such a destructive moment in your life, you can see that reflected in Lautner’s performance. However, not every moment was pure gold. For fans of the book, Edward’s “burning man” never comes to fruition. Whether we have the director, screenwriter, or actor to blame, we don’t know but it would have bumped the acting up a level. Unfortunately, Bella, played by Kristen Stewart, lived up to the low standard that many fans have come to terms with. Stewart had few expressions to cover the emotional range that Bella has to experience in this installment.
Overall the acting about balanced out, but there are still other things to take into consideration in deciding if the film was good or not. The cinematography of the film was beautiful. Scenes like the wedding, the honeymoon, and even some of Forks’ forests were not only visually stunning but also set the mood and direction of the scene. Bill Condon’s directorial concept, of what seemed to be love, came through on such a strong level through the editing, cinematography, and fun loving montages. However, some people consider this to be a negative factor in the movie. “I didn’t find it as enjoyable as the other films. There was too much mush and not enough action. I expected more anger or revenge from Jacob,” thought Aubrey Ganem, a junior at PSU. Jacob did have an angry moment in his wolf form, but the scene made many fans laugh in embarrassment and disappointment. In a scene featuring the wolf pack, it showed the computer generation (CG) wolves, and the sound playing was a voice over from the actors. Something was awry because the voice sounded like a Ke$ha song gone horribly wrong. The voices were oddly pitched, distorted, and there were enough echoes to last a lifetime.
So now that we’ve looked at the good and the bad within the film, it’s time to decide whether it was it a good movie or a bad movie? Fans of the Twilight novels will enjoy the movie because it does stick to the book pretty well. Boys, there may be a lack of action in part 1, but it might be good movie to bring a date to, if not hold out for part 2. Overall, I’d give “Breaking Dawn: Part 1” a 7 out of 10, which is a passing grade. Not too shabby.