The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 (2011) – IMDb: 4.9

Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner
Breaking Dawn – Part 1 is the penultimate installment of the Twilight Saga, following the turbulent romance between Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and the vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson). As Bella and Edward prepare to marry, they face obstacles from both the human and supernatural worlds, including Bella’s impending transformation into a vampire and the complex dynamics with Jacob (Taylor Lautner), Bella’s werewolf best friend.

The film explores themes of love, sacrifice, and the consequences of living in a world divided by supernatural forces. With its romantic tension and the tension-filled love triangle between Bella, Edward, and Jacob, Breaking Dawn – Part 1 serves as a transition into the final chapter of the saga. It builds toward the dramatic events of the final movie, making it an essential chapter for fans of the series.

At the very least, Condon knows what the franchise fans want to see. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 is not a minute old before heartthrob Jacob (Taylor Lautner, brow regularly furrowed as always) is running through the rain with his shirt torn off (I’m not even sure if he knows how to remove a shirt the old-fashioned way). It’s a goofy, though understandably fans-first approach to the movie’s opening and it instantly re-establishes the conflict between Jacob and vampire Edward (Robert Pattison), who is now about to marry Bella (Kristen Stewart), the object of dual affection throughout this series. Jacob is particularly miffed upon seeing the wedding invitation, so he does what he does best: He wolfs out.

Unfortunately, this isn’t what the effects team does best, because the CGI wolves still look as shoddy, cartoony, and entirely pitiful as the ones featured in previous installments (“Twilight,” “New Moon,” “Eclipse“). I don’t really get how the fourth movie in a massively successful series can still get away with such heinous animal animation, but this stays true to the strict banishing of personal style or individual flair that handcuffs each filmmaker who chooses to step on to the set and try to call the shots. Once Chris Weitz’s “New Moon” (the second in the series and arguably the worst) unveiled the pixel-hungry wolves, it was a statement that this was as good as the effects were ever going to get.

It’s not too surprising, really, but it is frustrating that Condon has to so uncomfortably squeeze his movie into the rather plain and thrifty franchise template that was established several movies ago. Everything still looks rather cheap and the visual representations of special abilities remain painfully pathetic. Four movies in and the vampire super-speed still looks as slapdash and silly as ever. Dream sequences or visions or whatever are still communicated through cheesy partial dissolves and a contrived combination of bargain bin photographic and editing techniques that are so poor they’d feel more at home in a direct-to-video effort instead of a theatrically released blockbuster.