Movie Rant 7: Eclipse

Eclipse (2010)

Plot:

Oh come on, I don't have to write that, do I? Let's sum it up with love triangle Bella-Edward-Jacob, plus vampire army. Nuff said.


Yeah, I've seen it already. Back then when I was shocked what they did to the first movie, I was still a huge Twilight fan, so I can compare the movie to the books. In my opinion the second movie was a lot better, mostly because Robert Pattinson wasn't on screen most of the time. The change of director wasn't a bad idea, either, but it was sad that they changed the composer of the score. Of all the things that were going on in the first movie, the score was one of the rare things I really liked.

So what about the third movie now?

All I can say is: Thank you god, it's watchable! It's actually … good! OK, I take that back. Let's say it's better.
I was surprised what a Horror movie director and Howard Shore (yes ladies and gentleman, Howard Shore) can do for a movie that starts with so many bad factors already.
Let's do this the other way 'round this time and start with the good things first:

It has a plot.

Now we can scream and cheer, because I have to admit, the second one didn't really have one. When I read the books I didn't notice. You know, when you read these books as a fan, you maybe notice the flaws they have but tend to overlook them. In a review, I can't do that. Book two had no plot. That's it.
Book three, on the other hand, is the best book out of all four, it has romance, a love triangle, some serious action going on, and for the first time people really get hurt. This means, the director had a much better script to work with.
And you know what's even better? The movie sticks to the plot! That's something rare for book adaptations! I felt relieved when I saw that they really showed the brutal past of Jasper and Rosalie, and that they even added the little jokes like SPOILER Bella breaking her hand because she punches JacobSPOILER ENDS. Also, thanks to the director, the movie feels much darker.
Oh, and for the first time I had the feeling that Jasper is in fact pretty! I wasn't able to see anything appealing on him during the last two movies, so it was a nice surprise.

But still, the director had no chance to make a really good movie out of Eclipse, since the factors that make the movies so bad are not changeable.
First of all: Bad actors. That didn't change. I don't like Robert Pattinson at all, nor do I like Kristen Steward. Although they got better, they are still far away from being brilliant actors.
And next: Cheesy effects. Oh my, that didn't change at all. Seriously, it's a Vampire movie for god's sake, bad effects don't help to make it more believable! After all that success, how is it possible they still have no money to spend on proper CGI?
It's also strange how they include action without including action. They use the fact that Twilight-vampires have stone-like skin as an excuse to keep that movie almost blood-free, even during a battle with a vampire army! The vampires break like stone figures, it looks extremely hilarious. And it doesn't make any sense.
Brutal things should happen during that movie, and when you look at the four books, it's the only chance to include proper action! And what do they do? Make it lame. But at least they give you hints that something bad is happening right now. That means – at least you can tell your mind to imagine the scene. Oh thank you.
I can understand that they don't want to make a movie that is not suitable for the age group they make this movie for. But even the Harry Potter producers eventually understood that the character grows up and so does the audience. Sigh. It's not worth complaining.

So, to sum this up: Eclipse does a lot of things right, and a lot of things terribly wrong. And that's a lot better than everything I can say about Twilight, the first movie. And somehow I have to respect the producers for not trying to make a bad quality 3D movie out of it. That wouldn't have ended well. Oh gosh, only the thought of it makes my eyes bleed already.
Thank you, producers! Thank you director!

You make me believe in wonders again.

(But that won't last for long. When I think of what is coming along in book 4, and how impossible it is to film that, I already get a headache. Sigh. What a mess.)