Movie Review: Breaking Dawn Part 1

So most of my readers already know that I am a Twi-hard and therefore this review should be taken as such. It is my opinion, but as a huge fan I can't really remain impartial and you need to be aware of that before reading the rest of this post. In fact, many of you may read this and think I hate Twilight or this movie but you would be wrong. I am just overly critical because I truly had high expectations going in.

For those that aren't sure or have been living in a cave, Breaking Dawn is the fourth book in the popular Twilight Saga. Following the lead of Harry Potter, they decided to split the final book into two films to avoid cutting key scenes for time. The two parts were filmed together, but part 2 will be released next year.

In the book, Bella and Edward finally get married but not without complications coming from the fact that he is a vampire, she is a human, and her best friend is a werewolf (but you knew that). The film begins with wedding invitations being received by the key characters in the story and leads into the wedding. It was unique how they slowly revealed Bella's wedding dress, even though we had already seen it in pictures and trailers.

I don't want to give anything away, but the movie was not timed well. I was under the impression that spiting the book into two films would prevent a rushed feeling, but that's how I felt at many parts. I felt that some scenes looked more like a montage than an actual scene. The only montage that really made sense was a cut and paste of the different wedding speeches. You'll really get a laugh at Charlie's speech as well as a few others.

Scenes were modified from the book including an interesting look at the wolf pack. This is the first time we really see them relaxing as humans so it was an interesting change. Another scene that was modified from the book also involved the wolves, but I won't go into details to avoid spoilers.

Once again, hair styles were changed and I just didn't like it. I honestly feel the first movie did it right and then they messed it up by trying to improve it. The make-up also could have used some work because Bella looked paler than her suppose to be pale vampire husband. Another change came in the form of the cars: Four movies and so far four different Volvo's.

My personal opinion of this film is that Twilight fans will be overall happy with the way things were done, but disappointed that they must wait a year to see the conclusion.  As I said at the top of my review, I feel like I was overly critical but it's because I had extremely high expectations for this movie.  Many of my favorite scenes can't be mentioned in my review without giving too much away.  I did enjoy the film and felt my emotions being tugged at in a similar fashion to when I first read the book.

Breaking Dawn Part 1 will be released nation wide on November 18, 2011. Make sure you stay until the middle of the credits because there will be a short scene that leads into part 2. There is only one scene so don't worry about staying all the way until the lights come on.

Movie Rating for Breaking Dawn Part 1

The passes for this pre-screening were won through 43KIXPhilly. Follow their local Facebook page to attend free screenings near you. Check out my informational post for more information about free movie screenings.