The 3rd time is the charm

Or at least it was for me.

Jen and I went to see Eclipse yesterday, and while I really enjoyed it, she definitely did not. Her first comment when the credits started rolling was, "I'm not going to see the last two movies unless you pay for it."

I find myself in the minority. Eclipse currently has a 4.5 out of 10 rating on IMDB with nearly 14,000 votes. Nevertheless, just as Eclipse is my favorite Twilight Saga book, the movie is by far my favorite of the three released.

I guess I should admit that the first time I viewed New Moon (also with Jen) I thought it was absolutely awful, but when a friend asked me to watch it with her (she hadn't seen it) I hated it much less than the first time.

Jen admitted that MAYBE her lack of love for the Twilight Saga is due to the fact that she hasn't read any of the books, but who really knows. I found it interesting that we both laughed at the same parts that weren't meant to be funny (but were ridiculous or just bad acting instead), but Eclipse was the first Twilight film that left me feeling satisfied.

I reread Eclipse a few months ago, and I'm glad I did because it helped me to appreciate what a great job David Slade did in keeping the film true to Stephenie Meyer's book. Only a couple of scenes were added to the film in order to introduce and develop a key character (Riley) since Eclipse (the book) is told completely from Bella's perspective. Therefore she wasn't present to witness Riley's transformation, the forming of the newborn army or Riley and Victoria's interactions (scenes added to the film).

The make-up - especially Robert Pattinson's - was so much better than it was in the first two films. Everything was far more subtle and realistic (aside from the ridiculous sparkling, which I still find utterly moronic).

Many reviewers have bashed both Taylor Lautner and Kristen Stewart's acting. I found Taylor's Jacob in Eclipse far more believable than in New Moon; and I thought Kristen Stewart finally let herself go a little bit in Eclipse and was therefore able to bring a live Bella to the screen.

Jen still criticized her for the limited range of her facial expressions, etc., but for the first time I believed Kristen's acting.

In Eclipse Bella really is conflicted for almost the entire book. She is upset with herself, worried for those she loves and completely unsure how she should feel about her future. Despite her resolve in the decisions she's made, she is constantly reminded that her loved ones will be forever affected - and not in a good way - by her choices. Hence the pained expressions, furrowed brows and mostly unhappy face she sports for the larger part of the movie. I wouldn't have expected to see Bella any other way in the film-adaptation of Eclipse.

I admit that I own Twilight on dvd (solely for the commentary version). I would never buy New Moon, but I'm pretty sure I'll add Eclipse to my dvd collection eventually. I really did like it, no matter what anyone else thinks.