The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 - (November 18, 2011): PG-13
Distributor: Summit Entertainment
Opening Weekend Box Office: #1 with $138,122,261
Domestic Box Office Gross to-date: $147,975,742
Gross Revenue: $300,875,742
Production Budget: $110 million
Director: Bill Condon
Say what you will about the quality of Stephanie Meyer’s insanely popular novels, no one can deny the near-historic success of the film adaptations at the box office, so when the trailer for Breaking Dawn – Part 1 first hit, it was clear that more than a few records would be challenged or broken outright. Unlike some of the earlier entries in the franchise, aside from Volvo’s “Journey to the Wedding” cross-promotion, the subsequent marketing tactics employed were notably plain and straightforward, but that apparent shortcoming is more than justified. There was really no need to spend money to slap together “Team Edward” or “Team Jacob” Happy Meals, when all Summit Entertainment had to do was tease the trailer at an awards show or attach it to the Facebook fan page, and then simply sit back and let the Twi-hards generate all the buzz and word of mouth that any studio could ever hope to produce. Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner have all become household names since they were first introduced to mass audience, and though I don’t see any Academy Awards in their collective futures, that truth wasn’t going to stop any fans from lining up at theaters. Out of sheer obligation to the integrity of my blog, I prepared to see Breaking Dawn – Part 1, praying that it would not touch any record set by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2; I’ve said it a thousand times before: wizards will always be cooler than angst-filled vampires.
Building off of the proposal that ended Eclipse, Breaking Dawn – Part 1 opens with the fairy-tale wedding of Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and her true love, vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), with everyone from Bella’s naïve father, Charlie (Billy Burke), to the extended Cullen family, in attendance. Werewolf Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner) is understandably very upset about the marriage, but he is also concerned for Bella’s safety when it is revealed that she will not be turned into a vampire until after the honeymoon, meaning that she could be injured during the consummation of the union due to Edward’s supernatural strength. Regardless of this complication, Bella and Edward retreat to a private island in Brazil, and though Edward is initially hesitant to be intimate with Bella, the two finally end up making love. Everything is perfect until an astonished Bella discovers that she is pregnant with a rapidly-growing, hybrid child, and Edward’s adopted father, Carlisle Cullen (Peter Facinelli), reveals that, as a human, Bella has little chance of surviving childbirth. Another threat surfaces in the form of Jacob’s tribe of werewolves, who view the half-vampire offspring as a significant threat, and therefore resolve to slaughter Bella and her unborn child. Alongside Jacob and Edward, the rest of the Cullen Family, including Esme (Elizabeth Reaser), Alice (Ashley Greene), Rosalie (Nikki Reed), Jasper (Jackson Rathborne), and Emmett (Kellan Lutz), swear to protect Bella and do everything they can to ensure that she survives the complicated and unprecedented pregnancy.
By and large, I did not enjoy Breaking Dawn – Part 1, but there are a number of positive elements that made the overall experience bearable. As always, I enjoy the characters within and the interactions shared between the members of the Cullen family, as each of their distinct personalities brings a unique and engaging element to the overall story…unfortunately, the film spends little to no time focusing on these individuals. Speaking in terms of vampire and werewolf mythology, Twilight has always played fast and loose with some of the finer established rules, but in focusing on the reaction to the birth of a vampire-human hybrid, Breaking Dawn – Part 1 is able to generate some significant intensity and interesting storyline dynamics that set the stage for an epic conclusion in Part 2. I was also surprised by the level of humor present in the film, thanks largely to Billy Burke, whose reactions to the supernatural union demonstrate far better comedic timing than the film deserves. All praise aside, these limited positive accolades cannot save the decidedly mediocre themes that are presented in an overly dramatic manner using sub-par acting.
Dress it up however you want, Breaking Dawn – Part 1 glorifies a wedding, honeymoon, and pregnancy as something of absolutely earth-shattering proportions, and Kristen Stewart simply fails to give these “events” any kind of justifiable gravity. Don’t get me wrong, I understand the importance that these occurrences can have an individual’s life, but the perpetually-miserable Bella is so indecisive, whiney, and irrational, that it is really hard to care. I was pleased to see Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner show a little more acting range in their roles, as both of their characters are understandable upset by the pregnancy, but both still end up trying a little too hard. Add these shortcomings to the overly sappy focus on romance within a narrative nearly devoid of the action that made Eclipse tolerable, and Breaking Dawn – Part 1 represents a step backwards in the quality of the franchise. As much as I’d like to say otherwise, anyone outside devout Twi-hards dragged to the theater by a significant other is in for a significant struggle with this film.
Given the franchise’s box office track record, it should come as absolutely no surprise that Breaking Dawn – Part 1 took the top spot in its opening weekend and raked in huge opening numbers. Earning $30.25 million on midnight showings alone is impressive, but it is also worth noting that 51.9% of the gross coming from Friday showings, a front-loaded trend typical of the Twilight series. The $138.1 million opening is second-best in the franchise (behind New Moon), and fifth overall in terms of all-time opening weekend, behind Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (thank God), The Dark Knight, Spider-Man 3, and New Moon. However, the newest Twilight chapter’s rank should be taken with a grain of salt, as it did not enjoy the benefit of added 3D revenue. Still, with an impressive overseas haul and a long holiday weekend to bring in strong audiences, Summit Entertainment can only look forward to a substantial profit. Far from spectacular, all I can say of Breaking Dawn – Part 1 is that is set the stage for a hopefully stronger Part 2; we’ll see what happens next November.
Overall Recommendation: Low
