Chances are that when you think of the Twilight phenomenon, great art is not what comes to mind. Whether we’re talking about the books, the movies, or both, there’s a certain amount of cheese, and a great amount of shrugging at parts, even by those who are lovers of all involved.
I mean, the dialogue is cringe-worthy, the special effects are worthy of a B-movie and nothing better, and it’s a story we’ve heard hundreds of times, but listen. It captivated millions so you won’t catch me hating on its success.
No matter the nitpicks, any series of books that has been reading 4 good-sized books in 3 days is doing something right.
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And say what you will about the franchise, but the twist at the end of the second Breaking Dawn film did something that’s really, really hard to do in this day and age (especially when a movie has source material) – it surprised audiences.
Fair warning: there will be spoilers going forward.
The entire fourth book culminates in a standoff between the Cullens (and their allies) and the Volturi, a council of sorts that polices vampire behavior worldwide.
The Volturi have heard that Edward and Bella have a child, and since vampires can’t normally breed, assume they’ve turned a living child into a vampire.
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In the books, they appear for a showdown. There’s a standoff with a bunch of posturing. Alice freaks out. Jacob runs off with Renesmee. And then…nothing.
The Volturi realize that Renesmee is a hybrid child (I know, I know) and just…walk away.
As someone who read the books, I can tell you this was a bit anticlimactic.
When we all piled into the theater with our low expectations for the final film, though, the people behind us were at home, eating their popcorn and waiting for it.
Because we got to the standoff. Everyone was glaring. The tension was high. Jacob took off with his child-l0ve (I know, I know).
And then…not nothing. Complete chaos.
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The Cullens were beheaded. Thrown into fires. Giant, CGI wolves were killed. Dakota Fanning was gleefully torturing people.
Image Credit: Summit Entertainment
Our heroes were fighting for their lives and losing.
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What. Was. Happening.
Image Credit: Summit Entertainment
Theater-goers were shocked. Mouths open. Confused beyond belief.
Image Credit: Summit Entertainment
I mean yes, this was a better story. It was more exciting. The movie had a climax that the books definitely hadn’t, but we didn’t want it to end like this.
Luckily, it did not, because yes, it was all a vision that Alice saw when she gripped Aro’s hand.
Image Credit: Summit Entertainment
Which happened in the book, yes, but was such a small, glossed over thing that most of us didn’t remember it until we were reminded of it in such wild, breathtaking fashion.
Image Credit: Summit Entertainment
So, there’s my argument, y’all.
Any movie that can surprise people like this, that can stun thousands of people in thousands of theaters, deserves at least a little bit of credit.
You can agree with me on that, right?
