'The Twilight Saga: Eclipse'
It cannot be denied that Stephenie Meyer wrote the Twilight series with a target audience in mind. The novels revolve around an intense love between a vampire and a human, and include very little action to distract readers from the romance element.
As a result, it is not surprising that there weren't a surplus of guys lining up to see the movie adaptations of Twilight and New Moon. Fathers and boyfriends were occasionally dragged into the theaters against their free will.
Well, fathers and boyfriends don't have to drag their feet into The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, as the latest film includes several visually stunning, sometimes frightening action sequences. Yes, the Bella-Edward-Jacob love triangle is still there, and yes, it is the focal point of the film, but there is a little bit of mystery and violence that audiences of both genders can enjoy.
In Eclipse, Bella Swan is forced to chose between an eternal life with her vampire boyfriend Edward, or a normal life with her shapeshifting best friend Jacob. This decision isn't easy, and has resulted in a never-ending debate between fans of the series - audiences must decide for themselves whether they are Team Edward or Team Jacob.
This decision isn't the only thing plaguing the series' narrator - Bella is also being hunted down by a revenge-seeking vampire named Victoria, who wants Edward to feel the pain she experienced when the Cullen family killed her mate in the first Twilight film. To protect Bella, the werewolves and vampires of Forks must join together, putting their age-old rivalry on pause.
The film features several scenes that weren't included in the novel, a change that will be greatly appreciated by the male audience members of the film. In order to build up an army against the Cullen family, Victoria creates several newborn vampires - creatures with great strength and an even greater thirst for blood. Viewers get to see the newborns' reign of terror over Seattle, as well as their battle with the Cullens and the werewolves - the novel is told from Bella's point of view, so as she wasn't present for either of those experiences, readers didn't get to see them. It is nice to see some dark action in a series which has previously been criticized for its nonviolent, sparkling vampires.
The film ends with a cliffhanger, and viewers will have to wait until Breaking Dawn - which will be broken up in two parts - comes out to see how the series concludes.
Fans of the series, prepare for a movie experience that is leagues above that acquired from the first two films. Newcomers and guys, don't worry. This film is painless, and has enough action to distract you from the mushy love triangle and occasionally mediocre acting. Give it a shot, and you may just find yourself becoming a "Twi-hard."