The Twilight Saga: Eclipse - Until(s) Evening Red

The wait is over. Finally we will find out if Bella will accept Edward's marriage proposal, if she will choose the vampire or werewolf Jacob after all. Because now, after the huge success of "New Moon" (worldwide box office takings well over 600 million dollars), the third part of the "Twilight saga" is finally coming to cinemas with "Eclipse - Bis(s) zum Abendrot". Directed by David Slade ("Hard Candy"), this is a blockbuster that - unlike its predecessors - has the almost perfect mix of romance, action, love and suspense to offer.

The plot picks up almost directly after the events of "New Moon". Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) is still deeply conflicted about her feelings. On one hand, she would love to say "yes" to Edward's (Robert Pattinson) marriage proposal. But standing in the way of that is not only Edward's reluctance to grant Bella's desire to become a vampire as well, but also her repressed feelings for werewolf Jacob (Taylor Lautner), which she still doesn't quite know how to categorize. Adding to this emotional chaos are ominous reports from Seattle of young people disappearing, suggesting that someone is breeding an army of young vampires to go to war with the Cullens. And it's soon clear who's behind this plan, Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard), who has a score to settle with Edward and Bella. Alone the Cullens can't win this fight and so they have to form an unusual alliance. But whether that alone is enough to stand against Victoria's army?

David Slade has already gained experience with vampires in the comic adaptation "30 Days of Night", although the bloodsuckers there have little in common with the romantic heroes of the "Twilight" saga. But even if Edward and consorts are nowhere near as bloodthirsty as the vampires from his last directorial effort, under the guidance of David Slade they show something that they lacked in the first two films: plenty of bite! Of course, Part 3 again has plenty of moments of yearning pining and, for older viewers, incomprehensible acting by hormonally transfigured teenagers. But this time there are some visually well staged action sequences and interesting plot elements that make "Eclipse - Bis(s) zum Abendrot" the best and most entertaining part of the series so far.

Admittedly, the source material, i.e. the script by Melissa Rosenberg, is again not really great. Some of the dialogue is just flat, and Bella's inability to figure out her feelings is really just annoying after three movies. But David Slade did the best he could with the material he had at his disposal. Visually, this is evident in a scene early in the film, for example, where Victoria is being chased through the woods by the Cullens on one side of a ravine and the werewolves on the other. Here, Slade has reduced all the natural colors so that the image looks almost black and white, with only Victoria's red hair burning through the forest almost like a fire. And even though there are a few scenes, especially towards the end, where the special effects leave a lot to be desired, there are still moments here that make it clear that the series has really matured with Slade as director in terms of aesthetics alone.

In addition, there are also some refreshingly self-deprecating moments, such as when Edward snidely asks Jacob if he wouldn't own a shirt. It's moments like these that were completely lacking in the second part, which was dominated by Bella's suffering. But the biggest strength of "Eclipse" in terms of content is that it finally gives more space to some of the secondary characters. For example, we learn in flashbacks how Jasper (Jackson Rathbone) and Rosalie (Nikki Reed) once became vampires. Here, Rosalie's story in particular ("I was a bit theatrical back then") ensures that this hitherto completely disregarded character finally gains a bit of shape and depth.

Also, the history of the bloody strife between the vampires and the werewolves is explained, albeit briefly, in a visually appealingly realized flashback, which is then nicely picked up in the somewhat disappointing final battle. All in all, despite some hangs and rather unintentionally funny scenes, the film seems as if the makers have tried to make the events seem a bit more mature, more adult, without distancing themselves too much from the intended target audience. Finally Kristen Stewart, whose suffering in "New Moon" was not very comprehensible, delivers an emotionally convincing moment. When Bella visits her mother at the beginning of the film, and it's actually there that she truly realizes what it means to choose to be turned into a vampire by Edward, thanks to Stewart's performance, Bella doesn't come across as a selfish teenager, as she so often is, but simply as a confused and extremely vulnerable girl who isn't sure she's ready to become a woman yet.

"Eclipse - Until(s) the Evening Red" is a movie for fans, which means primarily for young (and young at heart) girls. But it's also a movie that breaks away a bit from this overly rigid target audience orientation and in numerous moments just offers good popcorn entertainment. Sure, the Edward-Bella-Jacob love triangle that still dominates the plot keeps slowing down the narrative flow. But wonderful moments, such as Bella's father's desperate attempt to enlighten his daughter, and the mature staging definitely make up for such minor flaws. If you didn't like the first two "Twilight" films, you certainly won't become a fan through part 3. But if you enjoyed the story of Edward and Bella so far, you should not miss this successful third part. However, fans will have to wait a little for the film adaptation of the fourth book, which will be divided into two films. Part 1 of "Breaking Dawn - Bis(s) zum Morgengrauen" will not hit theaters until November 2011. And the fact that "Eclipse - Until(s) the Dawn" has become a satisfying work for its fans certainly doesn't really make the wait any easier!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp