Eclipse Early Reviews

From Blogs.wsj.com:

For “Eclipse,” the third installment of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight saga, British director David Slade takes over helming duties, and according to the film trades, the result is…not bad! Slade — best known for his music videos and directing 2005’s drama “Hard Candy” with Ellen Page — and screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg craft a film finally deserving of its hype, they say, and it will be interesting to see if the nation’s critics follow suit.

For anyone who’s been living under a rock for the past few years, “Eclipse” stars Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan, a human teenager in love with vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), and the object of affection for best friend Jacob, a werewolf (Taylor Lautner). When she’s threatened by the vengeful vampire Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard), Edward and Jacob form an uneasy alliance to protect Bella. Here’s a sampling of the early reviews:

“It took three films, but “The Twilight Saga” finally nails just the right tone in “Eclipse,” a film that neatly balances the teenage operatic passions from Stephenie Meyer’s novels with the movies’ supernatural trappings. Where the first film leaned heavily on camp and the second faltered through caution and slickness, “Eclipse” moves confidently into the heart of the matter — a love triangle that causes a young woman to realize choices lead to consequences that cannot be reversed.” [Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter]

“”Eclipse” feels the most cinematic of the series so far, taking scenes out of the lunchroom and Swan house as much as possible. Slade shares Hardwicke’s aesthetic of using dramatic aerial photography to give the otherwise intimate tale a more epic sweep, and expands on it by repeatedly lining up the various clans like the subjects of a Vanity Fair cover shoot, their iconic group poses helping to make the movie seem as big as its following.” [Peter Debruge, Variety (subscription required)]