The Film
Spoiler Alert - do not read this section if you don't want to know details of the story.
Love is forever. In The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1, sweethearts Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) finally get married, and then finally get it on. The movie has something for everyone. There's romance, saber rattling between vampires and werewolves, and enough blood to tempt viewers for the battle to come in the final installment.
Conflict builds in the first of two films that comprise the final book in the Twilight Saga series by Stephanie Meyer. Breaking Dawn Part 1, like its sequel, feels somewhat stretched out as it was only the first half of one book. The beginning scenes feel like a reunion show. The first half hour serves almost as a farewell to many of the series' longstanding characters - namely Bella's high school friends, some of whom get a few catty lines while others simply get to smile for the camera. From the wedding the film travels into the honeymoon sequence on a private beach. It then visits the extremes of our normally mortal coil as Bella degrades to her death while a new life grows inside her.
Looking for more commentary on the story? Bite into Karen Dahlstrom's theatrical review of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1
The Picture
One thing about the Twilight series that makes it worth watching is the lush greenery of the Pacific Northwest in which it's set. The rich, almost too bright, mossy greens of the forest pop against the alabaster skin of the vampires who inhabit it. While the books were set in this overcast and rainy region because of the vampires' sensitivity to sunlight, it became a beautiful backdrop for the films. The Blu-ray edition of Breaking Dawn - Part 1 shows off the rich colors of the region, and may provide enough eye candy to get you through the movie. Parts of the film also take place on a tropical island, and the scenery - though not too much is shown - is also lush with rich greens and woody browns that light up the screen.
We wish we could make the same sort of comments about the human - and not so human - characters being eye candy. The truth is that being a vampire is not so flattering. And being pregnant with vampire spawn is even less so. Stewart's Bella shrinks to a sallow frame, and looks like a mummy (and even less lifelike than one) before baby Renesmee is born.
The Sound
The soundtrack is not as powerful a score as you might expect. It was somewhat disappointing, and dotted by a playlist of popular but not terribly exceptional songs you'll find on the radio. A current vibe is added to the film with songs from Passion Pit, Green Day, Feist and other artists.
Part 1 is more of a drama than a thriller, bordering on rom com in parts. There isn't as much action as some of the other films in the series and so the sound here is not as bombastic. A certain element of interaction between the vampires and the werewolves comes off as realistic as that sort of interaction can be. The DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack plays in up to 7.1 channels, for those with compatible gear. It sound fine but is not exactly demo or reference quality material.
The Blu-ray features a soundtrack that is "Optimized for Late-Night Listening." This means you might want to crank up the sound a little if you're a night dweller and don't have neighbors to worry about.
The Extras
The Extended Edition of Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 loses in the extras department. The Special Edition Blu-ray came with special features including a behind the scenes, 6-part making-of documentary; a wedding video; a "Jacob's Destiny" featurette and an audio commentary. The Extended Edition simply has the audio commentary from director Bill Condon. Eight extra minutes of movie must make up for the documentaries and featurettes included on previous releases. For those also buying Part 2, there are extras that will cover for its absence here.
Final Thoughts
It seems to be a trend lately to split the final book of a series into two films (Hello, Harry Potter?). In Twilight's case case, it seems almost too drawn out. Sure, Breaking Dawn may have been rushed as one film, but as two it will leave some viewers wanting more action. While watching the movies back-to-back is a possibility, especially since they're now being released together on Blu-ray, it doesn't make for the most fun four hours. It makes for four hours of newlywed drama with a few fangs.
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