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Twilight's Last Gleaming

Picking up where the awkwardly-named "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1" left off (in which Edward Cullen bites Bella Swan so she can survive the birth of their half-immortal baby daughter, as absolutely nobody in this audience will need to be reminded of) "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2"presents a now vampy Bella opening her red eyes upon a grave new world.

As a vampire, Bella (Kristen Stewart) is a natural, and wastes no time quenching her bloody thirst. Her first meal is a mountain lion, which is what the Cullens consider vegetarian. Her sexual appetite needs to be satisfied as well, and she and Edward (Robert Pattinson) have fun testing her new powers. Bella is not as fun when she's angry, as her vampire and werewolf friends quickly discover, particularly Jakob (Taylor Lautner), who has "imprinted" upon her baby.

As Bella is learning, her baby Renesmee (Mackenzie Foy) is growing. This CGI baby looks as weird as its name, until it's the size of Mackenzie Foy. When rumors start that Renesmee is fully immortal and the fussy Volturi are displeased, the Cullens begin recruiting vampire "witnesses" to testify that she is not a threat.

"Part 2", like the previous "Part 1", is based on the fourth and final book of Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" series, which was, according to the new normal, broken into two cinematic halves. This was clearly a financial decision and not a creative one, because most of "Part 2" is filler, as the characters wait around for the Volturi. It's also unclear why, given the demonstrated lightening speed of vampires, that the Volturi still haven't arrived as the Cullens slowly assemble a very good-looking army. The movie could have easily been called "The Twilight Saga: Standing and Staring and Waiting."

But also laughing. There is a welcome element of humor in this final movie, mostly supplied by Bella's dad Charlie (Billy Burke) and Volturi leader Aro (Michael Sheen), who are understated and over-the-top respectively. And Bella is finally enjoying herself. Maybe she means it when she says: "I was born to be a vampire."

The wait is almost worth it. And you don't have to be a Twihard to enjoy the climax, which is more like a scene out of the "X-Men" or "The Avengers". Director Bill Condon and screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg also take a surprising and inspired move away from to the source material, which perhaps only the big screen could do justice to.

"Breaking Dawn, Part 2" is an end to the Twilight saga of Bella and Edward. To those who never followed it, that is a blessing. To those who did, that is a mixed blessing, like being forever young and forever dead.