At the movies with Covo & Ayotte present the EPIC finale:

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Covo on “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2”:

In the final installment of the “The Twilight Saga,” everything changes. This movie, based on Stephenie Meyer’s bestselling book series, completes the tale of the civilized vampires of the 21st century: the Cullen Coven.  “Breaking Dawn” had to be filmed in two parts to include most of the story contained in the final book of the series – partone was released almost exactly a year ago on Nov. 18, 2011.

The finale will certainly be appreciated as the best in the series thanks to how it ends, but it still retains that melodramatic, soap opera quality that was so central to the first three films. The mighty flourish of a fabulous battle scene toward the end – a powerful scene which will make audiences and fans of the series catch their collective breath and gasp – makes going to see this movie worthwhile.

Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), and an eccentric assortment of family, friends and enemies deal now with two newborns – the incredibly fast growing baby born of Bella the human and Edward the vampire, and the newborn vampire Bella, who according to the lore and vampire rules set out in the film, is very strong, even by vampire standards, and able to resist the irresistible pull of human blood.

Taylor Lautner returns as Jacob Black, the leader of the pack of wolves and permanent admirer of Bella’s baby, Renesmée.  This development (the business of imprinting which seems like it might be a little offensive to some parents, although no one seems to know what imprinting actually is) does not sit at all well with Bella initially, but circumstances dictate life, and eventually the old friends overcome their differences.

Surprisingly, the last film in the franchise is not absolutely faithful to the book – but the movie still opens at a very slow pace. Vampires stand around and look worried or smile happily or gaze into each other’s eyes. It all gets quite boring until the threat of the Volturi (the vampire top cops, judges and jury) becomes palpable.  Then the Cullens stand around for a bit looking more worried – but things pick up as the troops decide to take action and gather reinforcements from other covens (vampire families) from just about every time period and corner of the globe.

The good vs. evil theme is pretty easy to pick up, even for a Twilight Saga newbie. But as I warned those who planned to see the last film, if you haven’t seen the earlier installments or read the books, prepare to be completely lost for a bit. Still, even those unversed in the Twilight trilogy could find these last chapters of the story interesting and some of the visuals are more than entertaining.

In this final film, it’s Aro, the Volturi chief played magnificently by Michael Sheen, who adds humor, magnifies the drama and ultimately steals the show.

Director Bill Condon creates wild and crazy dramatic tension in the last third of the film with an epic battle scene which absolutely saved this reviewer and the film. His final approach in the closing scenes for this film is utterly successful and will make this Twilight stand out as the best in the series.

“The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2” opens in theaters nationwide on Friday, Nov. 16. The movie is rated PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned) and runs just under 2 hours.

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Ayotte on “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2”:

The final installment of the Twilight series, “Breaking Dawn Part 2,” will have Twi-hards swooning over Jacob and Edward.  At the same time, their boyfriends will drool over Bella’s sweet powers and sexy look.

I’m always sad when a series like this has to come to an end.  Watching the entire cast grow old before eyes and following the off-screen drama between K-Stew (Bella) and R-Pattz (Edward). Nonetheless, all good things must come to an end it’s over.

Director Bill Condon ended the franchise with a bang and answered any questions you might have about the “Twilight Saga.” Like the past four films the cinematography is epic—so clear, so crisp and not over the top—granted a couple scenes walk the fine line of absurdity but it’s Hollywood.

We finally get to meet Renesmee, the love child of Bella and Edward, and watch her grow ata ridiculous rate. Renesmee goes from infant to tween right before our eyes. As we learned in the last film Jacob imprinted her and now is her all-time bodyguard which she needs as the Volturi are out to get her thanks to a snitch who thinks she is an immortal child.

Apparently having an immortal child is a no-no. They are too unpredictable and can take out an entire village in one fell swoop as we witness in the film. So, all immortal kids must die.

This is where Renesmee is in trouble. The Volturi think she is an immortal child but in reality she’s half-human, half-vampire.  Worried that they will come and kill her, Dr. Carlisle Cullen (Peter Facinelli), attempts to prove she is indeed not an immortal child. He recruits vampires from across the world to witness on their behalf and eventually back them up if it comes down to an all-out war, which, it just might.

At 115 minutes “Breaking Dawn Part 2” is the perfect length. The script isn’t bloated nor does it drag on-and-on. The film gets right down to it and the suspense is carried throughout the film. I’m not a Twi-hard, just merely a bandwagon fan, however, I can say I’m a fan even if my manhood is in question.

A couple of scenes get a little hot and bothered, but overall the film is relatively family friendly making it a prime candidate for a blockbuster hit. If you’re a fan you will love it, but if your girlfriend drags you out then maybe not so much.

Team Bella for life!