The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (Extended Edition) (2010)

Eclipse is the third entry into the Twilight Saga. Continuing from the second film, Bella is forced to choose between Jacob and Edward. Both guys are walking slates for Bella to continue projecting on for the duration of the film. However, Jacob finally starts to get a purpose as a reasonable antagonist to Edward. Hell, some of the newborn vampires in the film make a reasonable case against Edward’s plans for Bella. Yet, this is Bella’s story and she has the right to run off and get married like a trailer park girl trying out for MTV. Bryce Dallas Howard gets tagged to sub in for the previous Victoria. If you don’t remember her, it’s OK. Her entire point was to get mad over her lover’s death and vows revenge. Robert Pattinson picks her off when Bella gets tired of her Bond villain level of chatter. Do the characters grow? Not really. In fact, all of this film’s talking points are the same as New Moon. Given that this film was released 8 months after New Moon, one has to wonder if they were meant to function as a proper two-parter. It’s not like New Moon ended on a proper cliffhanger. All of this films stick with soft resolutions that exist to keep pushing Bella’s inability to make decisions. The film ends without Bella’s father even knowing about her pending marriage. The inability to provide a conclusion or wrap up even the slightest thread boggles my mind. As someone who has read comics since the mid 80s, I get the need to keep a serialized story going. However, you have to give the audience a hint that there is an endgame at play. By creating a teen girl’s supernatural fantasy, the narrative has given into the basic nature of its focal audience. Who can make a decision on a life choice at an age where everything is new to you. Bella Swan is at a hormone buffet and being told to only make one choice. In the real world, that doesn’t end well. In Twilight world, Bella gets to make the audience watch her decide for a few years. Do things go right? All I’ve got to say is…vampire baby.

10 Years of Twilight continues after Eclipse with Breaking Dawn – Part 1.