Breaking Dawn - Biss zum Ende der Nacht (1)

I think this installment will be an unexpected surprise for even the biggest critics. Of course, I'm completely ignoring those who preemptively give out boos here without having seen the film. I do appreciate the incredibly engaging plot, the perfect visual aspect, the decent amount of drama, and the hilarious humor. At times, I felt like the filmmakers were even making fun of themselves. They really know how to entertain people. The actors seem more experienced and don't overact unnecessarily. Served up perfectly, no frills, colorful from start to finish. I rate it as the best installment so far. Only the "werewolf speak" could have been more polished. A well-deserved 5 stars. (19.11.2011)

There is no bias involved. People (and non-people) have the right to fall in love, do mating calls, and act like idiots. But why on earth make four films about it? Film No. 4.5 doesn't build on the insight and punch of Slade’s third film, and unfortunately, it's not even as hilariously goofy as the second. It’s closest to the first film in the series, an immature love tragedy that is appreciated particularly by emotionally immature adolescent girls, who can see themselves in the main character. Moreover, in such a plot-empty film I will ask myself several questions that will probably only be answered by an audience familiar with books. I don't like the saga for its "life attitude," I like it for the naive filmmaking stupidity. However, this is regularly the worst film in the series. (26.01.2012)

I was really scared that the saga would fall apart on the threshold of the final chapter. Needless to say, I am incredibly glad that this did not happen. I still don't understand how the dramatically multi-genre Bill Condon got involved in Twilight, but I'm really glad about it. He knows how to loosen up the atmosphere, lighten the moments that would otherwise seem unnecessary, and above all, he knows how to set the final pace in such a way that thoughts of the first Breaking Dawn, as the best part, subtly emerge in my mind. Without wanting to reveal specific plot twists, one fateful encounter at the end, followed by a romantic vision, had long been the most dangerous moment of the saga for me, one that I could not imagine in the film other than as ridiculous. And now? An emotional punchline that makes me look forward to the last installment like no other. Breaking Dawn ultimately hits the mark in terms of quality, and when Burwell's Bella's Lullaby plays at the end, it is clear that this time it is a victory in terms of atmosphere. Without the traditionally naive dialogues and a few subtle stumbles in Brazil, the Cullens would deserve the highest rating. And the general bashing of the entire saga cannot be more embarrassing and more pointless x years after its release. (30.11.2011)

Twilight is a big name and I liked the first part. The books are incredibly bad, but the first movie was quite OK. But it went only downhill from there, and the books got even worse. I like how Stephenie Meyer didn’t mince her words and despite knowing that the story would be made into a movie, she decided to write such a brutally crazy ending like in this one. If Breaking Dawn was a single movie, I think I would have been able to handle it, but since it is divided into two parts, I cannot but give it a Boo! review, which is definitely well deserved. You see it’s pretty hard to watch a story in which Bella gets pregnant and the fetus is tearing her belly apart and there are vampires and werewolves circling around her like crazy rabid monkeys and not much else seems to be happening. And if somebody does decide to do something, it usually ends up like this. I hope the ending is a bit more interesting, it seems it will be. But I will now require a couple of months to shake this movie off. I haven’t seen such a terrible movie that takes itself seriously in a long time. (10.03.2013)

Breaking Dawn – Part 1 is a wildly drawn-out case of milking the franchise and its fans for all they’re worth. In the context of a Twilight marathon with 150 female viewers who love it ironically, it is a wonderful experience (more about that in the review of the first Twilight film). Bonus points for unexpectedly powerful horror throughout the pregnancy storyline. (11.10.2022)