Book to Movie: Breaking Dawn, Part I

Yes, this series is a guilty pleasure, not because I'm a Twi-hard, but because I'm a Cullen-ite.  I can tolerate the Bella of the books (I'm not a fan of Kristen Stewart), but I completely understand her desire to move in with the Cullens.  I think they are some of the most fascinating vampires I've ever read about; I'd want to take up with them too.

The movie sticks very closely to the book, as well it should for breaking the book into two films.  I think it might not be as interesting to those who haven't read the series, because there isn't a lot of action or plot progression.  This film is essentially plot exposition for the next film.  It's also a love letter to the fans who would have gone ballistic if any of the romance was cut in an attempt to squeeze Breaking Dawn into a single movie.  The only thing missing for me was some of the interactions between Jacob and Rosalie... and I would have liked to have seen more of the Cullens in general, but of course, I can never get enough of them.

I loved that they musically quoted the previous films.  I don't know how obvious it is to those who aren't as fanatic about music as I am but I thought it was an elegant way of referencing other plot points without beating us over the head with flashback scenes.

The ending was ...disjointed.  In a style reminiscent of Quentin Tarantino, strange block letter credits rolled before the final scene and more than half of the people at the showing I attended missed the last scene because they thought the movie was over.  Without spoiling anyone, let's just say if the last image you saw in the film was someone opening their eyes, you missed the final scene.

I'm a little dismayed that the release of Breaking Dawn Part II isn't until the fall of next year.  I think the franchise is dragging things out a little, but it is a far more complicated plot, so perhaps extra time is needed.  This next part is where finally get to see a strong Bella, my favorite part of the books, so I think I will enjoy the last note of this series.