I liked it. A lot. Waaay better than Twilight, and marginally better than New Moon.
If I were to go back and grade the first two movies based on my opinion of them now, just so you can relate my grade for Eclipse in comparison, this is what you'd have:
Twilight: C-
New Moon: B-
Eclipse: B+
Little by little the Twilight Saga movies are growing up. I was ticked when Summit Entertainment fired Catherine Hardwicke. But what do I know? In hind site it really seems like the best idea they had, that is after actually snatching up movie rights to the saga in the first place. Each successive director has added to the series and put a different spin on it all, building on the last directors, well, direction. Hardwicke had the saga's best interest at heart and God love her, really was a fan of the franchise. But her vision of Forks, WA was a little crusty around the edges.
Then comes Chris Weitz, a seemingly odd choice for New Moon. But he brought a sleekness to New Moon that Twilight only aspired to. He made it hip. And he saw fit to trust in Taylor Lautner when he promised to bring the heat and heartbreak to the Jacob Black role. He gave Lautner free reign to smolder shirtless onscreen.
It seems Weitz must have also been as annoyed with Kristen Stewart's clunky and uncomfortable acting as the rest of us. He wisely got her to stop fluttering her eyelashes and stuttering long enough to get whole lines of dialog out at one time without seeming spasmodic. And next to Lautner's stellar turn as Jacob, she was almost... forgivable for sucking next to his superior acting chops. He was so good, he made her better I guess.
Now with Eclipse, David Slade waltzes in and turns the Twilight Saga into a bona-fide Hollywood blockbuster (okay, maybe that's generous). But seriously, Eclipse really has the feel of a stylized big budget production. There was so much going on in the movie that it made me forget the lackluster 'chemistry' between the two leads Stewart and Pattinson (that's right, I said it). Okay, they weren't too bad, I think they must feed off of each others weaknesses, poor things. I think they do better when each is in scenes with stronger actors. Maybe I'm just spoiled by Taylor Lautner's unbelievably big talent.
But overall everyone did a good job, some great. Those worth mentioning are the kid who played Riley, Xavier Samuel. He rocked. And Bryce Dallas Howard filled Rachelle LeFever's shoes nicely as Victoria. I had liked LeFever so well that I didn't want to like 'the new girl' in her role but I give Howard credit for a job well done.
I guess that The Twilight Saga is becoming so good that the Twi-Haters really don't have any reason to complain anymore. Twilight has evolved to the point where it's not just for fangirls anymore.
