Critic's Rating: 3.5
Cast: Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner, Bryce Dallas Howard
Direction: David Slade
Duration: 2 hours 4 minutes
Movie Review: Let's just cut the fang (read vampire) and fuzzy hair (read werewolf) business and ie rweqget down to the essence of Eclipse: Team Edward or Team Jacob, so who's side are you on? Of course, that's the big question that is posed before Bella (Kristen Stewart) in Eclipse and forms the dramatic core of the film. But even before our girl-next-door can decide whether she wants to end up as the undead Mrs Cullen or the still-human wife of shape-shifting Jacob, we know it's time for all you Twihards to voice your vote on who's hotter: Edward (Robert Pattinson) or Jacob (Taylor Lautner). For, after all, that's the in-your-face declaration that Jacob makes in one of the most alluring scenes in the film. ``Face it, I'm much hotter than you,'' he tells the 109-year-old cold cut Cullen and slips under the covers -- six-packed and shirtless -- to warm a shivering Bella on a cold mountain top. And, while he's lending his body heat, he forewarns his rival about Bella's fondness for him. She just might choose me, he smugly says.
As for Bella herself, this one's indeed a difficult choice. She tries her best to decide between her two suitors by asking both to kiss her, and does seem to have a preference for fangs over fuzz. But the answer to Jacob's `Him or Me' remains iffy till the very end.
Bella's quintessential dilemma does form the leitmotif of Stephenie Meyer's third book, but Eclipse does have another strong undercurrent. It carries her teen chastity theme even further, as the three main protagonists battle their desires and define sex as a post-marriage experience in no-holds-barred terms. On the one hand, you have Bella declaring she's a virgin before her concerned dad, Charlie, who needless to say, is ecstatic about his daughter's sexual status. And on the other hand, you have a testosterone-heady Edward announcing his affinity for old-fashioned amour which includes stuff as innocuous as sharing iced tea on the porch with his sweetheart on a summer eve, interspersed with a few stolen kisses. And those too, only after he's taken her father's permission. The love bites shall come, but only after the wedding, he tells an estrogen-strung Bella.
So, what about the supernatural stuff in Eclipse? Actually, the film does seem to dabble more with matters of the heart and promises a war that never explodes in full fury. The army of the vicious newborn vampires are on their way to assist evil Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard) avenge the death of her lover, James. They do come and indulge in a pow-wow with the werewolves and vampires, but, by and large, the battle lacks brimstone.
But don't sweat. There's enough to keep the minutes rolling. As for the action buffs, isn't there Breaking Dawn and the final blitzkrieg? So hang on Twihards, the climax has yet to come.
