Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part One was everything a Twihard could hope for and then some.

Director Bill Condon who is new to the series gives the film a slightly more complex feel that is refreshing. This film challenged him to deal with more mature issues in a way that wouldn’t alienate the saga’s younger fan base. When tackling topics such as sex, abortion and childbirth It’s would be easy for a film to earn an R rating. I think that the goal of keeping the film PG-13 forced the filmmakers to be creative with the composition of some of the scenes and the movie is better for it.

By far the most graphic part of the movie was the childbirth scene. It was shot mostly from Bella’s(Portrayed by Kristen Stewart) point of view. that meant that her pregnant belly obscured some of the most disturbing stuff. I felt this was appropriate because in the book this part was written from her point of view as well.

Even with the graphic issues, the movie, still finds time for some comedic relief. I particularly enjoyed the impromptu speeches given by various guests at the wedding and Jacob’s (Portrayed by Taylor Laughtner) reaction to Bella drinking blood. It was also a nice change of pace to see a more lighthearted Edward (Played by Robert Pattinson) who seemed a bit more relaxed in the earlier part of the movie. I’m not sure if it was because he was happy to be married or because for once there wasn’t a vampire threatening Bella’s life.

Although 98 percent of the film was presented very well I there was one scene that came across as just plain silly. As other Twilight fans know, the wolves can hear each other’s thoughts when in wolf form. During the scene when Jacob disobeys Sam’s orders and leaves the pack, the viewer hears the mental chatter of the wolves.  The scene felt cheesy and out of place. It’s not their fault though. I think we’ve all seen one of those lighthearted family films where the animals are “Talking” but you don’t see their mouths moving. It’s movies like that that make it impossible for scenes like these to work. I think the filmmakers realized this because other scenes between Leah, Jacob and Seth show the characters having a conversation in human form, when they were portrayed in wolf form in the book. I’m pretty sure the only reason they kept the scene that way was because the circumstances demanded it.

If you are a fan of the series then your probably going to see it regardless of how critics rate it. If you are new to the series I strongly recommend seeing the previous three films before watching this one as it expects you to have a good knowledge of what is going on up to this point. That being said, I saw the movie with one of my friends who hadn’t seen any of the previous movies (except for bits and pieces of New Moon which he fell asleep in the middle of) enjoyed it.  So if you’re someone who will inevitably get drug into the theatres to see this movie by an excited friend or girlfriend, take my advice and don’t fight it too hard.

As a die-hard fan of the series this movie didn’t disappoint and as aresult I am giving it a rating of four and one half out of five top hats.