Hand this much to The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, it delivers the user-friendly blockbuster that New Moon fumbled. The problem is the first Twilight was about emerging teenage female hormones and self-understanding. It didn’t care about appeasing its viewers’ boyfriends. By broadening the appeal, Twilight loses its focus. And with it, its relevance. “You can love more than one person,” shape-shifter Jacob (Taylor Lautner) tells passive Bella (Kristen Stewart). But Bella’s split-affection between Jacob and vamp Edward (Robert Pattinson)—presumably the total eclipse of the heart of the film’s title—isn’t allowed emotional precedence or evocative direction (there’s little actual filmmaking in most scenes, just over-the-shoulder coverage.) Action beats and expository talk take over. While Summit Films plays things safer, a franchise loses its personality.
This article appears in Jul 1-7, 2010.