# Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2 - Blu-ray Review



## Mike Edwards (Mar 10, 2011)

[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=11112[/img] 
*Title: Breaking Dawn Part 2* 

*Movie:* :3stars:
*Video:* :4.5stars:
*Audio:* :5stars: 
*Extras:* :3stars: 

*HTS Overall Score:*85




[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=11113[/img]*Summary*
The “Twilight Saga” has been one of the most polarizing sagas of the last decade. There seems to be no middle ground apparent. One side loves it for its entire romantic take on the vampire lore, while the other side vehemently hates it without mercy. I personally can see both sides and sympathize with both. “Twilight” has certainly come and taken a new twist on the vampire legends and come out with some very loyal followers, but as a vampire aficionado I still believe that in my day, “vampires were something to be feared, not dated”. For those of you who have stuck with “Twilight” through thick and thin, the sadness of seeing a series come to an end is apparent, and to those of you who are in team “let it end” can breathe a sigh of relief that your girlfriends and wives no longer will be dragging you to the cinema to once more watch Bella and Edward stare morosely at each other. 

Starting just seconds after the ending of “Breaking Dawn Part 1”, Bella (Kristen Steward) wakes up from her near death experience a newborn vampire; her husband, Edward (Rob Pattinson), waiting to welcome her into the Cullen coven. Fresh and new to the vampire world, Bella has to learn to control her hungers and thirst for blood, as well as deal with the fact that she has a newborn child. As always, there is a monkey in the wrench, their daughter, Renesmee, is no ordinary child. She appears to be aging years in just a matter of days, growing in strength and showing some amazing powers as well. Mistaken for a new vampire, Renesmee’s existence is revealed to the Volturri, who are quick to leap into action and punish the Cullens for this seeming abomination. 

Realizing that the Vulturri have an ulterior motive, the Cullens sweep the world over, pulling all the favors they’ve ever been owed in order to assemble a force that can withstand the might of the Vulturri. Alice (Ashley Green) leaves the Cullen’s mysteriously on her own path to bolster their defenses while the steady stream of Vampires who has a bone to pick with the brutal Vulturri inundates the Cullen’s residence. Realizing that she may have to give her daughter up, Bella entrusts Renesmee to her guardian Jacob (Taylor Laughtner) in hopes that she can escape the battle if they end up losing. All this leads up to an epic showdown of the forces, the power hungry Vulturri, versus the Cullens and all the forces they can muster.

[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=11114[/img]I have to say I was actually surprised by “Breaking Dawn Part 2”. While “Twilight” was a decent movie for the most part, its sequels were horrendous beyond belief. While there is some of the vapid romance that exists between Bella and Edward, the majority of it is replaced with the tension and confrontational buildup that has been brewing for the last several films. The action tends to rise above the standard ho-hum of the melodrama and provides a rather satisfactory ending to the series. While the extended battle scene may be a breath of fresh air for the series, it tends to be a bittersweet affair with a twist at the end. Fans of the series will be enthralled as usual, while the detractors may be able to survive this chapter in the “Twilight Saga” a little easier than the previous installments. 

The CGI is still a sore point to me in this series. For all of the money that they are raking in I would have hoped that they could have done a little better on the effects, which tend to stand out like sore thumb. WE have one of THE creepiest CGI babies that I have ever seen in my life here, more disturbing that many of the horror movies I’ve watched over the course of my 30+ years of existence. With Team Edwards winning over Team Jacob a lot of the posturing between Edward and Jacob is gone and is replaced with a shaky truce between the Vampire and Wolf clans. Here we are finally privy to a wide array of vampire powers that have been previously unbeknownst to us before. Everything from channeling electricity, creating psychic shields and even the ability to control the elements all weaponized for our viewing pleasure. The unfortunate side to this is that we are given a whole lot of new characters that tend to fall a little flat due to underutilization and not enough screen time to create an emotional resonance. Mostly they are they just as eye candy for the final battle and to flesh out the forces just a tad. 


*Rating:* 

Rated PG-13 for sequences of violence including disturbing images, some sensuality and partial nudity



*Video* :4stars:

[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=11111[/img]Being that both parts 1 and 2 of “Breaking Dawn” were filmed back to back, it’s obvious that they both share the same fantastic transfer. Colors are lush and rich throughout the whole film, abounding in reds, blues, and whites all resplendent in their glory. Deeply saturated the film is covered in primary colors and it adds an almost surreal nature to it. Detail is striking and pleasing; flesh tones are accurate and show a striking amount of facial detail. The only downside to that is that you sometimes don’t get to see as MUCH facial detail as one normally would due to the caking on of all that makeup to give them a pale vampiric sheen. Blacks are inky and deep, very clean and detailed even amongst shadowy scenes. Some long shots have a bit of soft feel to them, but they are few and not for more than a moment or so. There is a fine layer of very detailed film grain over the entire movie, excellent and barely a noticeable allowing for a pristine picture. 








*Audio* :4.5stars:

[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=11110[/img] “Breaking Dawn Part 2”s most winning feature is its 7.1 DTS-HD MA track. Both aggressive and utterly immersive it brings the viewer into the film. Auditory detail and accuracy are extremely high. The surrounds literally light up with all sorts of activity, whether it be the crunching of footsteps on leaves in the forest or the pounding of a Wolf’s pawns as it spans miles across the snowy countryside. LFE is loud and powerful, digging down deep during the battle scenes and providing a nice heavy low end for the entire film. When the Vulturri step out on to the battlefield I felt my pants vibrate from the visceral impact that my subs were putting out. Dialogue is clean and crisp, centered nicely in the middle and VERY well balance. This is one more that I didn’t have to strain one way or the other to hear the dialogue, even whispers were crystal clear and audible without having to adjust the dial on my receive. 





[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=11109[/img]*Extras:* :3stars:
• Audio Commentary
• Jump To...
• Forever Filming "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2"
• Two Movies at Once
• Music Video
• Trailers








*Overall:* :4stars:

“Breaking Dawn Part 2” is an imperfect ending for a series that thrived upon imperfection, but it is a fitting ending nonetheless. They’re never going to be regarded as high art, but they have gained a loyal fan base and the profits from the series have definitely seen love. I hate to give this a recommendation or warning due to the fact that this series is so polarizing. As such I will give two points of view. Since I doubt anyone is going to watch part 2 without seeing the previous installments you know what you’re getting into. As a movie I give it a rental at best, but for fans of the movies, this is by far the best of the series and gives a fitting conclusion for the saga. 

*Additional Information:*

Starring: Kristen Stewart, Rob Pattinson, Taylor Laughtner
Directed by: Bill Condon
Written by: Melissa Rosenberg
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: ENGLISH: DTS-HD MA 7.1, English DD 2.0, Spanish DD 5.1 
Studio: Summit Entertainmnent
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 115 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: March 2nd, 2013


*Buy Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2 Blu-ray on Amazon*

*Recommendation: Rent It​*







More about Mike


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## ericzim (Jun 24, 2012)

Not a fan of the franchise but it was interesting to watch Kristen Stewart hone her chops through out the run.


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## Jon Liu (May 21, 2007)

I had the unfortunate pleasure to see this in theaters. CGI has ALWAYS been an awful point of this series and it's sad to say that this movie is no different. What really made this one of the worst of the series for me (yes I've seen all of them) is the cop-out surprise/twist they did.


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