# The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1 Blu-ray Review



## Jon Liu (May 21, 2007)

[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=8157&w=l[/img]*Title: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1
Starring: Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner, Billy Burke, Ashley Greene, Sarah Clarke, Peter Facinelli
Directed by: Bill Condon
Written by: Melissa Rosenberg, Stephenie Meyer
Studio: Summit Entertainment
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 117 Minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: February 11, 2012* 

*Movie:* :2.5stars:
*Video:* :4.5stars:
*Audio:* :4stars: 
*Extras:* :2.5stars: 
*HTS Overall Score:*74.5



*Summary:* 
[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=8158&w=l[/img]The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1 is a continuation to the story of Bella Swan (Stewart), a normal human girl, who falls in love with Edward Cullen (Pattinson), a vampire. Their love has traversed much complication in the first three films, including an ongoing love triangle involving Jacob Black (Lautner), who is a werewolf. Despite Bella's pronounced love for Edward, she does have feelings toward Jacob, who, in turn, loves Bella. This story follows the legend of rivalry between the vampires and werewolves, which only makes tension between the three of them that much more intense. Despite it all, true love between Edward and Bella conquers all and at the end of the previous movie, Edward proposes to Bella.

Onto Breaking Dawn, Part 1 -- first thing we get to see is the marriage of Bella and Edward. As they marry and head off to Rio Di Janeiro for their honeymoon it seems their love finally has been given its proper due. However, on their trip, life has to throw these two lovers a curveball, as Bella becomes impregnated. The fetus growing inside her is a cause for concern to everyone involved as the vampires never knew it was possible for this to happen; the werewolves foresee it to be a troublesome abomination; and for Bella herself, she might die just carrying this part-human, part-vampire child. This fetus is just too strong for Bella as it begins to break her bones and drain her of her life. As she rapidly declines in health, the vampires try to protect her from the werewolves, who plan to kill Bella and the fetus.

If you've never seen any of the Twilight Saga films, you definitely don't want to jump into watching this film. As someone who has seen all the movies thus far, I can still tell you that I was left with some confusion. Certain aspects of the plot are not fleshed out as much as they ought to be and some of it simply just does not make sense no matter how much they've attempted to flesh it out. Despite that fact, I found myself most entertained during this film out of the four films so far. One of my biggest complaints of the past films has been the terrible CGI work; this film seems to have fared much better in that regard.

*Rating:* Breaking Dawn Part 1 is rated PG-13 for Disturbing Images, Violence, Sexuality/Partial Nudity and Some Thematic Elements

*Video:* :4.5stars:
[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=8159&w=l[/img]Let's just get this out of the way -- Breaking Dawn Part 1 is a great looking movie. Throughout the entirety of the movie I was continuously surprised by the level of detail that I was seeing in each scene. I was surprised to be able to see the imperfections and blemishes of the actors. The wedding scene, I remember noting that the vale that Bella was wearing was clear enough that I could see the actual sheer fabric (forgive my lack of knowing what the fabric is). The contrast was also spot on -- given the different settings the movie takes us through, lush green forests, colorful Rio Di Janeiro, muted rainy days, etc. Night time sequences were also very rich as well. Black level and depth in dark scenes were deep, but never crushed. Color reproduction also throughout the various locations also caught my attention. Scenes like in Rio are vivid and teeming with color, but also scenes purposefully more dreary and muted, still had a snap and vibrancy to them. Overall, this is a very strong video presentation and consistency stayed strong throughout the entirety of the movie.

*Audio:* :4stars:
[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=8160&w=l[/img]Breaking Dawn Part 1 also sports a fine audio track. While dialog may not necessarily be the strong suit of this series, it still comes off clearly. In fact, dialog is so coherent, that even when actors are mumbling their lines, they are understood. This movie is mostly dialog driven, which is fine, so the audio track does not really get a chance to extend through the dynamic range. We do, however, get some noticeable surround usage throughout the film, but some of it was a little blatant for my taste. I don't mind directional surround usage, but on occasion it felt a little out of place. On top of that, there was one particular sequence that I think the surrounds weren't quite implemented in the best ways, which is when the wolves are conversing with one another telepathically. That sequence alone is pretty hokey, but the bad sound implementation only adds to it. Aside from that, I do remember being able to appreciate some of the subtle spatial sound elements in outdoor sequences.

Also, soundtrack is a big part of the Twilight Saga and it is worth mentioning that while some of the tunes used were catchy sounding, as I listened to some of the lyrics being sung I was left feeling perplexed. It was somewhat distracting to the scenes they were accompanying.

[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=8161&w=l[/img]*Extras:* :2.5stars:

•	Feature Length Audio Commentary with Director Bill Condon
•	Love, Death, Birth: Filming The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1 Featurette
•	Jacob's Destiny Featurette
•	Bella and Edward's Personal Wedding Video



*Overall:* :3stars:
The Twilight Saga is really something unlike anything else out there. The story has a narrow target audience in mind; it is intended to appease the female teen audience. Unfortunately, there is very little to keep people outside of that target entertained. Breaking Dawn does seem slightly outside of the norm for the saga as it fairs darker and eerier than the previous three. On top of that, there is a whole lot less of Taylor Lautner shirtless in this film, which may also not be as exciting as the previous two films, but it a lot more bearable to watch for me. The most redeeming aspect of this film was the video presentation, but if ever there was a series to avoid despite the technical merits, this would be it. I did find this film a tad bit more entertaining than I did the previous movies, but that's truly not saying a lot.

*Recommendation: Skip It!​*



Official Blu-Ray Reviews Scoring


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## Sonnie (Apr 11, 2006)

I have a niece that has read all the books and seen all the movies. She camped out at Wal-Mart to get a copy of this release. Obsessed is putting it mildly. This movie seems like it has a definite teen following.

I have seen all of them thus far and thought they were interesting, worth at least a spot in my Blockbuster Queue.

Thanks for the review... I personally think you nailed it.


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## Jon Liu (May 21, 2007)

Thanks Sonnie. Yeah, my wife insisted on watching the first one since she read the books and ever since I had to continue on the series. Fortunately, she is not one of those raving rabbid teenager or even one of those 40+ year old ladies squealing whenever either Pattinson or Lautner show up on the screen...


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## ALMFamily (Oct 19, 2011)

Thanks for the review Jon! I agree - this is one I am not all that gung-ho to give a watch.......


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## Sonnie (Apr 11, 2006)

Well I finally watched it. I nearly fell asleep during the first half. It did get better towards the end, but it was still lacking terribly for me. It did end on a somewhat surprising note and it has my curiosity as to what direction they will go with the story now.


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## TypeA (Aug 14, 2010)

Just recently saw this. GF loves the series and is currently reading the part 2 ebook. Since she's read the book Im wondering if the part 2 will stay off the netflix queue onder: Had some cool LFE and kept my subs active during the fighting scenes but seemed just too mushy for me.


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## gorb (Sep 5, 2010)

I'm glad my girlfriend doesn't like this series. It seems ridiculously bad/corny, and not in a good way. I did read an excerpt of the fourth novel, and it was terrible 

With that being said, I don't really have the right to call the movies bad or terrible, since I've never seen them...but I don't think I ever will


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## Infrasonic (Sep 28, 2010)

I was forced to watch it the other day, what a snore fest. Nothing happens for the first 90% of the movie and finally when you start to wake up towards the end it's over.


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## ozar (Feb 12, 2012)

So far, my wife has shown no interest at all in any of the Twilight movies, so it appears that I might not be forced to watch them. On the other hand, it could be that I'd like them as there have been a few vampire movies that I have liked in the past, such as _The Lost Boys_ and _Let Me In_. 

Thanks for the review, _Jon Liu_!


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## claudej1 (Jan 6, 2008)

I liked the special effects when she was getting thin and gaunt.........one of the most realistic depictions of what would be equivalent to an AIDS, cancer, or anorexic patient. Then the miraculous return to the pretty young girl that she is.


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## hdmiii (May 25, 2008)

This is the only one of the series that I didn't like. I thought it started out good and then it got almost cheesy. I thought they could have done a much better job of portraying events, especially where she was giving birth, it seemed silly.:rolleyesno:


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