Rough awkwardly spliced shots open the film. As a viewer new to the saga (in both book & film form), I begin to worry if I simply don't have the back story to acclimate. But soon enough the picture begins to find a pace (even with me) and build some momentum. To my surprise, despite the grizzly grueling wolves ravaging across the previews, Twilight Eclipse is not an action film. In fact, it's squarely a soap opera. I absolutely don't mean that as a negative. But for those interested in fierce wolves v. vampire pillaging, I'm here to clarify. The picture is 97% soap/drama/dialogue and 3% rampage. Further, the preview reveals the best of the CGI wolving.

That said, I greatly enjoyed the way these writers wound their characters into thorny emotional binds. Certainly, this is what the film does best. Take the premise for starters: a young headstrong teen falls in love with a gentleman vampire. This isn't the blood-thirsty, naïve-girl-seducing vampire sort of yesteryear. Interestingly, it's quite the reverse. He's the one doing the calming. He's actually a pretty good role model for the modern day hormone pulsing teen. Who would have thought?

For the most part, the film rolls along as you might expect a teen romance picture to roll. There are a few moments of sticky acting, but on average it's average, save for the girl's parents. Their scenes tended to compel me nicely. Although, that could be because my age leans far closer to theirs. Or perhaps because they aren't supernatural beings. But of even more import, there is one beautiful scene, a gem really, between the two young leads. It's quiet, intimate, passionate and sums the picture (the series probably) in a rich nutshell. Kudos to the filmmakers for creating this intense moment of fine acting, editing and directing. I applaud the confidence to mute the music, and let the magic of the discourse play sans audio accenting.

I paid the extra few bucks to enjoy this film in IMAX; unfortunately, due to the dialogue-driven nature of the picture, the added expense did not add any impact.

-- Books by Author/Illustrator Ross Anthony --