In the Twilight universe, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse is better than New Moon, although not quite as much “fun” as the first Twilight. The change in director was a good one, and the focus of the film is back on the more interesting characters. The cast still has a certain charm, and although I am beginning to tire of author Stephenie Meyer’s heavy handed and simplistic abstinence agenda, I cannot blame the filmmakers. They did what they could with the sometimes cringe-worthy story.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse begins with Bella’s (Kristen Stewart) final days in high school. Her friend Jessica (the underused Anna Kendrick) gives a rousing valedictory speech at graduation about making mistakes in order to find out who you really are. Apparently Bella thinks this means that she should let Edward turn her into a vampire.  Edward protests, but not that much. A new evil is in town, however, and romance must be put on hold. Vampire Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard) is assembling an army of ultra strong newborn vampires to wreak havoc in the town and get revenge on the Cullen family, through Bella.  An uneasy alliance is formed between the vampires and the wolves, and rivals Edward (Robert Pattinson) and Jacob (Taylor Lautner) must work together to protect Bella. Can all three of them stop flirting long enough to combat this new evil army?

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse contains more scenes that made me squirm with horror than did it predecessors. One needs to be prepared for them.  Bella’s father doesn’t seem to notice the supernatural characters that court Bella, but he is concerned with her chastity. He warns her that, “You don’t want to have to get married because you weren’t careful.”  Apparently a world with vampires and werewolves is also a world without abortion and adoption. After more horrific conversation with her father about sex, Bella stands in her kitchen telling her father, “I am a virgin.”  Her father decides he likes Edward a little more now.  Edward is also concerned with Bella’s virginity. Despite her attempts at seduction, Edward refuses Bella’s advances because he is afraid he might hurt her. The logic here is a little fuzzy since Edward has reluctantly agreed to “turn” Bella. But Edward insists they marry first, before the turning and the sex. Edward has made peace with the idea of turning Bella into an immortal bloodsucker, but his moral code cannot allow premarital sex.  He is old fashioned and says he would court Bella if they lived in his time. There is more horrifying conversation, but I cannot bear to recount it. We do not know if Jacob has similar reservations, but he certainly likes to show Bella his bare and ripped chest. “Doesn’t he own a shirt?” Edward asks.   But when the trio camp out on a snowy mountain top, Bella shivers with cold. Fortunately, Jacob is there to wrap his hot wolf arms around her to keep her from freezing to death. Jacob lets a jealous Edward know that this technique would be more effective without clothes. It is to no avail, because while Bella has no problem kissing each of them in front of the other and declaring her love to both of them, she loves Edward more.  But Jacob must be really warm, because the next morning, Bella does not even don a coat, despite still being on the snowy mountain top,

Screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg does provide some enjoyable moments here. My favorite  scenes were the flashbacks involving Rosalie Hale (Nikki Reed) and Jasper Whitlock (Jackson Rathbone). The scenes showing their human and early vampire lives add much needed texture to this story and allow us to see more of these two talented actors.  The training scenes with the werewolves about how to kill the newborn vampires were also effective. I always enjoy the scenes with Dr. Carlisle Cullen (Peter Facinelli) and Alice Cullen (Ashley Greene) and was glad to see those characters used a little more in this film. Rachelle Lefevre, who played Victoria in the last two Twilight films, was replaced in this one with Bryce Dallas Howard. I liked Lefevre’s performance and I am not sure what this substitution (in a small and underdeveloped role) added to the film.

Director David Slade does a good job of keeping the story moving in this 124 minute film. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse has an exciting opening featuring none of the main characters. The actions scenes were riveting and the wolves were used to maximum effect.  This film looks good and has less excess than the previous Twilight installment. Perhaps Slade is also responsible for getting a better performance from Taylor Lautner, as wolf boy was a bit wooden in the previous films.  I still think moody Kristen Stewart elevates the films, and her chemistry with her co-stars is undeniable. Sparkly Robert Pattinson’s Edward seems a bit wimpy in this film, but perhaps that is intentional to make the choice between Bella’s two supernatural  suitors somewhat compelling.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse should appeal to the young female fans of these films. This film is all about romance and Bella’s choice between these two hunks. Will she choose the vampire or the werewolf? It doesn’t really matter as long as she practices abstinence with both of them.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. Directed by David Slade.  Kristen Stewart (Bella Swan), Robert Pattinson (Edward Cullen), Taylor Lautner (Jacob Black), Bryce Dallas Howard (Victoria), Anna Kendrick (Jessica), Jackson Rathbone (Jasper Whitlock), Peter Facinelli (Dr. Carlisle Cullen), Dakota Fanning (Jane), Ashley Greene (Alice Cullen), Billy Burke (Charlie Swan) and Nikki Reed (Rosalie Hale). Summit Entertainment, 2010.

Gail sees a movie appears every Wednesday.

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