GRADE: C+

In what has become a yearly tradition, I will again review the latest Twilight film. As I’ve made known in the past, I have not read the books and am not a fan of the series. This review will almost be a repeat of my Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse reviews, because this film has almost all the same successes and failures of the previous efforts — it has the potential to be good but isn’t as polished as a big budget film should be. While I have found all the preceding films to be mediocre, I found the concepts within them to be very intriguing.

Everyone knows the story, and this time it picks with Edward (Pattinson) and Bella (Stewart) tying the knot, vampire to human. They are infatuated with one another, but the mortal/immortal divide separates them from truly being united. This is the biggest piece of drama early on, the same device used since day one.

The beginning parts of Breaking Dawn Part I were so boring I thought it was going to be a complete failure. So much time was spent simply watching Bella and Edward kissing, embracing, and being all lovey dovey during their drawn out honeymoon, I thought I was going to fall asleep.

We get it, they’re in love — telling us something we already know, for a long portion of the movie is overkill. No new information is given during the honeymoon until the end of it when it’s revealed Bella is pregnant. Nothing new is learned about either character. I’m not suggesting anything being changed from book to movie, but any skilled filmmaker could make this portion more cinematically interesting. My wife tells me this piece of the book isn’t extremely interesting either, but seriously, a movie cannot drag like this off the bat.

Thankfully, by the third act Breaking Dawn Part I finally started to get its feet moving. The drama is ratcheted up, the cast of characters are put into a really difficult situation, and the final movie is perfectly teased. Believe it or not, I was enjoying this final act, which turned out to be the best of all the Twilight films — though from fans I hear Part II will be “the stuff of legend.”

The acting improved significantly compared to the previous efforts. The actors have sunk into their roles and embodied their characters. Though, I still cannot buy into any palpable chemistry between Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. I know many will disagree, but in my opinion, I just don’t buy it. I’ve never been lost in their love. To me, it feels like they’re acting.

The most disappointing thing was the soundtrack. In my reviews of New Moon and Eclipse I noted the modern soundtrack as a strength. The music fit with the images. Breaking Dawn Part I was completely off track resembling more of a full orchestra effort from a John Williams protégé. I was also extremely disappointed by direction of Bill Condon. Often times I would find myself thinking how unnatural and staged the characters moved around the frame. And as a film buff, I was not impressed by the way Condon shot this film — a lot of boring and seemingly amateurish shots.

Overall, Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part I was just like all the previous films — a worthwhile story not done justice by a rushed production. If you notice, none of my gripes about this film, or really any from the preceding chapters revolve around my lack of enjoyment from the story. The lackluster productions have held this series back.

What Should You Do? Obviously all you fans have seen Breaking Dawn Part I at least twice. But, for everyone else, if you were unimpressed by the other films, don’t make a date with this one.

Follow Matthew on Twitter: @matthewdeery