The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010)

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Plot

The film opens with a young, blonde, college-age student named Riley being stalked and attacked by a vampire, whom we learn is in fact Victoria, the fierce, rage-fueled enemy of the Cullen clan. It is found out that Victoria has changed this young man into a newborn vampire in order to create havoc in Washington, as well as to lead an army of vampires into battle with the Cullens.

The Newborns

After the tumultuous events of New Moon, Eclipse sees Bella and Edward safely ensconced in the town of Forks, Washington. Bella fears that she would not be able to truly be with Edward if she does not become a vampire, like he. Edward is not keen on turning Bella into a vampire, but reluctantly agrees to do so if she marries him first. Bella, nervous at the prospect of getting married at 18 years old as well as losing all humanity she might have left, finds herself conflicted. In an effort to cheer her up, Edward takes Bella to visit her mother Renee in Florida for a weekend, where Bella finds herself nostalgic and distressed over possibly saying goodbye to her mother for the last time. When the couple returns to Forks, Jacob confronts Edward and Bella, telling Bella that Emmett Cullen and a member of the Quiluete Tribe (Jacob's wolf coven) got into an altercation over the weekend hunting a vampire who was found in the area. Although Edward was aware of the danger (and found out that Riley uncovered the location of Bella's house), he kept the information a secret from Bella, which makes her feel betrayed as a result.

With her father Charlie occupied with the investigation of Riley's "disappearance", and Edward away on a "hunting" trip with his family, Bella leaves to visit Jacob in La Push, whom she has rarely kept in touch with since the events of New Moon. Although Bella and Jacob find themselves happy to be in each other's company yet again, Jacob is still hurt over the fact that Bella continues to choose Edward over him. He assures Bella that he is the right guy for her and would never hurt her or change her, like Edward might. She leaves La Push and much to Edward's relief, is unharmed and safe. At this time, Victoria and Riley have begun to change innocent victims into newborn vampires, among them young Bree Tanner, rallying them into a misfit army destined to once and for all rid the world of the Cullens and Bella. The Volturi have been secretly watching Victoria and Riley and decide that if this coven of vampires is to make themselves any more conspicuous as to endanger the identity of their race, that they will have to intervene themselves.

As Bella's classmates are anxious at the imminent arrival of high school graduation, Bella herself fears for her life and safety, as well as that of everyone else close to her. Bella returns to La Push to speak with Jacob again, at which Jacob confesses his undying love and devotion to her. Jacob forces himself on Bella, kissing her. A shocked and embarrassed Bella punches Jacob in the face, breaking her hand as a result. As Jacob and Bella return to Forks, Edward meets up with both of them, threatening to break Jacob's jaw if he ever touches Bella again. Bella and her classmates soon graduate from Forks High and celebrate at a party Alice is having at the Cullen residence. Jacob and his friends Quil and Embry crash the party, much to Bella's chagrin. Jacob brings Bella a gift and apologizes for his behavior, which Bella accepts. At this time, Alice has a vision that Victoria, Riley and the gang of newborns are traveling to Forks in order to kill Bella and the rest of the Cullen clan. The Cullens find themselves in great danger, so they decide to join forces with the Quiluete wolf pack in preparation for battle with this newborn coven.

Lurve!

Bella and Edward share their fears, hopes and dreams with one another in Edward's room late one night. Things begin to get heavy as Bella and Edward passionately proclaim their love for one another, until Edward intervenes. He fears that he cannot make love to her, as he might be uncontrollable and too powerful for Bella to handle. Edward, after seeing how much it means to Bella, proposes to her with a ring and promises that they will consummate their love for one another after they are married. Although she is still afraid of marriage, she finds that spending her life with Edward is absolutely worth it.

The day arrives when Victoria and the army of newborns find themselves in Forks, Washington. Jasper has trained the Cullens to fight newborns, as his previous life before he met Carlisle, he was a trained newborn killer. The wolf pack arrives and prepares with the Cullens, while Jacob and Edward hide Bella high in the mountains. Bella finds herself sick from the freezing temperatures on the mountain, which leads Edward to have Jacob (who, as a wolf, has a high body temperature) sleep with Bella as to keep her warm. As Bella feigns sleep, Edward and Jacob have a conversation. At first, they both come to grips with their hatred and disgust of one another, then they compromise and find that they both must work together in order to protect the girl they both love.

The Cullens are ready to fight for Bella.

In the morning, Edward and Bella discuss what Bella overheard from last night, as well as letting slip that they are engaged. Jacob storms off, hurt and disgusted by this apparent betrayal. Bella runs after him, to which Jacob proclaims that he will join the fight and kill himself for her, as there would be no other way that he'd be able to have her in this life. Bella breaks down, urging Jacob not to go, but he is not convinced. With little other option, Bella confesses that she is in love with Jacob and kisses him. She tells him that she will always love him, even though deep down, Bella has always and will always love Edward more. Jacob leaves to protect Bella from the onslaught of newborn vampires, while Edward stays with Bella. Victoria and Riley are able to track down Bella and Edward. Seth Clearwater, the youngest member of the Quiluete wolf pack, is able to take down Riley, leaving Edward alone with Victoria. Bella is able to distract Victoria long enough for Edward to rip off Victoria's head, killing her. Back at the bottom of the mountain, the Cullens and the wolf pack easily dispatch of most of the newborns. While trying to protect Leah Clearwater (Seth's sister), Jacob is attacked and seriously wounded by a newborn. Jacob is taken back to La Push as the Volturi arrive at the scene. Bree Tanner, the sole surviving newborn, has already made her peace and surrendered to the Cullens, who saw that she was a non-threatening newborn. However, the Volturi ignore Bree and the Cullens' pleas of mercy and kill Bree instantly.

Back in La Push, Carlisle does his best to help speed up Jacob's recovery. At this time, Bella visits Jacob, again proclaiming her love for him, but this time telling him that she has already chosen Edward. Jacob, heartbroken, reluctantly agrees to stop trying to break up Edward and Bella, as he feels that she is happy with him, and he is worthy enough to be with her. Later on, Bella and Edward find themselves in the same meadow where the film had opened. Edward tells Bella that the date for her marriage will be set one month before her 19th birthday, and that Alice is planning the ceremony. Bella agrees with Edward that if she is to become a vampire, that she must be able to have a few final human experiences: to get married and to consummate said marriage. Edward and Bella find that with the danger of Victoria now in the past, the most dangerous part is to come soon: telling Charlie about their engagement.

Reception, Release & Box Office Info

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse was released in 4,416 theaters (including 193 IMAX screens- a first for the franchise) across North America on June 30, 2010 and earned (at the time) the biggest midnight release ever for a film, with $30 million in ticket sales sold. This record was broken a year later, during Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows- Part Two's original release. After six days in release, Eclipse sold an estimated $176 million in tickets in North America alone, and closed its run with $300 million domestic, making it the highest grossing film in the franchise so far. On top of that, Eclipse made $397 million in international markets, for a worldwide total of $697 million, making it the second highest-grossing film worldwide after New Moon.

Eclipse received middling-to-mildly positive reviews from the press, culminating in a 49% Rotten Tomatoes score (67% from Top Critics) and a 58 from Metacritic. Among the positive reviews were raves from The Hollywood Reporter, Variety and Richard Roeper, who has gone on record for his distaste of the previous two films. Roeper's former partner, Roger Ebert, was more critical of the film, as were other reviews from the Chicago Tribune and Rolling Stone.