The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2

The final installment in the love it or hate it franchise about a girl, a vampire, and a werewolf comes to a rousing conclusion in "The Twilight Saga - Breaking Dawn Part 2." This is the part of the story where Bella (Kristen Stewart) finally becomes a vampire and let loose as a bad-ass. While the story finally gets down into its over-the-top nuttiness, this is by far the most entertaining of the "Twilight" films. From Bella's discovery of her new vamp body to the creepy CGI offspring of Bella and Edward, right down to the packs of specialty vampires they collect from around the world, this is the "Twilight" movie that will please even the skeptics. The cast, too, looks as though they are finally having a grand old time and for once Robert Pattison actually smiles! It's the kick-ass thirty minute battle sequence at the end, however, that will have people talking.

Special features are a great part of this package. Director Bill Condon does his usual earnest "everyone is amazing" commentary, but it is the feature length documentary that is far better than it should be. Coming in at about an hour and a half, this seven-part behind-the-scenes doc is surprisingly absorbing. It reveals how they came to cast the film (with plenty of audition tapes), how they created the CGI Renesmee, the endless filming of the epic battle, and how they decided on Bella's new look. You'd think that this would all be dry, but I found myself completely sucked into it. And who knew Kristen Stewart had a personality! She's funny, bright, and alive. It's too bad she can't transfer that into some of her acting. In addition, this feature can be watched as a picture-in-picture feature while the film is playing, or as a stand-alone documentary.

Also included is a short featurette on the feat of filming both Part 1 and 2 at the same time, a scene maneuvering tool where you can "Jump to Edward" or "Jump to Jacob" moments, as well as a Green Day video for the song "The Forgotten."

Clearly, those who like this franchise will want to purchase the final film in the saga, but if you are a casual fan and are debating whether to rent or purchase, you wouldn't be wasting your money buying the disc for the informative special features. Especially for fledgling filmmakers, this has a lot of great information to ruminate on.

"The Twilight Saga - Breaking Dawn Part 2"
Blu-ray/Ultraviolet
$39.99
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