Skip to main content
Background
Welcome to GamesRADAR+ Community !
Hi ,

Your membership journey starts here.

Keep exploring and earning more as a member.

MY ACCOUNT

Badge picture
Earn your first badge
Read 1 article to unlock your first badge.
Keep earning badges
Explore ways to get more involved as a member.
Latest Games News

Latest Games News

Breaking gaming news and updates

Read Now
Latest Games Reviews

Latest Games Reviews

Expert verdicts on the newest releases

Read Now

See what you’ve unlocked.

Explore your membership benefits.

Explore
Member Exclusives

Stay Ahead with GamesRadar+

Get the biggest gaming news, reviews, and releases straight to your inbox.

Explore

Sign Out
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+
US EditionUS CA EditionCanada UK EditionUK AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Games
    • Game Insights
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • Big Preview
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
    • Genres
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
    • Franchises
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
  • Hardware
    • Insights
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
      • Buying Guides
    • Computing
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
    • Accessories & Tech
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Video
    • Video
    • GR+ Replay - Submit Your Clips
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
  • home
  • Games
    • View Games
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • Big Preview
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • View Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • View Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • View TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • View Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • View Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • View Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
  • Hardware
    • View Hardware
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
      • Buying Guides
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • View Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Video
    • View Video
    • Video
    • GR+ Replay - Submit Your Clips
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
Trending
  • Best Netflix Movies
  • Movie Release Dates
  • Best movies on Disney Plus
  • Best Netflix Shows
Don't miss these
Baraka in Mortal Kombat 2
Action Movies Mortal Kombat 2 review: “Lands some killer blows, but far from a flawless victory”
Dante firing his gun Ebony in Devil May Cry's Netflix series
Animated Shows Devil May Cry season 2 review: "This is a new and improved version of what's come before"
Mortal Kombat 2
Action Movies Mortal Kombat 2 producer launches a bizarre attack over negative reviews despite its 74% Rotten Tomatoes score
Directive 8020 close-up screenshot of Anders in a space suit stepping out into Tau Ceti f
Horror Games Directive 8020 review: "Held back by the inconsistent implementation of series-first stealth"
Big Screen Spotlight: Highlander rerelease in 4K
Fantasy Movies I watched Highlander 40 years after its release and I completely get why Henry Cavill is rebooting it
in Aphelion
Adventure Games Aphelion review: "Life is Strange creator's Uncharted-like sci-fi adventure fails to land"
Stranger Things: Tales From '85
Sci-Fi Shows Stranger Things: Tales From '85 review: "Makes you nostalgic for the early days of Stranger Things"
Mario riding Yoshi through space with Luigi and Peach flying along beside him
Animated Movies The Super Mario Galaxy Movie review: "Never quite reaches Galaxy's gravity-defying game heights"
Matthew Rhys as Tom Loftis in Widow's Bay.
Horror Shows Apple TV's new horror comedy is so charming and evocative, it's the sort of show you want to live inside
Austin Abrams as Bryan in Resident Evil
Horror Movies New Resident Evil movie takes place "on the periphery" of Resident Evil 2, and everything else we learned from the set
Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle in The Punisher: One Last Kill
Marvel TV Shows The Punisher: One Last Kill review: "Reminds you how much gnarly fun this character can be"
Ryan Gosling as Ryland Grace in Project Hail Mary
Sci-Fi Movies Project Hail Mary review: "Large scale sci-fi with tons of heart"
Harry Potter
Fantasy Movies The best Harry Potter movies ranked from worst to wand-erful
A close-up of Grace talking with someone through glass in Resident Evil Requiem
Resident Evil Resident Evil Requiem review: "A soaring piece of survival horror theater"
Adam Scott as Ohm in Hokum
Horror Movies 5 horror movies made by comedy stars to watch after Adam Scott's new scary flick Hokum
  1. Entertainment
  2. Movies
  3. Action Movies

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 review

A grim reaper…

Reviews
By Emma Dibdin published 17 November 2011

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Why you can trust GamesRadar+ Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.

Let’s get right to the talking points. The headboard-breaking wedding night? Bit of an anticlimax. Bedward’s nuptials? Surprisingly good fun. Jacob’s shirt? Off within the first three minutes.

Otherwise, this action-light, occasionally bonkers penultimate chapter suffers from the issues you’ve come to expect – leaden dialogue, unintentional comedy – and some new ones to boot as director Bill Condon struggles to navigate the choppy narrative waters of Stephenie Meyer’s last, weirdest, most divisive novel.

So mopey mortal Bella (Stewart) is finally getting hitched to sparkly vampire soulmate Edward (Pattinson), and we follow her struggles with assorted aspects of the day, from sky-high heels (relatable) to the prospect of dying in order to be with her paramour for eternity (less so).

After a spot of dancing and an enjoyably awkward speech montage, the pair set sail for a desert island and get down to some long-awaited business – which, naturally given what franchise we’re in, doesn’t end well.

Stewart, confusingly, plays Bella as miserable and conflicted throughout the honeymoon phase – there’s an unintentional LOL as she asks Edward with her sourest face, “Why can’t you see how perfectly happy I am?” – and it’s only once she discovers she’s pregnant with a deadly hybrid vampire child that she perks up

Latest Videos From
You may like
  • Twilight Robert Pattinson jokes "no one" was Team Jacob at the height of Twilight's success: "That was just a marketing thing"
  • Jessie Buckley as Ida/Penny in The Bride The Bride earns mixed first reviews, as critics call it everything from "a modern classic" to "unholy mess"
  • Ghostface in Scream 7 Scream 7 review: "Never as sharp as the series' best, but still has a few neat tricks up its billowing sleeve"

Despite Pattinson and Stewart’s chemistry, the central relationship plays like a sad, destructive charade.

Still, you’ll be longing for more of them once the focus shifts to Bella’s spurned werewolf admirer Jacob (Lautner) and his stupendously dull pack of pals. The scene in which the wolves have a chat is comfortably the film’s worst, and their third act dominance ensures that the psychological horror of Bella’s Alien -esque plight goes totally unexplored.

An emotionally confused, narratively incoherent and oddly joyless affair centred on an 18-year-old girl voluntarily destroying herself from the inside out, this might work as a standalone horror piece with a stronger directorial hand. As a so-called epic love story, it leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

Flat performances, dodgy plotting and rubbish talking wolves aside, this is a weirdly grim addition to the supposedly tween-friendly franchise, less fairy tale than misjudged horror show.

Sign up for the Total Film Newsletter

Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Emma Dibdin
Writer

Emma Didbin is a writer and journalist who has contributed to GamesRadar+, The New York Times, Elle, Esquire, The Hollywood Reporter, Vulture, and more. Emma can currently be found in Los Angeles where she is pursuing a career in TV writing. Emma has also penned two novels, and somehow finds the time to write scripts for Parcast – the Spotify-owned network that creates thrilling true crime and mystery podcasts.

Read more
Twilight
Fantasy Movies Robert Pattinson jokes "no one" was Team Jacob at the height of Twilight's success: "That was just a marketing thing"
 
 
Jessie Buckley as Ida/Penny in The Bride
Horror Movies The Bride earns mixed first reviews, as critics call it everything from "a modern classic" to "unholy mess"
 
 
Ghostface in Scream 7
Horror Movies Scream 7 review: "Never as sharp as the series' best, but still has a few neat tricks up its billowing sleeve"
 
 
Jessie Buckley as Ida/Penny in The Bride
Horror Movies The Bride bombs at the box office with $13.6 million opening against a $90 million budget
 
 
Jessie Buckley as Ida/Penny in The Bride
Horror Movies The Bride's violence was "pulled back" after test screenings, but director Maggie Gyllenhaal stands by what was kept in
 
 
Margot Robbie as Catherine Earnshaw in Wuthering Heights
Drama Movies Emerald Fennell's controversial Wuthering Heights works because it's like a half-remembered dream
 
 
Latest in Action Movies
Ian McKellen as Magneto in X-Men
Marvel Movies Ian McKellen says he always wanted a "good speech" in X-Men, but that comic book movie speeches are limited to "pow!"
 
 
Fantastic Four (2015)
Marvel Movies 2015's Fantastic Four writer says he "wasn't privy to whatever drama happened on set"
 
 
Ludi Lin as Liu Kang in Mortal Kombat II
Action Movies Mortal Kombat 2 writer says one of the big "mistakes" from the first movie was not involving the game developers
 
 
Mortal Kombat 2
Action Movies Mortal Kombat writer says they "always knew" one character would be resurrected in Mortal Kombat 3
 
 
Kung Liao and Liu Kang in the Blue Portal
Action Movies Mortal Kombat 2 star Max Huang wants a Shaolin Monks spin-off after that standout Blue Portal fight
 
 
Karl Urban as Johnny Cage in Mortal Kombat 2
Action Movies Mortal Kombat 2 producer apologizes for lashing out against critics who "have no idea what the fans want"
 
 
Latest in Reviews
Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle in The Punisher: One Last Kill
Marvel TV Shows The Punisher: One Last Kill review: "Reminds you how much gnarly fun this character can be"
 
 
Dante firing his gun Ebony in Devil May Cry's Netflix series
Animated Shows Devil May Cry season 2 review: "This is a new and improved version of what's come before"
 
 
Directive 8020 close-up screenshot of Anders in a space suit stepping out into Tau Ceti f
Horror Games Directive 8020 review: "Held back by the inconsistent implementation of series-first stealth"
 
 
Kill Team: Terror on Devlan Red Terror model against a dark background
Tabletop Gaming If you think you're good at Warhammer, Kill Team Terror on Devlan will truly test your mettle
 
 
A close up of the thumbsticks on the Flydigi Vader 5S
Gaming Controllers Flydigi Vader 5S review
 
 
Mixtape screenshot featuring the three main characters pushing a shopping cart while being chased
Adventure Games Mixtape review: "A nostalgic, vibes-based experience set to a shockingly solid soundtrack"
 
 
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. Cernan and Anders hug in Directive 8020 multiplayer.
    1
    Multiplayer in Directive 8020 explained
  2. 2
    The Boys season 5, episode 7 recap: Easter eggs, cameos, and who dies
  3. 3
    The Boys season 5 features a shark voiced by a Marvel legend and it's probably the show's best cameo
  4. 4
    Ahsoka season 2 premieres in 2027, which makes 2026 the first year without a live-action Star Wars show in 7 years
  5. 5
    Marvel messes up CGI in an embarrassing Punisher: One Last Kill moment that "genuinely looks like a GTA cutscene"

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google
  • Terms and conditions
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility statement
  • Careers
  • About us
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...