The Twilight Saga: Eclipse 2010

Richard Roeper, Richard Roeper.com: The first two movies were mediocre, but "Eclipse" represents one of the more astonishing upgrades in movie franchise history. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: More happens in Eclipse than in the previous Twilight zone, New Moon, and yet it's duller. Read more

Kathleen Murphy, MSN Movies: The third chapter in Bella Swan's via dolorosa is still pretty much of a drag for anyone not affiliated with Teams Edward and Jacob, but it certainly eclipses the dead-on-arrival dud that was New Moon. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: I can't pretend that the third episode instilled a fever in my blood, but it didn't leave me cold. For the first time in the series I felt I'd seen a real movie. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: Anyone walking into Eclipse without seeing the previous two movies would be genuinely perplexed; behavior that barely makes sense when you know the story becomes truly nutty without context. Read more

Genevieve Koski, AV Club: With roughly 20 minutes of its two-hour running time devoted to characters doing something besides alternately moping and declaring their eternal love for each other, Eclipse stands as the most action-packed entry yet. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: What elevates Eclipse above the previous Twilight films is that it doesn't take itself so seriously, and Slade doesn't allow his stars to. Read more

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: These movies are more about the experience of hearing girls and women who should know better holler at the screen. They could just as well be at a concert. Read more

Amy Nicholson, Boxoffice Magazine: Has its cheesecake and eats it, too. It's heavy on topless shots of barely legal Taylor Lautner, but now Pattinson grumbles, "Doesn't he own a shirt?" Read more

Noah Berlatsky, Chicago Reader: This is definitely the worst installment of the franchise to date. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: As always, the biggest screams emanating from the audience come when Lautner bares his chest. Read more

Joy Tipping, Dallas Morning News: Slade skips the stultifying slow-motion fantasy sequences that so weighed down New Moon in favor of a well-paced blend of action and introspection. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: While the new Eclipse remains foremost a flick for devotees, it has sturdier pleasures and takes on its emotional ambitions with renewed dedication. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: The movie is about a girl's primal dream of being desired. That may well be corny, but it's also an essential antidote to summer-movie hardware. Read more

Laremy Legel, Film.com: When you see love represented on film in such an authentic and genuine manner it's easy to find yourself in a forgiving mood. Read more

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: The kiss of the vampire is cooler, the werewolf is hotter, the battles are bigger and the choices are, as everyone with a pulse (and a few without) knows by now, life-changing. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: Eclipse, like its two predecessors, is ham-fisted and obvious, a mass-market entertainment with a frustrating lack of imagination, anemic plotting (how were those novels so fat?) and no aspirations toward anything greater than box office ka-ching. Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday: In a rare moment of insight, the teenage but immortal vampires in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse complain about being "frozen" in their lives, unable to "move forward." So is everyone involved in this deathtrap of a franchise. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: Although Eclipse isn't a great film on its own, it's pretty much the Twilight movie fans have been waiting for. Read more

Bob Mondello, NPR: Director David Slade keeps the action brisk and the time-killing attractive ... All of which should be like a freshly opened vein for fans. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: If you adore Meyer's characters already, you'll be thrilled to spend more time with them. If you don't, well, you'd just end up sitting among a bunch of sighing teens (and their moms), wondering what the fuss is about. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: The Twilight Saga: Eclipse dispenses with much of the caramel gooeyness of the first two episodes in favor of decent action, some heartfelt tender moments and even a splash of wit. This time they're actually Twi-ing. Read more

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: The Twilight Saga comes close to that sweet spot between swooning silliness and special effects slaughter with Eclipse, the third film in the series. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: Easily the least compelling, least fun entry in the saga thus far. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Kristin Stewart, an actress who shows amazing range and ability when not playing Bella, continues to do her best imitation of a cardboard cutout here. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: For most of its languorous running time, it listens to conversations between Bella and Edward, Bella and Jacob, Edward and Jacob, and Edward and Bella and Jacob. This would play better if any of them were clever conversationalists. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: The Twilight Saga: Eclipse is just one more walk on the mild sides for tweens who dream of being penetrated by cold flesh that will keep them young and cute forever. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: If New Moon had no story to speak of, Eclipse almost has too much. It's a much better problem to have. Read more

Amy Biancolli, San Francisco Chronicle: Melissa Rosenberg's screenplay (like her scripts for the first two installments) is faithful enough to Meyer's soap-operatic inclinations, but I kind of wish she weren't. I kind of wish Bella weren't such an indecisive wuss about her feelings. Read more

David Germain, Associated Press: The stars remain a boring threesome, Stewart limping through supposedly impassioned speeches as though Bella already were one of the cold-blooded undead. Read more

Dana Stevens, Slate: The choice of whether to see Eclipse isn't really a question of whether the movie is good or bad. It's a question of whether or not the movie speaks to your secret, unregulated, inherently ridiculous experience of identification and desire. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Slade shapes the tale's characterization and narrative with a sure hand, pausing to fill in the back stories of several vampires. The asides don't feel digressive, but add depth and scope to the story. Read more

Kevin C. Johnson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Why the bloodsucker and the wolf boy treat Bella as if she's the cat's meow is still a mystery. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: This is the first Twilight film that feels like a real movie in its own right, not just a spin-off from a mass literary cult. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: Eclipse suffers from an excess of characters and dialogue and a shortage of real plot changes, even with Hard Candy's sharp-eyed David Slade at the helm. Read more

Mary F. Pols, TIME Magazine: It appears to have embraced its own sense of camp and is consistently funny in an intentional way. For the first time, I found myself curious to see what comes next. Read more

Tom Huddleston, Time Out: The biggest problem remains the characters: neither Slade nor Stewart are capable of turning manipulative whinger Bella into anything more than a joyless black hole sucking the life from every scene. Read more

Time Out: Viewers who value the little things, such as passable acting and dialogue not stolen from a sixth-grader's diary, will once again walk away dazed, dumbfounded and partially deaf from all the surrounding squealing. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: This third go-round won't make Twihard converts of the rest of us. Read more

Peter Debruge, Variety: The pleasant surprise this time around is that the result finally feels more like the blockbuster this top-earning franchise deserves. Read more

Dan Kois, Village Voice: Eclipse is the least laughable installment yet in the series, and director David Slade efficiently delivers the fan service that Twihards require. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: If Slade doesn't necessarily advance the medium with this installment, he nonetheless advances the franchise, with enough lucidity and skill that he's persuaded at least one erstwhile agnostic to take a stand. Read more