Chastity has Its Virtues — 'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn (Part 1)'

Poor Bella. All she wanted was eternal love with her undead soul(less) mate. But in the trailer for Breaking Dawn (Part 1), it seems she got a little more than she bargained for.

Twilight fans the world over can rejoice, for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn (Part 1) will soon hit theaters. The millions of Twilighters who, through three films, have followed the soapy supernatural adventures of Bella and Edward and Jacob can finally unclench and, on November 18, see the beginning of the end of this sad saga and try to make sense of the whole misguided affair.

Not that these fans don't already know what happens. Breaking Dawn, the novel by Stephanie Meyer upon which this new flick is based, was published in 2008 and by year's end had already sold 6 million copies. So, to think the throngs of admirers who will flock to theaters next month know not what happens is the stuff of bad fiction, much like…well, that's not fair.

I'd be lying if I said I'd seen all the Twilight films or read the Twilight books. I have not. Therefore, I cannot pass judgment on their worth. But I have seen a couple of the movies. As a writer and arbiter of popular culture, I felt compelled to check out the first two films to see what all the fuss was about. And I have to admit, while I didn't find Twilight and New Moon to be particularly good, I got it. Essentially, it's Romeo and Juliet with vampires and werewolves. And, hey, that's fine. (Editor's note: In doing research for this piece, I found there is actually a mashup book called Romeo & Juliet & Vampires. To which I say, of course there is.)

In Breaking Dawn (Part 1), Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward (Robert Pattinson) have married, finally consummating physically their long-smoldering love. But they soon learn that adult actions have adult consequences. I don't need to tell you any more than that — because if you care, you already know; if you don't care, you don't care. I will say the movie is directed by the talented Bill Condon, which intrigues me. The director of Kinsey making the "sexy" Twilight flick makes an odd kind of sense.

So, while I don't love these movies, many fans do. Obviously, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn (Part 1) was made for them and not for me. The market has spoken.