The camera moves in on Edward Cullen, looking absolutely ravishing at his wedding reception. He’s toasting to his bride, Bella Swan, and utters these downright perfect words that would make any girl swoon. “No amount of time with you would be enough, but let’s start with forever.”

This wedding scene was just one of the many much-anticipated acts in Breaking Dawn Part 1, the beginning of the end of the Twilight saga. This film got a great deal of hype from eccentric Twi-hards - some buying their midnight premiere tickets months in advance - and on November 18, theaters everywhere were packed with teenage girls sporting “Team Edward” or “Team Jacob” t-shirts. Though I wouldn’t consider myself to have an obsession anywhere close to the passion that others feel toward Twilight, I have read the series and seen all the movies that have been made; so far, most of the movies have stuck pretty closely to the way the corresponding books were written. But during Breaking Dawn, things took a sinister turn. The first thirty minutes of the movie are full of flowers, innocence, and excitement, while everyone is getting ready for Bella and Edward’s wedding. But the couple’s honeymoon phase is cut short when Bella learns she is pregnant with a half-human, half-vampire baby that could very well kill her. From then on, the movie takes on a depressing facade. Everyone is trying to save Bella as she grows weaker and less human, and the central theme of love between Edward and Bella that the saga was built on gets replaced with a savage fight for survival. Family ties are brutally ripped apart, but new alliances are made.

I give this movie a 3 out of 5. The acting was remarkable, with each actor perfectly fitting their character’s role. As always, standout performances were made by Kristen Stewart (Bella Swan), Robert Pattinson (Edward Cullen), and Ashley Greene (Alice Cullen). BooBoo Stewart (Seth Clearwater) also got much more screen time, and played his young werewolf role perfectly. Though there seemed to be a constant fog of hopelessness throughout Breaking Dawn Part 1, it ended on a clean cut, making an easy transition into part two of the epic conclusion, coming out later this year.