Short version: New Moon was better.  Way better.

Long-ish version: Whatever New Moon managed to do that improved it from the initial Twilight, Eclipse managed to take a step backwards.

The color palate was still better than Twilight‘s overly-used washed-out blue tones; the acting was about the same; I noticed a lot more direct lines taken from the book; but, overall, it was rushed, choppy, and confusing.

I’m not sure what they were going for.  They swung too far between all-out romance and full-on action and a bunch of other themes that didn’t mesh or make sense for the story.  I also thought that the direction in which they took Jacob’s character in this movie differed too much from New Moon, where the character was portrayed as far more mature and sincere than in the book.  In this one, he’s petulant, annoying and condescending…just like in the book.  And, like in the book, he irritated me the whole way through.

On the other side of that coin, the screenplay differed from the book in ways that made the film seem twisted and confusing, as I mentioned.  I recognized scenes from the book that were re-ordered and changed around significantly.  It didn’t manage to convey the passing of time very well, as it did in New Moon.  The vampires being “made of ice” and “shattering” like glass was just stupid.  A stupid effect, badly executed, just stupid.

There was one memorable shot: when the wolves make a dynamic appearance as a pack, jumping out to attack the vampire army (yeah, that’s right, vampire army).  It was pretty awesome, but I’m not sure if I’m just partial to it because I love wolves.  Hard to say.

Final verdict: I was unimpressed and I’m not sure what to expect from Breaking Dawn.  Or, I guess I should I say, Breaking Dawn, Part 1.

Can you say, “Harry Potter copycat?”