Story
Eclipse is the third movie in the Twilight series. It begins with a teenage boy, Riley (Xavier Samuel), being chased through the streets of Seattle by an unseen supernatural attacker. The attacker hurls Riley to the ground and bites him on the hand. The movie then cuts to the town of Forks. Here teenager Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and teenage vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) are having a romantic afternoon in the countryside, oblivious to the rest of the world.
But all is not well in the rest of the world. In Seattle, people are going missing. There are reports of gruesome murders supposedly committed by a deranged serial killer. Closer to Forks, Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard) – a vampire seeking revenge against Edward for the death of her mate – is found lurking in the woods. She is chased off by the Cullen family and a pack of werewolves. To complicated things even more, Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner), a teenage werewolf, is also in love with Bella. The already fragile alliance between vampire and werewolf is stretched to the limit as Jacob and Edward compete for Bella’s love.
Vampire Alice Cullen (Ashley Greene) has a vision about the cause of the terrible events in Seattle. Victoria has created an army of vampires or ‘newborns’, now led by Riley. Their sole purpose is to kill Bella. Unable to protect Bella by themselves, the Cullens seek assistance from the werewolves. Both vampires and werewolves work together to protect Bella as events build towards a final battle.
Themes
Teenage relationships; the supernatural; vampires; werewolves; self-sacrifice
Violence
Eclipse is the most violent and dark of the three Twilight movies. It contains intense sequences of action violence that include violence against children, an inferred rape scene, vampires engaged in blood frenzies, and an extended brutal battle between two groups of supernatural beings. For example:
Sexual references
This movie contains some use of substances. For example:
- Bella’s father drinks a can of beer.
- A group of men hold and drink bottles of beer. They behave in an abusive and drunk way.
- Carlisle Cullen says that he has given morphine to Jacob and will return to put in a morphine drip.
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
This movie contains some use of substances. For example:
- Bella’s father drinks a can of beer.
- A group of men hold and drink bottles of beer. They behave in an abusive and drunk way.
- Carlisle Cullen says that he has given morphine to Jacob and will return to put in a morphine drip.
Nudity and sexual activity
This movie contains some nudity and sexual activity. For example:
- A bare-chested Jacob lies down next to Bella, who is freezing. He cuddles her to warm her up. Jacob says to Edward, ‘Let’s face it – I’m hotter than you’. Then he jokingly says to Bella, ‘You’ll warm up faster if you take your clothes off’.
- There are several scenes of Bella and Edward kissing each other passionately on the lips. In one scene, they lie on a bed kissing. Bella undoes the buttons on Edward’s shirt. They rub their hands up and down each other’s bodies. Before things go any further, Edward stands up and does up his buttons.
- Edward presents Bella with a ring that was his mother’s. He asks Bella to marry him. Bella accepts.
- Jacob pulls Bella close to him and forces her to kiss him on the lips.
- Victoria kisses Riley passionately on the lips, pulling on his lips with her teeth.
- Bella asks Jacob to kiss her. They kiss each other passionately.
Product placement
None of concern
Coarse language
This movie contains some occasional low-level coarse language.
Ideas to discuss with your children
Eclipse is a fantasy romantic drama targeting teenage girls. It is also likely to appeal to fans of the previous Twilight movies. It contains darker themes, more romance, and a higher level of action violence than the earlier movies. It is certainly not recommended for younger teens.
Self-sacrifice is a strong theme in this movie. But not all the messages about self-sacrifice are positive. For example:
- Bella is willing to give up everything for Edward, including her life. You might want to talk with your teenage daughters about the self-destructive nature of Bella’s choices.
- Both Edward and Jacob are willing to sacrifice their lives to protect Bella.
- Jacob is willing to make these sacrifices for Bella even knowing that she has chosen Edward.
- Edward is willing to sacrifice his personal happiness to prevent Bella from becoming a vampire.
Other messages in the movie that you could discuss with your children include the following:
- Opposing forces can work together when they have a common goal.
- It’s important to make the right choices because all choices have consequences.