---
title: "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2"
year: 2012
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-twilight-saga-breaking-dawn-part-2"
fi1m_id: "the-twilight-saga-breaking-dawn-part-2"
imdb_id: "tt1673434"
tmdb_id: 50620
wikidata_id: "Q60487"
fi1m_score: 55
critics_score: 57
critics_reviews: 22
published: "2026-10-05T12:32:36.791759+00:00"
updated: "2026-10-05T12:32:36.972421+00:00"
region: "RO"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 (2012)

Directed by Bill Condon · 1h 55m · RO 15 · Fantasy, Drama, Romance

## Identity

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/the-twilight-saga-breaking-dawn-part-2
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** the-twilight-saga-breaking-dawn-part-2
- **IMDb ID:** tt1673434
- **TMDB ID:** 50620
- **Wikidata ID:** Q60487
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1673434/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/50620, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q60487

**Fi1m score: 55** · Critics 57 from 22 reviews

*In a sentence:* The baby is the scariest vampire in the film and nobody meant it to be

> The fifth and last Twilight is the liveliest, because Bella finally gets to do something and the Volturi are allowed to be funny. It is still a long wait for a fight, and the digital baby in the middle of it is a mistake nobody stopped.

## Synopsis

Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) opens her eyes as a vampire in the Cullen house outside Forks, Washington, and the first thing she does is hunt. Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) takes her into the forest to feed, then home to meet the daughter she nearly died giving birth to, Renesmee, who is growing a year every few months. Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner) has imprinted on the child and will not leave her side, which Bella takes badly. Dr. Carlisle Cullen (Peter Facinelli) tries to work out how long the girl has to live. Bella’s father Charlie Swan (Billy Burke) is told only that she is different now. Then a passing vampire sees Renesmee in a clearing, mistakes her for a forbidden immortal child, and carries the news to the Volturi in Italy, who begin to gather.

## Review

Bill Condon closes Stephenie Meyer’s series with the second half of her last book, and the brief is plain: give Bella her reward. After four films of being rescued, Kristen Stewart’s heroine wakes up stronger than everyone in the house, and the film spends its first twenty minutes enjoying that. It is the best stretch of the five, because somebody is at last doing something. The rest is a slow build to a confrontation in the snow, and whether you find the build tolerable depends on how much you already care.

Stewart is the surprise. She has spent the saga biting her lip; here she runs, leaps a river, breaks a mountain lion’s neck and arm-wrestles Kellan Lutz’s Emmett on a boulder, and she looks relieved. Robert Pattinson relaxes with her. Taylor Lautner gets the one properly funny scene, when Jacob undresses in front of Charlie Swan to prove what he is, and Billy Burke’s bewildered patience as Charlie is, as it has been throughout, the thing holding the saga to the ground. The Cullens remain a well-dressed chorus: Elizabeth Reaser, Ashley Greene, Jackson Rathbone and Nikki Reed are given a line each and a direction to stand in.

Then there is the child. Renesmee as an infant is a real baby with a digitally altered face laid over it, and the eyes are wrong, and the mouth moves a beat after the sound. We were unsettled by it, and the film wanted us to be moved; every time Bella gazed at her daughter we were looking at the join. It matters because the whole plot turns on this child being loved, and the film cannot make her look alive. Once she is old enough to be played without help the problem goes away, but by then the damage is done.

Guillermo Navarro shoots everything cold, in blues and greys and the white of overcast snow, and the clearing where the climax happens is lit flat so that black cloaks and red eyes read clearly against it. Richard Sherman’s cottage in the woods, all stone and candlelight, is the one place in the saga anyone might want to live. Michael Wilkinson puts the Volturi in black robes and the Cullens in creams and camel, and dresses each arriving clan by nation, so the Amazons, the Egyptians and the Romanians can be told apart at a glance, which the script needs because it has no other way of telling them apart. Carter Burwell brings back the piano theme he wrote for the first film and it still works; the rest of the score swells on cue. Virginia Katz and Ian Slater cut the middle hour as a procession of entrances.

That hour is the problem. Melissa Rosenberg’s screenplay has to introduce perhaps twenty vampires who will stand as witnesses, and it does so one at a time, each with a name, a power and a sentence of attitude, like a set of trading cards being laid out on a table. Nothing happens to any of them until the end. Dakota Fanning’s Jane glares. Jamie Campbell Bower’s Caius sneers. The leader of the Volturi is the only performer who has grasped that this is a comedy, and his high, delighted laugh on first seeing the child got the biggest laugh of our evening too, from us and from the audience around us, and it was the right response.

The second half takes a turn we will not describe. What we can say is that the film holds back nearly all of its action for the last twenty minutes, and that readers of the book will be pleased with how it is handled. We were not, and that is as far as we will go.

Condon made [*Gods and Monsters*](https://film.one/film/gods-and-monsters) (1998), about a man who built monsters for a studio and knew exactly what they were worth. He knows what this one is worth too: a finale that ends the story, gives the faithful what they came for, and asks nothing further of anyone. It runs 115 minutes and carries a 12A, and if you have sat through the previous four you should sit through this one, if only to see Bella stand up straight. If you have not, start somewhere else, or do not start.

*Fi1m score 55, published 5 October 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics land in the middle, and many say the same thing: this is the liveliest entry in the saga, which is not quite a recommendation. The praise clusters on two performers. Michael Sheen’s Aro is singled out again and again as the film’s high-camp pleasure, and several reviews find Kristen Stewart more relaxed and energetic as a vampire than she was as a human. The extended showdown is the sequence most often named as the point where the film wakes up.

The reservations concern everything around those moments. The digitally rendered infant Renesmee is faulted almost as widely as Sheen is praised, and a late twist is the high point for the Evening Standard and a misfire for Digital Spy and Total Film. Most agree it is a film for the faithful. The spread is wide: The Hollywood Reporter finds it dull, and Vulture, writing years later, calls it inert, while Den of Geek and Variety come close to enjoying it.

## Straight answers

**Is The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 worth watching?**

*The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2* is worth watching only if you have sat through the previous four films, and we scored it 55. It is the liveliest of the five, because Bella finally gets to act and the Volturi are allowed to be funny, but the middle hour is a slow parade of introductions before a late fight. Newcomers should start elsewhere, or not at all.

**How long is The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2, and what is it rated?**

*The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2* runs 1h 55m and is rated 15 by the RO in Romania. It is a fantasy and drama film.

**Where can I watch The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 in Romania?**

*The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2* is streaming on HBO Max in Romania. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How does The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 compare to Let the Right One In?**

*The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2* and [*Let the Right One In*](https://film.one/film/let-the-right-one-in) both put a child vampire at their centre, but the Swedish film is the better one by some distance and means to unsettle you. Alfredson makes a bullied boy's friendship with a vampire tender and quietly horrifying, while Condon's finale is a franchise closer that exists to reward the faithful. Choose the former for a film, the latter for an ending.

**Is The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 based on a true story or a book?**

*The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2* is based on a novel, not a true story: it adapts the second half of Stephenie Meyer's last Twilight book. The film plainly serves readers first, and our review notes that those who know the book will be pleased with how the ending is handled. Knowing the previous four films matters more than knowing the novel, since the story picks up mid-stream and explains nothing for newcomers.

**What should I watch after The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2?**

After *The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2*, try [*Let the Right One In*](https://film.one/film/let-the-right-one-in) (2008, Fi1m 88): A child vampire in a Swedish suburb, and this time the horror is deliberate. Then [*Near Dark*](https://film.one/film/near-dark) (1987, Fi1m 82): Vampires as a drifting family of outlaws; the romance has teeth and consequences; and [*Only Lovers Left Alive*](https://film.one/film/only-lovers-left-alive) (2013, Fi1m 81): Immortal lovers in Detroit and Tangier, bored, elegant and finally touching.

### Reviews we read (22)

- **The New Yorker** (75/100, inferred): The critic finds the finale ludicrously entertaining, with some reservations. They praise Michael Sheen’s camp performance and the film’s momentum, while noting its “No boys allowed” caveat. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/the-twilight-saga-breaking-dawn-part-2-2)
- **Variety**, Justin Chang (75/100, inferred): Chang finds the finale unexpectedly lively and exciting, praising its audacious extended showdown and Kristen Stewart’s energized performance. He criticizes the digitally rendered infant Renesmee as a visual-effects misfire. [Read](https://variety.com/2012/film/reviews/the-twilight-saga-breaking-dawn-part-2-1117948738/)
- **Empire**, Helen O'Hara (70/100, inferred): O'Hara finds the finale a satisfying conclusion for fans, though newcomers may be confused and the first half drags. She praises the leads’ ease in their roles and singles out Michael Sheen’s flamboyant performance. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/twilight-saga-breaking-dawn-part-2-review/)
- **Evening Standard** (70/100, inferred): The critic calls it a fitfully brilliant finale, despite a weak second act. They single out the climactic twist and action as the film’s high point. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/twilight-breaking-dawn-part-2-115mins-12a-review-8322741.html)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Betsy Sharkey (65/100, inferred): Sharkey calls it the best entry in the series, while cautioning that fan appeal should not be mistaken for praise. She singles out Kristen Stewart’s lively performance as Bella, while faulting the dialogue and effects. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-twilight-breaking-dawn-2-review-20121116-story.html)
- **RogerEbert.com** (64/100, inferred): The page content is unavailable, so the critic’s verdict cannot be determined. No specific praise or complaint can be verified. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-twilight-saga-breaking-dawn-part-2-2012)
- **Screen Daily**, Brent Simon (64/100, inferred): The page identifies this as a review, but the review text is hidden behind a paywall. Its verdict and any specific praise or complaint are not visible. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/the-twilight-saga-breaking-dawn-part-2/5048948.article)
- **The New York Times** (64/100, inferred): The page could not be accessed, so the critic’s verdict cannot be determined. No praise or complaint can be reliably identified from the available text. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/16/movies/the-twilight-saga-breaking-dawn-part-2-ends-the-series.html)
- **Slant Magazine**, R. Kurt Osenlund (2.5/4): Osenlund finds this the first compulsively watchable Twilight installment, though it still leans on contrived drama and thin characterizations. He praises Kristen Stewart’s lively performance as Bella and the finale’s surprisingly affecting romance. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-twilight-saga-breaking-dawn-part-2/)
- **Radio Times**, Karen Krizanovich (3/5): Krizanovich says the finale should please the many devoted fans and may win over some newcomers. She singles out Bill Condon’s visual achievement as its standout strength. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-e14r8u/breaking-dawn-part-two/)
- **Time Out**, Guy Lodge (3/5): The three-star rating suggests a mixed verdict. The description singles out the saga’s vanilla vampire-chronicle quality as a complaint. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-twilight-saga-breaking-dawn-part-two)
- **The AV Club**, Genevieve Koski (C): Koski finds the film a messy, fan-focused conclusion that will satisfy devotees but leave others unmoved. She praises the campy humor in Jacob’s scenes, while criticizing the rushed handling of conflicts and the finale’s retreat from consequence. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/the-twilight-saga-breaking-dawn-part-2-1798174988)
- **Total Film**, Emma Dibdin (2/5): Dibdin finds the finale emotionally stunted and likely to please only devoted fans. She praises Michael Sheen’s scenery-chewing performance and the climactic battle, though a final twist undermines the latter. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/the-twilight-saga-breaking-dawn-part-2-review/)
- **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (35/100, inferred): Bradshaw finds the finale ultimately bland, despite a few moments of wit and the satisfaction of seeing the story conclude. He particularly criticizes the uncanny-looking CGI baby and the saga’s extensive posing and lack of real stakes. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/nov/14/twilight-saga-breaking-dawn-part-2-review)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Todd McCarthy (30/100, inferred): McCarthy finds the final installment stylistically mundane and often dull, with few memorable scenes. He singles out Michael Sheen’s entertaining performance as Aro for praise. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/twilight-saga-breaking-dawn-part-390070/)
- **Vulture**, Bilge Ebiri (20/100, inferred): Ebiri finds the finale inert and increasingly silly, with the series’ melodrama flattened into lifeless camp. He singles out Michael Sheen’s brief, genuinely forceful performance as the rare moment that brings the film to life. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/article/movie-review-twilight-breaking-dawn-part-2.html)
- **Den of Geek**, Mark Harrison (3 out of 5): Harrison finds the finale a satisfying, entertaining improvement and the strongest entry in the saga. He especially praises Kristen Stewart’s performance and the surprisingly violent third act, while criticizing Renesmee’s unsettling visual effects. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/twilight-breaking-dawn-part-2-review/)
- **/Film**, Russ Fischer (5.5 out of 10): Fischer finds the film silly and mostly empty, but more enjoyable than its predecessors. He praises the climactic battle sequence and the cast’s playful camp, especially Michael Sheen’s performance. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/523130/the-twilight-saga-breaking-dawn-part-2-review-with-nothing-at-stake-the-oh-so-serious-franchise-is-free-to-play/)
- **The Wrap**, Alonso Duralde (65/100, inferred): The critic finds the finale entertaining and more successful than its source material, while still faulting the franchise’s underlying material. He praises Bill Condon’s wit and style, along with the film’s wintry atmosphere. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/twilight-breaking-dawn-part-2-review-vampiric-malarky-ends-some-bit-64996/)
- **NME**, Owen Nicholls (55/100, inferred): Nicholls finds the film entertaining but largely aimed at fans, with little to win over hold-outs. He singles out Michael Sheen’s performance and the finale’s absurdity as its highlights. [Read](https://www.nme.com/blogs/the-movies-blog/the-twilight-saga-breaking-dawn-part-two-film-review-781746)
- **Digital Spy**, Simon Reynolds (2): The review finds the finale a weak sign-off, marginally better than its predecessor but unlikely to win new fans. It praises Michael Sheen’s deliciously high-camp performance while criticizing the climactic twist as a dramatic misfire. [Read](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a438829/the-twilight-saga-breaking-dawn-part-2-digital-spy-review/)
- **The Playlist** (30/100, inferred): The headline suggests the critic considers it a high point for the franchise but still a low point for cinema. The page text is blocked, so no specific praise or complaint beyond that headline can be confirmed. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/rome-review-the-twilight-saga-breaking-dawn-part-2-probably-a-high-point-for-the-franchise-still-a-low-for-cinema-20121113/)

## Details

- **Director:** Bill Condon
- **Director:** Bill Condon
- **Screenplay:** Melissa Rosenberg
- **Novel:** Stephenie Meyer
- **Cinematography:** Guillermo Navarro
- **Editor:** Ian Slater, Virginia Katz
- **Music:** Carter Burwell
- **Production design:** Richard Sherman
- **Costume design:** Michael Wilkinson
- **Producer:** Wyck Godfrey, Stephenie Meyer, Karen Rosenfelt
- **Cast:** Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan; Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen; Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black; Peter Facinelli as Dr. Carlisle Cullen; Elizabeth Reaser as Esme Cullen; Ashley Greene as Alice Cullen; Jackson Rathbone as Jasper Hale; Kellan Lutz as Emmett Cullen
- **Runtime:** 1h 55m
- **Certificate (RO):** 15
- **Release (Romania):** 16 November 2012
- **Genres:** Fantasy, Drama, Romance
- **Budget:** $120 million
- **Box office:** $830 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUXjqQ4GKRg

## Where to watch in Romania

- HBO Max: streaming

*Checked 2026-10-05.*

Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, HK, HR, HU, ID, IE, IL, IN, IS, IT, JP, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, TH, TR, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## If you liked this

- *Let the Right One In* (2008), Fi1m 88: A child vampire in a Swedish suburb, and this time the horror is deliberate. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/let-the-right-one-in.md)
- *Near Dark* (1987), Fi1m 82: Vampires as a drifting family of outlaws; the romance has teeth and consequences. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/near-dark.md)
- *Only Lovers Left Alive* (2013), Fi1m 81: Immortal lovers in Detroit and Tangier, bored, elegant and finally touching. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/only-lovers-left-alive.md)
- *Thirst* (2009): A Korean priest turned vampire; desire, guilt and a lot of blood.
- *Buffy the Vampire Slayer* (1997), Fi1m 80: The teenage girl is the one with the power, and the jokes land. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/tv/buffy-the-vampire-slayer.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/the-twilight-saga-breaking-dawn-part-2