The vampire saga returns for a fourth outing, and once again the old gang are all present. Arriving on the back of ECLIPSE, certainly the best of the series so far, Bill Condon’s project had much to live up to, and as the first few scenes stumble past it will seem as though the undertaking has fallen well short.

Opening with the wedding and honeymoon of the central pair, the film jumps to Isle Esme, an idyllic haven off the coast of Brazil. The couple does what couples do, though admittedly few will be able to assert that they are able to quite literally destroy the bed in the way Edward (Robert Pattinson) is able to. However, still, all is not quite well between Edward and Bella (Kristen Stewart). This is compiled by the unexpected arrival of some not-so-happy news – our heroine is pregnant. Yet, this lump in the stomach is growing abnormally fast and somehow one feels the usual pregnancy books don’t apply. Returning to Forks, complications ensue between the balance of the two rival clans, and the gloves are thrown off. Meanwhile, Bella descends deeper and deeper into illness as the infant sucks her vitals for all they are worth.

Bill Condon manages to harmonize the central romance and the narrative far better than any of the films preceding it.

On a positive note BREAKING DAWN: PART 1 can be called anything but dull. Once again Edward and Bella’s relationship is effortlessly natural, and Bill Condon manages to harmonize the central romance and the narrative far better than any of the films preceding it. Yet the lack of cohesion springs up in other aspects that if anything are far more problematic. The first and second halves of the picture could not be more disjointed. Originally playing very heavily to the lower end of its teenage market, the film jolts and jars to scenes that are decidedly adult. The birth sequence in particular is, if not explicit, extremely troubling. Even implied, a vampire-style caesarian of this kind is surely not something for the target audience, which will inevitably include nine or ten year-olds. Although the certificate may be 12A, do not take young kids.