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Blu-ray review: 'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1'

Director Bill Condon conjures the dream wedding and honeymoon fans were hoping for but fails to deliver the nightmarish birth described in the book with “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1.”

Taking a cue from the Harry Potter franchise, Condon and screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg divided the 750-page final book in Stephenie Meyer's best-selling paranormal romance saga into two movies that were filmed at the same time.

Although the first of the two-movie finale occasionally feels a bit padded, for the most part, the story is packed with enough milestones, characters and clashes to justify the split. Plus, the saga's fourth novel provides a dramatic natural breaking point, giving “Part 1” a thrilling ending sure to have “Twi-hard” fans impatiently counting the days to the Nov. 16 theatrical debut of “Part 2.”

The first film opens — and lingers for nearly half an hour — on one of the saga's most anticipated moments: Human heroine Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) marries her courtly vampire fiance, Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), in an extravagant ceremony.

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