I went into the movie with my three friends, ready to make fun of "New Moon" and-- as we put it--, "Kirsten Stewart's soulless acting, Bella's creepy vampire stalker, and the turtle-speed plot line."

However, I will admit that all four of us were surprised.

In a subtle yet noticeable change, Kirsten Stewart's acting sucked me in somewhat.  I felt my eyebrows raising at how much she had improved-- in "Twilight" she was so horribly amateurish that I thought I-- an inexperienced actor-- would have far surpassed her.  Despite her sudden development, she still had qualities noticeable in her acting formerly-- a monotonous voice; very little expression on her face except anger, scorn, and boredom; and what I thought was a rather poor portrayal of Bella.  I will admit that I have never given Bella much credit-- to me she was merely an extremely whiny girl whose only talents were cooking and driving people insane.  However, with "Breaking Dawn," as I read it I began to realize that Bella was truly a compassionate person who cared for others before herself.  In the book, she smiled twice as much as any of the other books and blossomed.  I would have preferred, I think, to have seen Kirsten Stewart transfer some of that latent sweetness and radiance that I think the audience as a whole prefers.

While Robert Pattinson was not wonderful as Edward, he wasn't doing poorly.  Edward's role was downplayed throughout the movie, only being shown in the first part and the final.  While I've always been slightly turned off by Edward (who would want to be around a perfect man who constantly crushed your self-esteem by standing next to you?), Robert Pattinson provides a nice warmth to the character and softens his edge.

However, the most intriguing character, I thought, was Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black, the dashing young sophomore who is actually a werewolf.  (Being a werewolf means he doesn't look like a sophomore-- he looks a lot older, I think.)  He is by far the most "real" character.  He is the epitome of a minor character taking on a major role and doing it with stunning fluidity and ease.  He slips gently into the part-- at first only being "the mechanic friend" but quickly becoming Bella's sun in her time of depression.  Taylor Lautner executes it beautifully-- not only making Jacob seem natural, but also making him seem authentic.  His unrequited love for Bella is sweet, but her obvious lack of romance for him is frustrating, even for supporters of Edward and Bella.  Again, Taylor Lautner nails Jacob's vexation and disappointment every time Bella gently rejects him, and the audience feels that aggravation and pain.  Still, with every gesture, Taylor Lautner makes it obvious that he cares for Bella so deeply that he is willing to get hurt, willing to get rejected, to be by her side.

The Volturi are another matter that I find interesting-- a royal family of brutal vampires, each with a distinct "gift" of some sort.  I was anxious to see Dakota Fanning in the role of Jane-- a rather androgynous young vampire girl who can manipulate minds to make people feel pain-- but found myself a little disappointed by the lack of elegance or professionalism that she showed.  Jane is an interesting character, brutal and heartless but with the mannerisms of an angel.  I felt that Dakota Fanning didn't capture this at all and was an emotionless stone.  However, it is her first villain role-- we can't expect too much, can we?

All and all, I think it's worth seeing.  The plot lags slightly in the middle, but I think Taylor Lautner's performance keeps people watching.  6.5 out of 10 stars, I think.