If you lived under a pop culture rock and had never ever heard of "Twilight" before, do you think you would realize the "Eclipse" trailer was for a vampire movie? That is at the heart of what we found wrong with this trailer, but we found many other issues to critique. Sure, many haters have said that "Twilight" has made a mockery of the vampire genre, but Summit seems to be forgetting that "Eclipse" is the most supernatural entry in "The Twilight Saga."
No ifs, ands, or buts about it: playing down the vampire element of "Eclipse" and playing up the romance aspect was the wrong move for the film's first trailer. We didn't see any transforming wolves (though they did of course work in a shirtless Taylor Lautner), but we did get to see the Volturi, though they could easily pass as some never-seen-the-light-of-day royalty.
Yes, OK, if you're going to get nit-picky, there are plenty of hints that this is a supernatural film. Dakota Fanning's Jane's comment about Bella still being human, for one. And then there's Victoria's massive, dramatic leap, then reveal of her red eyes, for another. But still, it is hard to deny that this trail shirks away from the fact what it is promoting is, in essence, just another vampire film, and there seems something wrong with that.
David Slade is best known for his very dark drama "Hard Candy" and intensely violent (vampire!) film "30 Days of Night," so it was hoped that he would bring some of that to the table with "Eclipse." It seemed like a great fit too, considering "Eclipse" is driven not only by the Bella/Edward romance and Bella/Edward/Jacob love triangle (all that was portrayed in the trailer), but also about the impending threat of Victoria and her newborn army, the forced alliance of werewolves and vampires, and one hell of an epic battle scene at the end of the film.
There is a plot to "Eclipse" beyond just "Bella and Edward," and the world should have a chance to know that. So here are some things we'd like to be included in the next trailer:
1. We want to see the newborn army. It's an army of ravenous newborn vampires, for goodness sake! That should manage to snag any vampire fanboy's attention.
2. There should be some werewolves, or at least a focus on the werewolf/vampire alliance. It's like "Star Wars" fans and "Star Trek" fans having to go to the same sci-fi convention, or Lauren Conrad and Heidi Montag being in the same room together. You can cut the tension with a knife, and people love to watch it!!!
3. We would like you to downplay how much Edward and Bella want-but-can-never-have each other. Before you start crying foul, think about it: unless you have been living under the aforementioned pop culture rock, everyone knows that's what "Twilight" is about! What they don't know is that "Eclipse" offers a bit more than teen angst.
4. Please give us some snippets of the final battle sequence. It doesn't have to be much, since clearly this is one of the big climactic moments in the film, but show that there is going to be more to get on the edge-of-your-seat over instead of just "Will Bella choose Edward or Jacob?" or "Will Bryce Dallas Howard's wig fall off the next time she jumps like that?"
What do you think? Did you want more out of the first "Eclipse" trailer? Or was it your favorite yet? What would you like to see in the next one? Share your thoughts below or on our Twitter!
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