Josh Bell looks at the highs and lows of the ‘Twilight’ series

By Josh Bell

Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2011 | 4:55 p.m.

The Good

The Volturi Specifically, Michael Sheen and Dakota Fanning as the two main vampires in the ancient cabal. Their creepy, campy performances bring a level of enthusiasm and intrigue that is sorely missing from the glum seriousness elsewhere in the movies.

Comic relief Okay, so Edward’s joke in Eclipse about Jacob possibly not owning a shirt is pretty feeble, but the overqualified Anna Kendrick is always amusing as Bella’s oblivious human best friend Jessica, who is even allowed a few self-aware digs at the franchise in her handful of scenes in New Moon.

Eclipse’s action climax Director David Slade brought some of his horror-movie experience to bear on the genuinely exciting battle between the army of blood-crazed “newborn” vampires and Bella’s supernatural protectors (an alliance between werewolves and vampires), making it into something worthy of large-scale blockbuster entertainment.

The Not-So-Good

Taylor Lautner’s acting A background player in Twilight, Lautner stepped up (and bulked up) for his larger role later on. But his abs can’t make up for his acting; he delivers all of his lines with a stupefied smirk, like he doesn’t really understand what’s going on.

Bella’s pathetic whininess For the heroine of an epic supernatural saga, Bella is pretty useless. As played by Kristen Stewart, she’s passive-aggressive, codependent and needy, without any desires other than to be whatever hunky vampire Edward wants her to be. It’s a little hard not to root for her demise at the hands of the much more badass villains.

The dull romance As if Bella herself weren’t bad enough, her romance with Edward is just as dull. Stewart and Robert Pattinson have little chemistry, and the movies’ “romantic” dialogue is overwrought and completely unbelievable. At least the long moments of the two characters staring blankly at each other are a respite from the swooning silliness.