So-so
Avg. Critic Score: 52 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
14 OK for kids 14+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 80
    The Hollywood Reporter | Todd McCarthy

    The final installment of the immortal Bella/Edward romance will give its breathlessly awaiting international audience just what it wants. Read full review

  • 75
    Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman

    Breaking Dawn - Part 2 starts off slow but gathers momentum, and that's because, with Bella and Edward united against the Volturi, the picture has a real threat. Read full review

  • 63
    New York Post | Sara Stewart

    Finally, someone took the source material at its terribly written word and stopped treating the whole affair so seriously. Read full review

  • 63
    Philadelphia Inquirer | Steven Rea

    Easily the trippiest and goofiest of the five addled adolescent vampire romances based on the Stephenie Meyer books. Read full review

  • 63
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    I suspect its audience, which takes these films very seriously indeed, will drink deeply of its blood. The sensational closing sequence cannot be accused of leaving a single loophole, not even some those we didn't know were there. Read full review

  • 60
    Movieline |

    Bella's an empowered badass in this last installment, wielding newborn strength while showing unusual self-control and learning to use her new abilities - and that's why things feel off. Read full review

  • 60
    New York Daily News | Elizabeth Weitzman

    And now, just as Bella Swan (Stewart) embraces her own eternal power, Breaking Dawn, Part 2 expands with a full intensity of force, stronger and more epic than the films that led to this impactful finale. Read full review

  • 50
    Boston Globe | Wesley Morris

    This fifth and mercifully final installment features so much idle anticipation that it's unclear whether we're watching a movie or an Apple product launch. Read full review

  • 50
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    It's Dead! It's Dead! By which I mean, It's Finished! It's Finished! Five movies have been squeezed out of four Stephenie Meyer Twilight books. All of them redefining cinematic tedium for a new century. And now, It's Over! It's Over! No more Twilight movies EVER! I'm so joyful that I might be overrating The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2 by saying it's not half bad. Read full review

  • 50
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    There may never have been a movie whose quality mattered less than this final chapter of The Twilight Saga. Read full review

View more reviews for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says OK for kids 14+ Final Twilight focuses on Edward and Bella's legacy.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that the final installment in the Twilight saga is a must-see movie for any fans (teen or otherwise) who've followed the series' page-to-screen adaptations -- as well as stars Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart's public relationship. The movie is fairly faithful to the second half of the Breaking Dawn book, except that it amplifies the violent nature of the book's climactic battle between the Cullens and the Volturi. Several characters are tortured, violently beheaded, burned, ripped apart by werewolves, etc., and there are some shocking deaths (though, overall, not much gore). There's one long, sensuous love scene (with close-ups of bare skin and faces and a glimpse of the side of Bella's breast, but nothing more graphic than that), as well as several passionate kisses between various couples. Language is minimal, as in all of the movies in the series.
  • Families can talk about the Twilight series' impact on pop culture. Do you think the messages of the books and movies are positive? How has the off-screen relationship between Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart affected your thoughts about the movies?
  • How does Bella's transformation into a vampire change her? Is she more likable as a vampire? How do her abilities as a vampire affect those around her?
  • Is Bella and Edward's romance a positive example for teenagers? What's your take on the mature issues of marriage and parenthood addressed in the movie? Parents, take this opportunity to talk to your children about your own family's values when it comes to these topics.
  • There's one part of the movie that diverges from the book; did the twists upset you, or do you understand why they made the changes?
The good stuff
  • message true2 Positive messages: The final installment in the Twilight series is about fulfilling your personal destiny, as Bella realizes that she was "born" to become a vampire. The importance of family and friendship is pivotal, as Bella decides to keep her father in her life, and the Cullens summon their vampire friends from around the globe to stand with them against the wrath of the Volturi. 
  • rolemodels true3 Positive role models: Bella finally comes into her own and no longer relies on the Cullens to defend her. Her special defensive skills allow her to shield herself and those she loves from other vampires' offensive tactics. The Cullens are once again exceptionally generous and kind. Charlie Swan is a patient, understanding father who's willing to accept Bella as she is, even though he knows something is really odd about her. Parenthood changes Bella and Edward, who finally have someone other than each other to focus on and protect. Jacob is loyal to a fault.
What to watch for
  • violence false4 Violence: (Note: Potential spoilers ahead.). For most of the movie, the threat of violence looms, so the vampires practice their combat/defense abilities before facing the Volturi. In a flashback, a bloody-faced "immortal child" and his maker, a vampire "mother," are killed and burned. During the climactic battle scene, various characters (major and minor) are injured, beheaded, burned, and otherwise hurt -- and even killed (some of the deaths are likely to be shocking). One vampire can telepathically torture people, another immobilizes their senses, and other vampires show off their abilities in battle.
  • sex false3 Sexy stuff: Now that they're married, Edward and Bella have sex in a rather prolonged, sensuous sequence that tends to focus on close-ups of their faces and flashes of skin -- but no graphic nudity. In the final shot of the love scene, there's a glimpse of them standing in profile, and viewers can see their bare backs and the side of Bella's breast. Various passionate kisses both between Edward and Bella and other couples in the movie.
  • language false2 Language: Language includes "ass," "damn," "hell," "bloodsucker," "crap," "idiot," "stupid," etc.
  • consumerism false2 Consumerism: Bella drives a Volvo, but otherwise there are fewer obvious product placements than in some of the other Twilight movies. Off-camera, there's loads of Twilight-branded merchandise, including apparel, posters, games, calendars, jewelry, toys, and accessories.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false0 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Not an issue
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