Review by Edwina Carr

Roll call: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Dakota Fanning, Xavier Samuel 

Running Time: 124 minutes

After the drama of saving Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) from the evil clutches of the Volturi in New Moon, Eclipse resumes in Bella’s (Kristen Stewart) hometown, Forks, where life is slowly getting back to normal. Well, as normal as life can be when your boyfriend is a sexy vampire who wants nothing more than to marry you/eat you for dinner and your best mate is a werewolf with anger management issues.

The momentary peace is shattered when Edward’s sister Alice (Ashley Greene) has a vision that a vampire wants Bella dead. This is followed shortly by a spate of mystery murders in nearby Seattle. They soon discover that red-headed vampire Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard) has created an army of "Newborns” (young, blood-thirsty vampires) that she will use to kill Bella.

In a bid to keep Bella and the Forks community safe from the wild Newborns, the werewolves and vampires decide to put aside their wrath for one another and work together to defeat them.

But the tension between Edward and Jacob rises to boiling point as they both vie for Bella’s love. She’s got a tough choice to make: intense, broody Edward or caring Jacob and his ridiculously sculpted abs? Decisions, Decisions!

Directed by David Slade this time round, Eclipse seems to poke more fun at the Twilight Saga than New Moon did, with plenty of gags about Jacob’s constant lack of shirt and Edward’s ability to read thoughts. Slade has made sure that the balance of humour, sexual tension and action is just right and we already can’t wait to sink our teeth into the Twilight finale.

With a stellar soundtrack featuring artists like Muse and Vampire Weekend and some fresh new actors, Eclipse manages to live up to the hype surrounding the Twilight Saga.

Australia’s Xavier Samuel made his big-screen debut as convincing Newborn vampire, Riley. The 26-year-old hottie has come a long way since his small-screen days – having previously starred in shows including McLeod’s Daughters.

Don’t expect to be blown away by the lacklustre props though. The torn vampire limbs from the battle scenes looked like they had been raided from a child’s doll collection.

Why it’s worth your time

Whether you’re Twi-hard or a Twi-hater, this action-packed sequel will make you wish were a vampire with supernatural fighting skills . . . or at least engaged to one who does anyway.