The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.35:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. Given that Dawn 2 got shot back to back with Dawn 1 and used the same production team, the Dolby Vision image offered quality very similar to what I found with its predecessor.
As such, enjoy this repetition of my notes from that movie! If it ain’t broke and all that.
Sharpness worked fine. Only a sliver of softness ever crept into the movie, as the majority looked tight and concise.
No issues with jagged edges or moiré effects materialized, and I saw no edge haloes. Source flaws remained absent, and a nice element of grain led me to believe the image underwent no intrusive noise management.
Dawn 2 opted for a palette heavy on amber/golden overtones, with a hint of red as well. These seemed well-reproduced within the stylistic choices, and HDR added range and impact to the tones.
Blacks seemed fairly dense and deep, while shadows appeared smooth and clear – well, outside of some thick “day for night” shots. HDR gave whites and contrast a boost. This became a positive image.
Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, I found the movie’s Dolby Atmos soundtrack to feel more than acceptable but not remarkable. When the movie indulged in action, the soundscape opened up in a fairly involving manner, one that provided a good sense of place and conflicts.
As usual, though, melodrama outweighed combat and thrills. Dawn 2 definitely embraced violence more than the sluggish Dawn 1, but it still lacked a whole lot of pizzazz.
Audio quality seemed positive, with speech that came across as tight and concise. Music showed appealing rage and clarity.
Effects offered good bite, with elements that came across as accurate and full. The soundtrack lacked the consistent ambition to become great, but it seemed strong enough for a “B”.
How did the 4K UHD compare to the Blu-ray version? The Atmos audio expanded horizons a bit but not to a distinctive degree.
The 4K’s Dolby Vision image offered a nice boost in definition, colors and blacks, though. While it came from a 2K source, HDR provided greater depth and the picture simply felt a bit more stable.
As we move to extras, we open with an audio commentary from director Bill Condon. He offers a running, screen-specific look at issues related to the sequel, cast/performances, story and characters, sets and locations, effects, music, and related areas.
Condon offered a good commentary for Part 1 and he continues that trend here. Condon brings a solid collection of notes in this largely informative piece.
On the included Blu-ray copy, a documentary called Forever spans one hour, 33 minutes, 17 seconds. It delivers remarks from Condon, novelist Stephenie Meyer, producers Ryan Robinson and Wyck Godfrey, screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg, director of photography Guillermo Navarro, visual effects coordinator Terry Windell, senior VFX supervisors Phil Tippette and Mark Stetson, visual effects supervisors Colin Strause, Edson Williams and Eric Leven, costume designer Michael Wilkinson, casting director Debra Zane, production designer Richard Sherman, executive producer Kyle Cooper, lead designer Lisa Bolan, assistant to the director Greg Yolen, co-producer Bill Bannerman, location manager Michael J. Burmeister, special effects foreman R. Terry Tjelmeland, special effects supervisor David Poole, visual effects producer Ken Kokka, animation supervisor Tom Gibbons, lead animator Hans G. Brekke, and actors Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Mackenzie Foy, Michael Sheen, Ashley Greene, Elizabeth Reaser, Casey LaBow, Christian Camargo, Rami Malek, Andrea Gabriel, Tracey Heggins, Judi Shekoni, Valorie Curry, Erik Odom, Lee Pace, Toni Trucks, Bill Tangradi, Joe Anderson, Lisa Howard, Patrick Brennan, Guri Weinberg, Noel Fisher, Omar Metwallen, Kellan Lutz, Cameron Bright, Charlie Bewley, Jamie Campbell Bower, Daniel Cudmore, MyAnna Buring, Mia Maestro, Angela Sarafyan, Jackson Rathbone, Peter Facinelli, Billy Burke, Dakota Fanning, Nikki Reed, Marlane Barnes, and Janelle Froelich.
This piece covers areas related to Bella’s transformation into a vampire, issues connected to the Renesmee character, set design and locations, vampire sex scenes, new castmembers and the depiction of different tribes, shooting the climactic fight, and finishing the series.
Across those subjects, we learn a lot about cast, effects, costumes, and the like. Despite some of the usual happy talk, “Forever” covers the production in a pretty satisfying manner.
Note that “Forever” can be viewed as a standalone documentary or as a picture-in-picture feature alongside the movie. I opted for the former, but I appreciate the option.
Two Films At Once goes for six minutes, 27 seconds. It brings notes from Condon, Rosenberg, Stewart, Facinelli, Godfrey, Bannerman, Rathbone, Lautner, and Reed.
As implied by the title, “Once” examines the challenges of filming both parts of Breaking Dawn essentially in one big package. Don’t expect much, as this becomes a pretty fluffy discussion.
We also get a music video for “The Forgotten” from Green Day. It mixes movie shots with dull images of the band. A bland ballad, both song and video seem forgettable. (Ha!)
A second Blu-ray brings more extras, and Tingles & Chills runs nine minutes, 12 seconds. It brings notes from Godfrey, Condon, Meyer, LaBow, Camargo, Bower, Stewart, Sarafyan, Malek, Howard, Barnes, Shekoni, Fanning, Bright, Cudmore, Maestro, Fisher, Trucks, Foy, and Pace.
“Chills” looks at the special powers possessed by various characters. It becomes a moderately informative overview.
Carlisle’s Contacts spans 12 minutes, 23 seconds. This one delivers material from Condon, Godfrey, Meyer, Buring, Camargo, Pace, LaBow, Malek, Gabriel, Sarafyan, Metwally, Howard, Brennan, Barnes, Shekoni, Heggins, Odom, Curry, Trucks, Rosenberg, Anderson, Facinelli, Weinberg, and actor Maggie Grace.
Here we get thoughts about the new vampires of Part 2. It adds decent notes.
Next comes Judge, Jury and Executioner. A six-minute, 23-second featurette, it involves Bower, Sheen, Fanning, Bright, Bewley, Heyerdahl, Meyer, Condon, and Cudmore.
“Jury” discusses aspects of the Volturi. We get a few good notes – mainly from Sheen – but much of this feels generic.
Being Charlie Swan lasts nine minutes, 48 seconds. It features Burke, Stewart, Lautner, and actor Alex Rice.
We get reflections on the Charlie character, with an emphasis on his development in Dawn. The featurette seems decent but not memorable.
After this we find At Comic-Con. It goes for 19 minutes, 44 seconds and mostly features a Q&A panel with Stewart, Meyer, Pattinson, Lautner, Foy, Reed, Lutz, Rathbone, Greene, Facinelli and Reaser.
The first five minutes show fans as they greet the stars outside the event, and we also find a video message to Comic-Con from Condon. Expect a fluffy reel without much substance.
Finally, Stars on the Black Carpet occupies six minutes, 10 seconds and shows that the title implies: the actors as they go into the premiere. It seems forgettable.
A successful franchise comes to a close with The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2. While the film suffers from plenty of issues, it nonetheless turns into the most enjoyable since the 2008 debut. The 4K UHD offers generally good picture and audio along with a few useful bonus features. Nothing here makes me a Twilight fan, but I admit I enjoyed Dawn 2 more than expected.
Note that as of December 2023, this 4K of Breaking Dawn Part 2 can be purchased only as part of a Best Buy-exclusive 15th anniversary steelbook collection that provides 4K UHD renditions of the first movie and the other three Twilight sequels as well.
To rate this film visit the Blu-ray review of BREAKING DAWN - PART 2
