You'd never guess what the best part of 'The Twilight Saga: Eclipse' proves to be. It isn't blood-sucking monsters doing their thing, though there's some of that to feed the franchise, and it's definitely not vampires and werewolves having at each other in a cosmic showdown. No, this not-bad tale comes to its fullest flower one night, during a wintry storm, inside a tent, when a shivering Bella is attended by her two newly solicitous and darned near all-American beaux. Edward, who plays for the vampire team, isn't the right one to raise her body temperature, so he defers to Jacob, who plays for the werewolves, and then the two suitors have a civilizeddiscussion about who's really right for her. I can't pretend that the third episode instilled a fever in my blood, but it didn't leave me cold. For the first time in the series I felt I'd seen a real movie.

The cast and main characters remain the same: Kristen Stewart as the endlessly conflicted Bella; Robert Pattinson as earnest Edward, who, like the film as a whole, takes himself less seriously this time around ('If we weren't natural enemies and you weren't trying to steal the reason for my existence,' he tells his rival with something resembling a grin, 'I might actually like you'); and Taylor Lautner's ever-buff Jacob, who does own shirts but wears them as seldom as possible. The performances haven't changed much either. Ms. Stewart still has trouble conveying feelings and speaking clearly -- maybe that reflects Bella's problems with thinking clearly -- even when she makes such straightforward statements as 'Gosh, it's so pretty here.'

Not that the tweenage fans of these movies need to see Bella as a poster girl for elocution. They see her as they see themselves, frightened of romance and yearning for it in equal measure. (To make matters more fearful, as well as exciting, Bella's high school graduation is at hand.) And they'll be gratified this time to find her the recipient of doublyloving attention, since what has changed significantly is the regional dynamic. A gang of young, out-of-control vampires has been terrorizing Seattle and, having passed around the heroine's scent, is headed for bucolic Forks. Before they arrive, Edward's family and Jacob's lupine tribe strike up a temporaryalliance to keep Bella safe.

If some of this makes 'Eclipse' sound talkier than it is (i.e. quite talky and sometimes pleasantly so), the production, under David Slade's workmanlike direction, takes several time-outs -- or time-ins, depending on your bloodlust level -- for bluntlyefficient if familiar battles. (In that department only the wolves have been changed; they seem to have more personality than before.) Bella's police-chief father, Charlie (Billy Burke), gets sympathetic laughs when he tries to protect his daughter by grounding her. How little he knows, like so many fathers of adventurous girls, about how much the ground is shifting beneath her.

Joe Morgenstern

• twilight [´twailait] n.黎明；黄昏 (初中英语单词)
• definitely [´definitli] ad.明确地；绝对 (初中英语单词)
• discussion [di´skʌʃən] n.讨论；辩论 (初中英语单词)
• pretend [pri´tend] v.假装；借口；妄求 (初中英语单词)
• series [´siəri:z] n.连续；系列；丛书 (初中英语单词)
• earnest [´ə:nist] a.认真的 n.认真；诚恳 (初中英语单词)
• seriously [´siəriəsli] ad.严肃；严重，重大 (初中英语单词)
• actually [´æktʃuəli] ad.事实上；实际上 (初中英语单词)
• romance [rəu´mæns] n.中世纪骑士小说 (初中英语单词)
• measure [´meʒə] n.量度；范围 vt.测量 (初中英语单词)
• fearful [´fiəfəl] a.可怕的；担心的 (初中英语单词)
• alliance [ə´laiəns] n.联盟；同盟 (初中英语单词)
• personality [,pə:sə´næliti] n.人；个性；人品；人物 (初中英语单词)
• sympathetic [,simpə´θetik] a.同情的，有同情心的 (初中英语单词)
• civilized [´sivilaizd] a.先进的；文明的 (高中英语单词)
• loving [´lʌviŋ] a.爱的，有爱情的 (高中英语单词)
• temporary [´tempərəri] a.暂时的 n.临时工 (高中英语单词)
• pleasantly [´plezntli] ad.令人愉快地；舒适地 (高中英语单词)
• efficient [i´fiʃənt] a.有效的，有能力的 (高中英语单词)
• episode [´episəud] n.插曲；一段情节 (英语四级单词)
• trying [´traiiŋ] a.难堪的；费劲的 (英语四级单词)
• adventurous [əd´ventʃərəs] a.冒险的；惊险的 (英语四级单词)
• franchise [´fræntʃaiz] n.选举权；特许权 (英语六级单词)
• wintry [´wintri] a.冬天的；荒凉的 (英语六级单词)
• speaking [´spi:kiŋ] n.说话 a.发言的 (英语六级单词)
• poster [´pəustə] n.招贴；贴标语的人 (英语六级单词)
• graduation [,grædʒu´eiʃən] n.毕业(典礼)；刻度 (英语六级单词)
• doubly [´dʌbli] ad.加倍地，双重地 (英语六级单词)
• bluntly [´blʌntli] ad.钝，迟钝地；直率地 (英语六级单词)