Most people in their 20s and 30s can likely recall a memory of sitting in a theater for a midnight premiere of one of the highly anticipated Twilight movies. When Twilight premiered in 2008 and brought Stephanie Meyer’s 2005 novel of the same name to life, it completely took the world by storm.
In its prime, the Twilight fandom was massive. People could be seen carrying around these big, black, gothic-looking novels everywhere, reading in preparation for the next theatrical release. Stores were full of Twilight merchandise, vampire media rose in popularity, and society was pitted against each other in the high-stakes question of “Team Edward or Team Jacob?”
Despite mixed reviews from critics, the Twilight Saga was incredibly successful and has recently seen a spike in popularity as all the movies were added to Netflix this year. With the entire series so readily available to watch over and over — or for the first time if you missed the craze when it began — here are all five movies, ranked.
5 New Moon (2009)
If New Moon is your favorite movie from the Twilight Saga, it's likely because you're Team Jacob and prefer focusing on Jacob's (Taylor Lautner) relationship with Bella (Kristen Stewart) rather than Edward (Robert Pattinson). New Moon is the second installment in the franchise. In the movie, Bella is celebrating her 18th birthday with the Cullens, and when she gets a papercut and starts bleeding, the family of vampires can't control themselves and Edward has to protect her and get her out of the house. This puts him in an awful mood, and he decides being around his family is too dangerous for Bella, so he tells her he doesn't love her anymore and disappears. Bella, obviously devastated, starts acting reckless and begins spending more time with Jacob to help ease the pain of losing Edward.
In the meantime, Bella is being hunted by vengeful vampires from the first movie and through an awkward game of telephone, Edward hears that Bella died somehow. So he decides to travel to Italy and expose his vampire skin in public to the Volturi — a group of vampire leaders — which is a death sentence in the vampire world. Edward's fortune-telling sister travels to Bella to tell her what Edward is planning, and Bella sets out to stop him. New Moon ends with Bella — once again — begging Edward to make her a vampire, and he agrees to so long as she marries him. And that's the end of the movie.
While the above description may sound full of action and suspense, it takes a long time to get to the movie's climax. It's essentially just Bella reeling from a break-up for two hours with a little bit of action sprinkled in here and there, but it doesn't make up for the "meh" feeling of New Moon, and it really doesn't compare to other movies in the series.
4 Breaking Dawn Pt. 1 (2011)
Breaking Dawn Pt. 1 premiered in 2011 and saw the highly anticipated wedding between Edward and Bella. It was a gorgeous scene and likely burned into the memories of everyone that saw it in theaters for the first time. Following the wedding, they go on their equally memorable honeymoon where Bella discovers she's pregnant with a vampire baby — which is completely unheard of and grounds for shock and terror.
The thought of a vampire baby has everyone up in arms. Jacob, the wolves, Edward, and most of the Cullens hate the idea and want Bella to get rid of it because they're worried it will kill her. Whereas Edward's sister Rosalie (Nikki Reed) and Bella love the idea of a baby and are willing to protect it at all costs. The plan is to use Edward's vampire venom to turn Bella at the last minute if things begin to go wrong, but it's not a guaranteed solution to prevent her from dying and everyone knows that.
While Breaking Dawn Pt. 1 brings a lot of major plot points from the franchise to a head, it's so slow and moody that it gets to be a little hard to enjoy at times. The moodiness and borderline cringe is simply part of the Twilight Saga, and if you enjoy the movies, you already know this. However, Breaking Dawn Pt. 1 feels a bit like overkill. Its true saving grace is the heat between Edward and Jacob's relationship and the cliffhanger that shows Bella opening her eyes, having finally turned into a vampire.
3 Eclipse (2010)
Eclipse, the third movie in the Twilight Saga, premiered in 2010 and after New Moon, fans needed something more exciting. Eclipse does a decent job at delivering. In Eclipse, Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard) returns for revenge and wants to kill Bella to hurt Edward for killing her mate back in the first movie. Victoria is creating an army of newborn vampires to come after Bella, which forces the Cullens and the werewolves to join forces to protect her.
Eclipse finally sees Bella make a choice between her love for Edward and Jacob. There's been tension between the three since the first movie, but in Eclipse she actually has to face it and make a final decision. It's a choice that has a lot of weight because if she doesn't choose Jacob, she could risk losing her best friend and potentially starting a major vampires v. werewolves feud. She inevitably chooses Edward, which Jacob obviously isn't happy about, but eventually learns to accept. This entire plot point is so dramatic and feels incredibly high stakes, even though it feels obvious who Bella is going to pick, but it's another one of those key moments in the Team Edward v. Team Jacob lore.
While Eclipse, like all the Twilight movies, has those same moody undertones that can feel a little dramatic, the general storytelling is fairly good. The fight against the newborn vampires is full of action and allows the werewolves to take the spotlight for a bit and focuses on how these two groups of creatures can work together for a greater cause — which is seen again in later movies. Eclipse is no masterpiece, however, it was definitely the entry the series needed to give it a jolt after New Moon.
2 Breaking Dawn Pt. 2 (2012)
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Breaking Dawn Pt. 2 is all about vampire life for Bella and her newborn Renesmee. She learns to hunt, how to control her hunger and strength, and it feels like a very grand finale to the series, seeing as becoming a vampire was always Bella's goal. However, having an immortal child is seen as an abomination in the Volturi's eyes, so they sentence the Cullens to death for harboring such a creature. The Cullens then begin gathering all their vampire friends from around the world to form an army strong enough to go against the Volturi. When the two opposing sides finally meet, the following scenes are action-packed and suspenseful and see the shocking deaths of main characters like Carlisle and Jasper and eventually Aro, leader of the Volturi. However, in an instant you're brought back to the present moment and see that it was all a vision Alice was showing Aro to let him know what would happen if he tried to fight. Ultimately not wanting to die, he chooses to back off and declares Renesmee isn't a threat.
If you saw this movie in theaters, you can probably remember the gasps and sighs of relief upon realizing none of the fight was real. It was a major moment.
Breaking Dawn Pt. 2 ends in a typical "happily ever after" fashion. The movie is a high stakes, adrenaline-filled end to the Saga that wraps up with a beautifully neat bow. All of the characters get a good ending, Edward and Bella are together — back in their iconic meadow — and all is right in the world. What more could you ask for?
1 Twilight (2008)
Premiering in 2008, Twilight is the movie that started it all. Bringing the well-loved book to life was met with a sea of mixed reviews, but it's hard to deny the success and grip this movie had on the world. At its peak, everything was about Twilight. From merchandise to themed birthday parties to troves of fan fiction, the Twilight Saga was captivating and truly didn't let up until the series ended in 2012. Many people disliked the movie for its healthy dose of cringe, and re-imagined image of the traditional vampire, but regardless of naysayers, Twilight simply worked.
The movie brought the characters in the book to life in an expert way and also served as a jumping off point for some of the actors — like Pattinson, Stewart, Lautner, and even Anna Kendrick — to launch massively successful careers. The movie also boasts a great indie soundtrack that is likely still rotating on a number of Spotify playlists today.
Despite all of its flaws — and sure, there are many — Twilight is good. It's a super emo, indie cringe fest, but it's so fun, especially if the movies have become a source of nostalgia for you. If you grew up loving the Twilight Saga, it's inherently a part of your DNA forever, and it all started with the first movie.