Dark side of 'Twilight' shines in third film***1/2

Credit director David Slade, who is new to the Twilight movies but not to vampires, having previously directed 30 Days of Night. Strangely, he's also the first director to properly handle the complicated and occasionally clumsy romantic triangle in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight novels. He doesn't allow Eclipse to become a drippy teen romance that may work well in printed form, but proves to be a bit of a bore onscreen.

Eclipse is one part of a larger Romeo and Juliet-style romance, but it's in the film's darker nature that it really shines. The portions of fantasy in literature and film are most often the brightest moments in a series, as fully formed plot and characters come together with a strong sense of doom and insurmountable challenges for the protagonists.

Eclipse is no different, heightening the film's tension by offering several villains, beginning with a menacing army of newborn vampires that threatens Bella (Kristen Stewart) and the Cullen clan of vampires. The growing army is responsible for a rash of disappearances in Seattle as teenagers are plucked off the streets to serve as new recruits or as food.

The blood-sucking warriors, led by Riley (Xavier Samuel), are part of a revenge plot by the vampire Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard) against Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) and his family for killing her coven leader and lover, James, at the end of the first film, Twilight.

Victoria and her army are only one of the Cullens' problems. A more menacing and dangerous group led by the powerful Jane (Dakota Fanning), who can inflict searing pain through thought, has arrived in Seattle to observe the proceedings as representatives of the royal vampires known as the Volturi.

When the Cullens discover Victoria's scheme they turn to the Quileute pack of shape-shifting werewolves, including Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner), for help in the upcoming battle royal.

The climactic turf war provides the best action in the series yet, but the heart of this film is the romantic triangle of Bella, Edward, and Jacob that happens to be the movie's biggest weakness.

Eclipse struggles with the dull romantic indecision of Bella. Even if you haven't read the books or sneaked a peek at what's in store for Bella, Edward, and Jacob, it's painfully obvious where this romantic trail will lead. For as much talk as there is about Team Edward and Team Jacob, the truth is most everyone who's truly interested in the movies knows how this plays out, and the films — especially Eclipse — do little to disguise the inevitable.

The new movie's tendency to harp on the romantic tension, or lack thereof, grows increasingly repetitive and tedious as the film wears on. There's really not much else to the will she/won't she romance that the previous Twilight film New Moon didn't already cover.

At least Slade has coerced the best acting so far from the trio, and screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg, who has written all three Twilight scripts, gives the actors a hand by mostly ridding the script of the soap operatic dialogue that has plagued the movies. Rosenberg has also discovered more of the humor in the situations as she finally gets comfortable giving life to Meyer's mostly undead literary creations.

Not to be overlooked is the better computer-generated images. The werewolves finally look more like living, breathing beasts than rubbery toys.

It all adds up to a sense of fun and adventure that has been sorely miss'L in the first two movies.

Contact Kirk Baird at kbaird@theblade.com or 419-724-6734.