Buzz about The Twilight Saga: Eclipse being the best of the series so far is absolutely correct.  Twilight, the teen romance pitting a vampire versus a werewolf over the love of one girl, first appeared in 2008. Adapted from the novel by first-time author Stephenie Meyer, the box-office take zoomed to the mid millions the first weekend. Meyer’s sequel New Moon opened in 2009, grossing nearly $143 million. By opening midweek, Eclipse will probably top those impressive numbers.

Not much has changed about Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart). She’s still set on becoming a vampire like her boyfriend Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson). Edward doesn’t want her to do this because he knows the world he’s locked into is not as complete as the one for those who are alive. But he wants to marry Bella, and the movie opens with Edward proposing yet another time.

While Bella feels sure she loves Edward, Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner) is certain she loves him instead. Throughout this story he’s determined to make her realize marrying a live breathing, warm-blooded man will be far better than marrying a cold-blooded dead guy.  

Anyone caught up in this series knows Jacob belongs to a Native American tribe whose members can shape-shift into wolves. This makes Jacob and Edward natural enemies in addition to their conflict over Bella. The boys have to postpone figuring out who really is the best man, for another danger faces both of their circles.

When a serial killer repeatedly strikes in Seattle, the wolves and the vampires get a whiff that  the culprit is red-headed Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard) who is set on destroying the entire Cullen clan. Victoria is the recruiter for the Newborn Army, a group made up of new vampires whose strength, viciousness, and unrestrained blood-lust appears greatest in the first months of supernatural life.

While Eclipse keeps fans screaming in their seats every time Edward takes Bella in his arms for a passionate kiss or when Taylor shows up -- because he’s always bare-chested -- there’s little heightened plot over the other two Twilight movies.

It’s fascinating to me how Bella can remain courted by two different men through three movies and play them both like a yo-yo. One minute she’s all Edwards until she’s alone with Jacob, and the doubt creeps in. Since there are two more movies coming, I assume it will be a while before that’s settled. I also found it interesting that for a short time in this film the vampires and the wolves have to work together to seek revenge on Newborn Army soldier, Riley (Xavier Samuel). That’s because they know the Army will try to get to Bella to find them, so they must protect her.

Bella’s dad Charlie (Billy Burke) continues with few appearances on camera. He finally realizes he cannot break up Bella and Edward, and goes so far as to talk to her about the birds and the bees. The cast is great, with Lautner and Pattinson offering solid performances. Sometimes it’s harder to play a character when it’s repeated in a series, but these actors don’t have that problem. Granted, Bella has little to exhibit besides her dilemma over which man to choose, but Stewart seems to be one-note with little effort beyond reciting her lines and reacting to kisses.

There’s some occasional humor in Melissa Rosenberg’s screenplay during scenes like the one where Edward remarks about Jacob, “Doesn’t he own a shirt?” Then laughter arises again when Bella is freezing under a blanket during a bitter snowstorm, and Jacob enters the tent -- still shirtless.

It’s also nice to have a little background on some of the characters, and David Slade does a fine job with direction. The film also benefits from great CGI and action scenes. While not a big fan of the vampire genre, I find sitting through the Twilight series far more entertaining than watching many other movies, and fans will certainly not be disappointed.

(Released by Summit Entertainment and rated “PG-13” for intense sequences of action and violence, and some sensuality.)

Review also posted at www.reviewexpress.com.