The Cullen kids are back and this time they’re teaming up with Jacob’s wolf pack to protect Bella and save the rest of the humans from an army of New Borns—red-eyed newbies so blood thirsty in their initial phase as vampires that they’re oblivious to the rules of civilized interaction with humans, thus more prone to ripping the heads off of unsuspecting victims and sucking them dry. Victoria, the elusive, burdened, cold-hearted bitch is still out for Edward and somehow figures into the mix of things. Do I care? Not really. But I think fans who read the books and follow the characters faithfully will not be disappointed. This the third installment with regulars Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner has a little more action and less of the brooding, longing, tear-eyed stares. It does have some cheesy dialogue for sure which only Pattinson seems to deliver solidly and mask the ridiculousness of it all. But Eclipse like the other Twilight films doesn’t escape it’s SyFy channel feel. As movies, I just don’t see it. Here are nine things, however, to know about Eclipse that might make a difference.

1. A love between a girl and her vampire can only go so far when they’re not doing anything more than wishing they could act on their sexual impulses. In terms of intrigue author Stephanie Meyer and screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg throw in war, armies, alliances and, get this, talk of marriage to stir things up.

2. The love between Ed Cullen played by Pattinson and Kristen Stewart’s Bella continues to move forward as plans develop for a future together (and the future of the saga). But it’s all fantasy pipedreams as far as I’m concerned, most of it stemming from Ed’s antiquated Victorian life-style (remember, he was long ago once a human too). Do people in relationships really desire a snail’s pace to life and denial of natural instinct? Yeah, I imagine parents do, for the innocence to remain as long as possible in their kids. But seriously, what are these young people waiting for? Sequels, that’s what.

3. By the time they get around to consummating this relationship though it will be like The Twilight Saga: 40-Year-Old Virgin. It won’t be long before we are ten movies in and our characters are no longer teens. Which would be much more entertaining. What I’m saying is Meyer should be careful not to draw things out too much further. Fans are already realizing the vampire boyfriend gimmick and the wolf crush can only amuse so much.

4. Let me back up a second and say the story of this “episode” is fairly convoluted, that it doesn’t really make sense until the end; that the Twilight story between Bella and Ed stays on course and is pretty much the same. It’s the plot of these films, the “chapters” that take audiences on a ride. It’s all plot with twists and turns and drama overload to distract rather than discover. The triangle that develops between Lautner’s Jacob Black, Bella, and Ed is textbook soap opera, and a great script tool to create conflict. Even a little humor at times.

5. Voice over narration by Bella is a good adolescent trait that keeps reminding us that it’s Bella’s story, and it’s somewhat of a videologue as if she’s recounting the days of her youth.

6. Close-ups of the actors, when gazing or talking, such as Bella and Edward in a field with rims of golden light give off a romantic vibe; the camera lingers on Bella for long periods of time allowing the audience to really get into her face, like getting into her thoughts, getting into her space. Every twitch of her eye lids and lips, emotional expressions are projected the height and size of a two story building. Even bigger on the IMAX screen. It’s a rare thing in movies these days. Getting to know your characters by gazing at their emotions, especially in giant form.

7. And it doesn’t need 3D because there’s enough of an atmosphere living with vampires and wolves on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State without needing to heighten the depth and space of that world. Yes, it may need more depth contextually but certainly not visually.

8. Flashbacks and dreams – the things vampire films are made of. Two of the Cullen clan give us their back-stories. It’s all in an attempt to help Bella figure out what she wants to do: become a vampire herself and live for eternity with Ed, or continue to stay warm blooded and grow old like everyone else. The cool thing though is that having flashbacks from Jasper, played by Jackson Rathbone, and Rosalie, played by Nikki Reed, we get a greater sense of who these people were before they became vampires. The before and after, always a fascinating aspect of vampire movies. Appearances in dreams, too, is a staple of the genre as Jasper comes to Bella in a dream. He steps toward the camera, toward the audience as he moves closer toward Bella in a nightmare. It’s the classic vampire walk we’ve seen from Max Schreck in Nosferatu (1922) to Bela Lugosi in Dracula (1939) to Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard (1950) (while technically not a vampire film Swanson’s character Norma Desmond is somewhat of a blood sucker). The nature of the vampire as film ascertains is to encroach on your space and go for the neck one hypnotizing step at a time.

9. Soundtrack. For me the music is always the best part of these Twilight films. It’s where I discovered The Black Ghosts’ Full Moon and Mutemath. On the Eclipse soundtrack we have Bombay Bicycle Club, Band of Horses, and UNKLE among others.

The Call: Spend the ten if you’re a fan. You’ll be pleasantly entertained. If you’ve never seen any of the Twilight films, I’d say rent the whole series when it’s out on DVD. That is if you’re curious. Please note: if you’re male between the ages of fifteen and thirty-five, into sports or like video games and action films with explosions and fast cars this movie is not for you.

Rated PG-13 for intense scenes of action and violence, and some sensuality. Running time is two hours and four minutes. Directed by David Slade who also did the captivating Hard Candy (2005). This is his first Twilight film.