The film adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's novel 'Eclipse' exceeds expectations of critics and fans alike.

With more than a billion dollars in the bank from the past two films in the franchise, it was inevitable that “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” would go into production and be released upon a world of sighing Twilighters and eye-rolling non-believers.

But while the past two films were commercial successes, they were never critical darlings, panned by critics for its faithfulness to the books’ lackluster plots and by some of the book’s fans for not being faithful enough.

With a third movie already upon the moviegoing public, have the filmmakers finally struck the perfect balance between the requirements of an entertaining movie and a rabid fan base’s expectations of faithfulness to the source material?

If buzz from critics and fans alike are anything to go by, it seems like the cast and crew have finally gone for (and hit) the jugular.

“The Twilight Saga: Eclipse”, takes up the story left behind in “The Twilight Saga: New Moon”. Audiences left the last movie with Edward Cullen’s marriage proposal left unanswered by his human paramour, Bella Swan. In “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse”, we find that Bella will only say yes if Edward turns her into a vampire first. This is something that Edward is loath to do, and the two settle for a compromise: Edward will turn Bella into a vampire after they get married.

Complicating matters is the fact that Jacob Black, Bella’s best friend, is convinced that she is in love with him and that all he needs to do is make her aware of this. He attempts to put himself in between the two lovers, either by questioning Bella’s feelings for Edward or by constantly walking around without a shirt on, much to Edward’s frustration.

But these concerns are immediately put on the back seat as a more immediate danger is hovering above the horizon. Victoria, the red haired vampire from the first two movies, is back with a vampire army in tow, ready to exact her revenge for the death of her mate, James.

The sheer number of vampires in Victoria’s army requires the rival vampire and werewolf clans of Edward and Jacob to unite, further straining their relationships with Bella Swan.

As Victoria draws nearer, Bella not only has to survive the coming bloodbath, but to make a decision as well. Will she give up her human life and all she has ever known to be with Edward forever, or will she choose Jacob and live the rest of her days as a normal human being?

KEEPING THE BALANCE

Most film adaptations of popular books always have to maintain the balance of making a good film that can stand on its own without alienating the fans of the source material.

But what complicates matters is the fact that the books the “Twilight” films are based on are not very good to begin with. Deviating from the text is not an option since it will just end up alienating Twilighters who are the movies’ target audience anyway, but closely following the text will turn off critics and anyone else the producers wish to convert to the franchise.

The first “Twilight” movie seemed like a good enough start, if a little tepid.

All the lines from the book that the fans latched onto where still there, no matter how cringe-inducing, all the while tempered by screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg’s shuffling of a few scenes from the book to give the story a semblance of a plot.

However, “New Moon” squandered whatever gains the first movie made by closely following the plot of what is probably the weakest book in an already weak series. That is why fans and critics alike must be happy to see that “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” succeeds in achieving that happy balance between pleasing the fan base while making an enjoyable and solid movie as well.

The plot that the most rabid fans are looking for – the love triangle between Bella, Edward, and Jacob – is still there, but Rosenberg and director David Slade distill it by actually building a larger universe and mythology that grounds the characters and gives resonance to the actions that they make. The pair also gives lesser characters more screen time in this movie than they do in the book, and this departure from the relentless focus on the Edward-Bella story turns what could have been a potentially cringe-inducing two hours of moping, lovestruck teenagers into quite an enjoyable thriller.

Rosenberg also does a great job of jettisoning some of the more controversial aspects of the book, such as the increasingly codependent relationship between Edward and Bella, while at the same time maintaining the parts that have made the book a bestseller.

Edward’s actions here make him more an old-fashioned dolt than the obsessive, controlling boyfriend that he is in the book. And perhaps the best change of all, Bella is no longer a spineless heroine eternally dictated upon by the needs of the men in her life, but a character that actually has a backbone and one that can make decisions on her own.

All in all, “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” succeeds in doing what most book-to-film adaptations consistently fail at: Be as good, or even better, than the source material they are provided with. While it is too late in the game for this film to win any new followers, “Twilight” fans can at least take hope in the fact that they finally have a movie that they can be proud of.