At this point, my dislike for the Twilight film series is legendary…at least among my friends. I have found this cinematic saga plagued with countless cringe-worthy moments, soap opera silliness, zero sense of irony, and a whole LOT of bad wigs. Seriously, how has the makeup crew kept their jobs for all five films? Really godawful.

So no one is more surprised than yours truly that I actually (kinda) enjoyed the blockbuster finale. I suppose my delight is in part because it is finally over.

This last installment is well-paced, embraces its inherent silliness, provides a crackerjack twist, and finally allows some its better players to cut loose. Thank the gods of angsty adolescent teen vampire/werewolf romance, but talented folks like Michael Sheen, Dakota Fanning, Peter Facinelli, Ashley Greene, Nikki Reed, Billy Burke, and Elizabeth Reaser finally get to have some fun.

I realize now that a big issue I have had with all the other films has been the hermetically sealed self-seriousness with which they approach truly sophomoric, just plain goofy material. Yeah, I know I made a lot of you Twihards really mad with that last statement. Sorry. This film – just like the better Harry Potter adaptations – takes some liberties and offers up some pure popcorn-chomping fireworks. Kudos to director Bill Condon for redeeming himself…’cause Part One was atrocious.

I freely admit that I still just don’t get it. I don’t know why folks are gaga about these characters; I don’t know how author Stephenie Meyer manages to make vampires and werewolves so darn uninteresting; I don’t know how the Cullen clan have the good fortune to own such gorgeous homes (I would kill for those book-lined, postmodern, glass-walled rooms); and I don’t know why in the world anyone in their right mind would name a child Renesmee.

I will give the filmmakers this: they ended their series with a bang, and I for one had a fun time at the movies tonight. It took five films and about ten painful hours of my life (never getting those back) to get there, but bully for them…and their overflowing bank accounts.