Greg Vellante
Correspondent

In my own experience, viewing an installment of “The Twilight Saga” is more of a chore than an enjoyable experience. It requires great preparation to maintain composure and survive until the closing credits.

A week in advance, I began each morning with 100 eyelid lifts aimed at building strength in that area to prevent my eyes from drooping during the film. I slowly built my resistance to deafening sounds, placing my ears next to truck horns, guitar amplifiers, and the dreaded World Cup vuvuzelas in order to prepare myself for the worst kind of sound — a theater full of screaming teenage girls.

Alas, even if those sarcastically embellished methods of training had actually taken place, they would have been unnecessary for the third film in the “Twilight” franchise, “Eclipse.” I can’t say the film is great, because it is nowhere near that. I even hesitate to call the film good. The one thing I can’t call the film is horrible.

I wasn’t bored and I rarely felt like tearing my eyes out of their sockets, as I did with the franchise’s second installment, the dismally dense “New Moon.”

“Eclipse” finally offers the blockbuster series a chance to mature, and while I desperately pray that the senseless teenage brooding will cease in the final two installments, “Eclipse” does have something more to offer than shirtless werewolves and sparkling vamps.

The premise still has Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) and Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner) swooning over Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart). It’s a love triangle that grew tiresome in the second film, so watching it repeat itself is certainly a mild bit of torture.

Luckily, the tension actually makes room for some much-needed resolution, and provides the film with some surprising comic relief. The bickering between Edward and Jacob leads to some shocking, laugh-out-loud moments, and Bella’s father Charlie (Billy Burke) gets his due with effective scenes of humor and heart. A scene where he attempts to give Bella “the talk” is the film’s highest point.

Speaking of “the talk,” “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” dives into more developed territory, with the subject of sex being discussed on more than one occasion throughout the film. The story seems intent on establishing at least some of the anticipated maturity that is found within author Stephanie Meyer’s final book, “Breaking Dawn,” which is being split into two film installments.

“Eclipse” is complete with three flashback sequences, some more effective than others, and gives a few minor characters the chance to steal the spotlight from the franchise’s three key players.

The back-story of Jasper Hale (Jackson Rathbone) is rather interesting, and his relationship with Alice Cullen (Ashley Greene) even more so. The pair quickly became my two favorite characters in the film, played with more honesty than any other actor in the film, despite the fact that their characters are not even alive.

Revisiting “The Twilight Saga” after a near-death experience like “New Moon” is no easy task, yet thankfully “Eclipse” softens the blow, if only slightly. It is the better of the three films, funnier and more genuine, despite the consistent flaws of the franchise itself. The film’s action climax, where the Cullen family and wolf clan join forces to battle an army of newborn vampires, is actually borderline exciting.

I need to give the series credit where credit is due; it actually improved upon its defects, and a better film came as a result. Now, can someone please tell Taylor Lautner he can put his shirt back on?