‘Twilight’ ends with real bite

No longer torn between two amorous, animalistic suitors, Bella (Kristen Stewart) has married vampire Edward (Robert Pattinson), produced his hybrid spawn and been turned into one of the undead herself to avoid actual death during childbirth. Now she gets to enjoy all the perks of living forever — unstoppable strength and speed, the thrill of hunting for fresh blood and a seemingly unlimited sex drive. (The visuals still look awfully clunky and fake, especially in these scenes where Edward and Bella are running and jumping through the forest. At least the werewolves have stopped talking to each other, though.)

And Stewart seems to be enjoying herself for the first time, too. She’s done away with the sulking and lip-biting and thrives within her newfound ferocious femininity. The swoony Edward almost feels like an afterthought here: This is Bella’s time to sparkle.

Jacob (Taylor Lautner), the childhood friend and werewolf who was competing for her affections in small-town Forks, Wash., is still around and he’s assumed a new role: He has “imprinted” on Bella’s newborn daughter, the hideously named Renesmee (Mackenzie Foy), which makes him her protector and lover for life. Yes, this is creepy, but at least the film acknowledges as much. “Breaking Dawn — Part 2″ goofs on the famously ab-tacular Lautner by having him not just take his shirt off but strip down all the way to his underwear. Prepare yourself: The audience shrieks are deafening.

But the arrival of this beautiful child draws the suspicion and ire of the Volturi, the vampire elite living in Italy who … I don’t know, govern over these kinds of things? Anyway, they view this half-human, half-vampire as a threat. The bloodsucking Cullen clan and Jacob and his wolfy buddies must band together to prevent an attack, and to prove that the girl’s rare existence should be treasured. They do this by traveling the world, gathering other vampires of various ethnicities to form a sort of United Nations of the undead who will vouch for her.

We are all Renesmee Cullen.