Movie Review: New Moon

The first Twilight movie, brought a visual to what fans have been dreaming about for years after reading Stephenie Meyer’s world renown books that have caused millions of crazed female fans all over the world. With that being said, every single girl out there is now in search of a perfect “Edward” to their “Bella”. The second instalment of The Twilight Saga: New Moon, unfortunately, is based on heartbreak and trying to forget the memories of what would never be.
Bella Swan finally came to love her life in Forks, Washington. She had friends, she was a senior at Forks High School, and most importantly, she had Edward Cullen. Edward is a vampire – but that’s beside the point. He was the one person she could love with no restriction and the one who knew her inside and out. But all that changed when an incident during her birthday party at the Cullens made Edward realize that Bella doesn’t belong in his world.
Edward left Bella and her world just fell apart. New Moon> follows Bella’s trials and tribulations of life without Edward and the hope she finds when her new best friend Jacob Black, played by Lautner, comes to her rescue. But even Jake has a secret that Bella doesn’t know about – at least for the time being.
The fan-girl in me enjoyed the movie whole-heartedly. I have been a big supporter of the Twilight books before they became a world-wide sensation and the movies have been able to bring the ideas in my mind to life while leaving my imagination to wonder what the next two and final instalments will bring to the mystical world of Bella and Edward.
The first time I just enjoyed it. The second time, I began to notice a few of the technical and acting flaws that had critics cringing.
The acting itself by the lead characters Kristen Stewart (Bella) and Robert Pattinson (Edward) was better this time around than in Twilight. In the first movie I cringed at how cheesy the dialog was and at how obvious that some of the quotes were just plucked out of the book and placed in the script. Stewart herself was pretty much void of all emotion and Pattinson seemed like he wasn’t comfortable with his role as the desirable Edward Cullen.
This time around, although Stewart was still a little void of emotion, she played her character a hell of a lot better. So much so I started to actually believe her to be the part of Bella Swan, not that actor seen all over the tabloids. She impressed me a great deal more than I had anticipated.
Pattinson – who’s still as desirable as ever – seemed to be a lot more comfortable with his role than in Twilight . His emotions seemed raw instead of well-rehearsed and well-suited for his brooding vampire character that is madly in love with a mortal girl.
Taylor Lautner (Jacob Black) had very little screen time in the first movie, but the second one and onward he’s a major part in the love-triangle between him, Stewart and Pattinson. Although the 17-year-olds acting skills could be better, he definitely has potential in becoming a great actor.
As for the rest of the cast, the acting is quite solid; even though their roles in the film were insignificant, seeing as they barely had any screen time. Let’s just say I’m excited to see what they do with Eclipse when the Cullen characters, as well as the wolf-pack, become more of a significant part in the film.
Director Chris Weitz, known for his award-worthy CGI affects in The Golden Compass, did a much (let me emphasis MUCH) better job on the second movie than first director Catharine Hardwickdid in Twilight. His interpretation was a lot stronger and his vision a lot clearer than that of Hardwick’s style.
While saying that though, there were definitely a few moments that had me wishing that Summit Entertainment hadn’t skimped out on the special affects – and we all know it was Summit not the director’s choice, whether you want to believe it or not.
The most noticeable affect that had me thrown off was the water scene when actor Kristen Stewart (Bella) jumped off the cliff into the ocean. While the jump was solid the water itself wasn’t. It didn’t look real to me and that just seemed weird. The affects of the wolf pack themselves was actually pretty impressive. While they could have looked a little more realistic than they were, they still gave us the impression that they were lifelike.
To sum it all up, New Moon was definitely a movie for the fans. Technically it could have been better, but the story was strong, as was the loyalty of the fans. Something tells me it could have been the worst movie of 2009 (which it wasn’t…by far) and it still would have generated a whopping $140.2 million at the box office in its opening weekend.
So now that “the wolf’s outta the bag”, the countdown has officially started for The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, due out in late June of 2010.
☺☺☺ (out of five)
Written by: Taryn McElheran
(originally posted on Dec 1st, 2009 on www.sugarcainentertainment.com)

☺ (not worth anything) ☺☺ (maaaybe rent-worthy) ☺☺☺ (theatre worthy –at least once) ☺☺☺☺ (must see) ☺☺☺☺☺ (must see if your life depended on it)