The Twilight Saga: New Moon

How funny, on November 22, 2008 in my review of Twilight, my first sentence mentioned Romeo & Juliet. Now in the first opening scene sequence of New Moon, (the second installment of the ever so popular Twilight series), guess what is being discussed in class. Yep, it was Romeo and Juliet. Coincidence, I think not.

In my previous review of Twilight I made several suggestions of what needed to be done to make New Moon better than Twilight. Let me say how happy I was to see that many suggestions I made were actually heard and executed. I had hoped that the produces would find a new director, they did, Chris Weitz. I suggested that they eye contacts they used for the vampires were of better quality so that the audience would not see the contact lines in the eyes, they did, really quite lovely ones. Lastly, I made the comment that the movie needed to be longer to do the books justice – well they could have done better with this one, however they did increase the production by 10 minutes.

Having seen my suggestions taken into account, maybe my blog will once again be read by the Twilight powers that be and hopefully they will take my suggestions for Breaking Dawn (it’s too late to offer assistance for Eclipse – due out June 2010).

Bella (Kristin Stewart) has to stop huffing and puffing and allowing all of her words to get stuck in her throat. Bella you are a strong woman, be cofident in your words – like when you yell at the wolf pack – there was no huffing an puffing in that sequence. It is almost like Bella is slightly asthmatic and is having her breath sucked out of her in the damp cool air of Pacific northwest.
This is how I heard Ms. Stewart relay her dialogue in almost every scene: Sad Bella, huffy puffy breathing, happy Bella huffy puffy breathing, scared Bella, lots of huffy puffy breathing etc….. Are you getting the picture? Kristen Stewart, please just breathe normally.

Taylor Lautner was truly the bright spot in New Moon. Lautner’s interpretation of Jacob is much improved from the first film. Additionally Lautner’s hard work in improving his physical anatomy is blatantly obvious and much appreciated by the audience. One audience member burst out with an “Oh Yeah Team Jacob”, when Jacob removed his shirt for the first time. Not sure how he did what he did but he could probably shoot a fitness video and make several million dollars!!! I hope Lautner continues to relax into his role and just let Jacob flow.

Lastly there is Mr. Pattinson, yes he is hot, yes he is melancholy, but that doesn’t mean Edward has to speak in a whisper all the blessed time. Robert please speak up and enunciate your words! You can be sad, sullen and hot with an audible voice!!!

I truly wish the script would have expanded on the supporting characters, i.e. Charlie Swan, Jane and Sam. The supporting characters allow the story to flow with symmetry and assist the audience in understanding how the three main characters have become the people they are. One would think, since the very seasoned actor, Dakota Fanning was cast into the film as Jane, the directors, writers, and producers, would have given her more than a 5 minute time slot. Jane is a very important character now and in the future stories and she was not fully explained in this film.

Is the movie as good as the book? Oh my goodness no! Is this film improved from the first? Absolutely yes. The big positive of this film is once again the scenery of the location. I believe Twilight captured Stephenie Meyer’s vision slightly better than New Moon. However, I do understand why the locations may have had to be moved - prevention of the stalkers from sneaking on set! If at all possible, I personally would appreciate the filming of the series relocating back into the United States.

Is this a full price movie? The answer is yes, only if you are a fanatic of the series. I said it before, there is nothing better than going to a movie theatre filled with excited fans cheering, oooing and the occasional “oh yeah baby” at all the right moments! But I caution you, should you be a Twilight Virgin read the books or at least see Twilight first. If you have not, you will not enjoy this flick. There is way too much inside information that needs to be known to enjoy and follow New Moon.