The second chapter in the “Twilight” saga – “New Moon” is good, but not as good as the first chapter (“Twilight”).   Sorry to say it, but this franchise may have lost its charm and become too big… with too many hands in this project to come out the way fans and non-fans may be hoping for.

Lets get this out of the way right now — fans should SEE IT – you may only be a little disappointed.  MY WIFE LOVED IT but she had a few minor issues with this movie.  Non-fans should wait for the excitement to die down or WAIT TO  RENT…. or you may be doubly disappointed with fighting the crowds and seeing a less than stellar offering.   Let me tell you why, without spoilers….

  (My spoiler-free review)

By now, most of us know the story: teen girl (Bella) crushes on teen-looking vampire (Edward, who is actually 100+ years old).  Now with “New Moon”, this “Twilight” love gets the third leg in its triangle… as good friend Jacob (West Michigan native Taylor Lautner) starts to become more than just a good pal due to the circumstances of this chapter.

This growing love interest with Jacob adds to the themes of Love, Forbidden Love, Love Lost, Sacrifice, Tough Choices and more Forbidden Love…. and then more Tough Choices.

I guess Bella can’t catch a break.  First its Forbidden Love with a vampire and the whole teen anxst thing… now its on to another Forbidden/awkward level… why can’t she just date a normal guy… with no superpowers or immortality?  Because that would be boring.  And the references to Romeo and Juliet laid out early in this one wouldn’t make sense now would they?

But as this new chapter’s pieces all begin to unfold (and there are a lot of storylines to keep track of)…. its clear that not all is good for the happy couple… including Bella now worried about growing old like normal people.

The movie makes a clear distinction between Bella’s two love interests both in personality and physique… but its a labor going through the two hours she takes to come to a decision.   The visual journey isn’t easy either – with one close-up after another and tracking camera moves around Bella … its like a director with a budget and tools he never had before.

Most of those storylines do make sense in the end… but the journey through this love story/fantasy adventure is a lot of mushy, over-the-top moments that we know these good young actors can do better at… we saw it in some scenes here… but not in others. 

There’s more effects and long exhaustive camera movements with blaring music than actual character development.   More time is spent in the second half of the movie with the male leads removing their shirts and being objectified by Bella… than actually digging deeper into their characters… they are just moved along a storyline… in the same fashion and mostly the same acting as the first.  We expect more from a sequel since the main characters are established, we should be getting more into who they are and why.

Its good that all the effects support the story, and are not just done because the fillmakers have a bigger budget.    There are also nice little moments of humor – some only fans will get – that break up a lot of the tension and overall gloominess of the film.

West Michigan can be proud of Hudsonville native Taylor Lautner who does a good job with what he has to work with and succesfully pulls off the change in his character… Jacob is the only character that really gets much development this time around.   In “New Moon”, Lautner begins to seperate himself as a strong character and actor apart from his mopey screen companions that mostly do the same thing they did in “Twilight” – look young and inexperienced and unpolished… acceptable in the first movie… not this time around.

The supporting cast gets a little to work with including more for Ashley Greene’s “Alice” character… and respectable fare from Michael Sheen who plays a powerful vampire with limited screen time.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

Most fans will love this movie, others may become confused and point at this chapter as the not-so-good one – perhaps this generation’s “Return of the Jedi”… I give it 6.9 out of 10.

If you are one of the fans who are let down by this chapter in the “Twilight” saga – lets hope for better things in “Eclipse”.  And remember Twi-hards, don’t feel too bad if your dreams of “New Moon” aren’t fully realized – waiting a year for this disappointment is nothing like  waiting 3 years for “Phantom Menace” – only to be mostly let down…  I’ll always have Jar Jar to trump you… and don’t forget Greedo shooting first.

 “New Moon”

(2009) (rated: PG-13 for some violence and action)
(2 hr, 10 min)

Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Billy Burke, Anna Kendrick, Michael Welch, Justin Chon, Christian Serratos, Ashley Greene, Jackson Rathbone, Russell Roberts,  Michael Sheen, Peter Facinelli, Rachelle Lefevre, Elizabeth Reaser, Kellan Lutz, Tyson Houseman, Alex Meraz, Bronson Pelletier, Edi Gathegi, Dakota Fanning, Christina Jastrzembska, Cam Gigandet

Director: Chris Weitz  (“The Golden Compass” (2007), “Down to Earth” (2001))

Genre: Romance/Fantasy/Drama/Horror/Thriller

The Plot: After Bella recovers from the vampire attack that almost claimed her life, she looks to celebrate her birthday with Edward and his family. 

So what did you think?  Please post a comment!

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“New Moon” poster courtesy Summit Entertainment

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