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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For someone who grew up in the great northwest, its nice to see a movie embrace that geography of Oregon and Washington, as the movie is set in the town of Forks, Washington, but is shot on both sides of the Columbia River on both sides of the border… showcasing the beautiful Oregon Coast and the majesty of the fir and oak trees of the northwest.

 “Twilight”

(2008) (rated: PG-13 for some violence and a scene of sensuality) (2 hr, 2 min)

Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Billy Burke, Ashley Greene, Nikki Reed, Jackson Rathbone, Kellan Lutz, Peter Facinelli, Cam Gigandet, Taylor Lautner, Anna Kendrick, Michael Welch, Justin Chon, Christian Serratos, Gil Birmingham

Director: Catherine Hardwicke

Genre: Action/Horror/Romance/Thriller/Vampire/Teen

The Plot: A teenage girl risks everything when she falls in love with a vampire.

MY TAKE (spoiler free):  Few movies are such a posterchild for the teen anxst and awkwardness as Twilight… this the movie is filled with it… but the irony is that one of the awkward teens in love is a 17 year old outsider from Arizona, the other is a 107 year old outsider that is a vampire.

The movie is full of nice little moments involving main character Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward (Robert Pattinson) or Bella and her father the police chief (Billy Burke).

The budding romance and awkwardness of Bella and Edward is the heart of this movie, as the audience, especially the fans of the books will cheer when they finally have their first kiss.   While Bella wrestles with the reality of falling in love with a vampire, Edward is reluctant to embrace what most vampires are: hunters of human blood.

His reluctance could be confused for pick up lines when he says things to Bella like “I don’t have the strength to resist you” and “you’re my own personal heroin”.

Edward’s awkwardness is funny considering his catlike reflexes and supernatural speed, and the fact that he’s really more than 100 years old.

A memorable scene that doesn’t involve the love story or the action of protecting Bella from the bad guys is when Bella decides to go to Edward’s home to meet his “family”… at the house, the other vampires are making dinner in the kitchen for the first time ever… when ironically Bella could be the dinner for them.

The protective father also has some scenes that are clever writing, giving Bella mace (which the audience knows will not protect her from her real threats), he also questions Edward’s age compared to Bella’s (not realizing how right he is) and when its time for him to meet Edward before their date, he has the typical scene with a rifle as he meets Edward (although the rifle would not actually hurt him).

THE BOTTOM LINE: Obviously fans of the books and younger and female audiences will like this movie more than I did, but its not a bad effort on a genre that is filled with many entries – while there is some action in the last third of the movie, Twilight is filled with the relationship between its two main characters and is less like typical vampire movies.  I give it 7.0 out of 10.  We know there are other books in the series, and the way this movie ends, its clear they are setting up for sequels… especially as Taylor Lautner’s character Jacob begins to create a possible love triangle with Bella and a jealous Edward.

ALSO: West Michigan native Taylor Lautner in Twilight

ALSO: Ticket sales for Twilight

So what did you think?  Please post a comment!

 
“Twilight” poster courtesy Summit Entertainment

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