Sunday, November 22, 2009

Twilight Saga - New Moon - 3.0 out of 4.0 Stars

Who Would Love This Movie: People that enjoy the Twilight series books

Best Mood to Walk In With: Ready for cheesiness

Don't See This Movie If: You are not a fan of the books

I enjoy the Twilight series as books; however, I was incredibly disappointed with the first movie. The awful effects, the plot gaps if you hadn't read the book, the bad acting...all of it ended in disappointment for me. However, I was overwhelmingly in the minority since most of the people who had read the book loved the movie. I chalked this to obsessive fan power of tweens and let it go. I debated even seeing New Moon in theaters because I still felt so cheated out of what could have potentially been a great film had it not been rushed through production and packaged for those with lower movie expectations. But since New Moon is my favorite of the 4 Twilight books, I decided to go ahead and fork over the $10.

Let me just say, it was worth the money. Please note, though, that this statement is based on a lot of conditions. First, you must already like the Twilight series, whether because you enjoy the books or because you somehow saw the movie on its own and joined the phenomenon. If you don't know what is going on, this movie may slightly confuse you because it relies on your knowledge of past events. Secondly, you must be ready for the corny romance. This is not a subtle love or a slow moving romance, this is an obsessive, over-the-top relationship that says the most ridiculous things every chance it gets. And that is inevitably part of its charm, but you have to be ready for it or the sappiness will get tiresome quickly. And finally, you have to be a good sport. I didn't see it opening night or the night after. In fact, the theater was more empty than full, but still every time Taylor Lautner appeared, girls screamed. Also, some middle aged women sitting in front of me made inappropriate comments about what they wanted to do to this 17 year old boy whenever he took off his shirt (which was often).

Since I can't really speak about the acting (I mean, let's be honest, that's not why you're going to see this movie anyway), I do want to point out that it is unfortunate for Rob Pattinson that he takes his shirt off after Lautner has already stripped numerous times. My friend Sara remarked that Pattinson did not have a great body, but I think it is hard to find Edward attractive when Lautner is undeniably so easy on the eyes. In fact, overall this is the basic issue I have with this movie. The entire movie makes Jacob so attractive and perfect, that it is hard to understand why Bella doesn't fall in love with him. Granted, reading the books, you wondered the same thing, but in the end whether or not you were Team Jacob or Team Edwards, you could understand why Bella did what she inevitably does. However, for the purposes of the movie, it seems completely like she is getting the raw end of the deal.

Thankfully, not only is the acting moderately better (Lautner is much more impressive in this movie than the last), the effects are where you see the biggest difference. From the completely awful running through the forest scene of the last movie to the incredible CGI wolves in this one, the special effects are like night and day. I sincerely look forward to seeing what tricks are in store for us with the upcoming Eclipse.

Keep Your Eyes Open For: The movie theater scene...I was laughing out loud for a good 5 minutes with that one
And Stay Aware That: Billy does not miraculously free himself from the wheelchair he was bound to in the first movie. That's actually Harry, who seems to take over the best friend role that Billy has in the book concerning Charlie.

All in all, Twilight lovers will be pleased that the movie franchise has upped the ante, but New Moon is still only a frothy dessert compared to the much more filling entree of the book itself.

Movies Are Life. ~ K



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