Twilight: New Moon
Well, itās certainly clear that the differences between this film and its awful predecessor are like night and day: Perhaps itās the fact that the main characters are now well-established and that it allows the story to hit the ground running, or maybe because it actually delves into some of the mythology surrounding the supernatural characters so the viewer can understand them better. Or most likely itās because the original filmās director Catherine Hardwicke and her sub-par CW Network style of directing has been replaced by Chris (About A Boy) Weitz, who delivers a much more fluid, crisper paced, better shot sequel that actually has a STORY to it, along with some real conflict, tension, and action. Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan has not seen her acting improve much, as she and her vampire soulmate Edward (Robert Pattinson) are still together as they begin her senior year, only for Edward to leave suddenly about 20 minutes into the film because his Jay Mohr-lookalike father (Peter Facinelli) has got people questioning his youthful appearance. This leads to Bella being depressed and, failing that, deciding to become an adrenaline junkie because every time she does something dangerous and / or stupid, Edward appears to her in a vision and tells her to stop. Eventually she starts hanging out with local Native American Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner, having his role WAY expanded from his ten minutes of screen time in the original), and starts to bond with him before she finds out that he (and several of his friends) are actually honest-to-God werewolves! It is also during these scenes that the remarkable irony comes out that Stewart has FAR better and more natural chemistry with Lautner than with her robotic, by the book romance with Pattinson (she actually seems HAPPY around Jacob). This of course is what led to various fan factions splitting up into so-called āteamsā, based on which character they like better, and if it sounds like Iām a card-carrying member of āTeam Jacobā, well then, Iām just going on what I see here. Eventually, Edward and the Cullens, especially psychic sister Alice (Ashley Greene) come back into the picture, and soon Bella has to leave the country for Italy without any suspicion from her weak-willed, police chief Dad (Billy Burke), to ārescueā Edward (who believes her to be dead) from an ultra-powerful coven of vampires led by Michael Sheen, a guy who can read every thought youāve ever had just by holding your hand (except Bella, of course) along with the ultra-creepy presence of has-been child star Dakota Fanning as a vampire with the ability to simply say the word āpainā and put someone in excruciating agony (except Bella). While some might wonder why such a business is made over a rather nondescript girl like Bella, at least it gives the whole affair a forward thrust that was very noticeably lacking in the first film, which focused on boring scenes of the two lovers hanging out in the woods expressing their feelings for each other. In addition, the music, cinematography, and editing are all vastly improved as well, and the semi-cliffhanger ending actually makes this viewer want to see the story continue instead of wanting to slit his wrists like before. Overall, more proof that certain sequels CAN be better, as this one is after its Phantom Menace-like first filmā¦
8/10