New Moon (2009)

The second installment of the Twilight Saga had expectations running high and unfortunately did not live up to the hype. With mediocre graphics and mediocre acting, especially by lead character Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart), New Moon isn't anything to rave about. As a Twilight fan myself, I have read all the books and was happy to see that director Chris Weitz attempted to stay true to Stephenie Meyer's story by focusing on Bella's new relationship with friend Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner).

The movie opens with narration from Bella followed by a dreamlike sequence and Bella waking up on her 18th birthday. This makes her one-year older than Edward. Bella hates that she is older than him now and asks that no one bring attention to the fact that it is her birthday. Although New Moon picks up where Twilight left off with a passionate connection made obvious between Bella and vampire boyfriend Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), the plot quickly darkens when he breaks her heart and leaves her helpless in the forest. Many fans may be disappointed with the absence of Edward throughout New Moon but it opens up space to tell the story of Jacob Black. Black was a childhood friend of Bella's and the film does a wonderful job of displaying this friendship's growth into a loving relationship between the two. Oddly enough Black ends up being a werewolf, this really complicates things for a while and it appears Bella's got no luck with making human friends.

New Moon is full of action and drama. Bella is heartbroken and looks as though she will never fully heal; Black falls for a girl who is hopelessly devoted to a vampire who has decided to never see her again. The soundtrack accompanies the story beautifully and carries the changing mood from beginning to end. It was definitely clear from the opening scene that the film is much better quality than the first movie, Twilight. One thing that producers should have spent a little more of their big budget on was the graphics. Some scenes were laughable. Werewolves would have been scarier if they looked somewhat real and fight scenes were too visibly animated. This is not to say there weren't some great fight scenes between vampires but all-in-all more time and money could have made the graphics much more realistic.

Despite the fact that the acting was all right, definitely better than in Twilight, and that graphics were noticeably fake, New Moon is worth seeing. Any fan of Meyer's saga should see the film just to experience it. It is exciting to watch a story brought to life in the cinema and I really believe that the next two movies will only get better. So head to theatres, watch out for the herds of Twi-Hards, and enjoy Black's topless moments.