New Moon is the latest installment in the Twilight movie series. As the second movie of the series, and being strongly based on Stephanie Meyer's novel of the same name, it also shares the same benefit of being received by an enormous fan base. As of November 20th, New Moon has already grossed nearly $73 million in theaters nation-wide, surpassing its predecessor, Twilight. Opening sales aside, according to critical receptions from several reputable printed publications and the website Rotten Tomatoes, New Moon has generally been considered a poorer film than Twilight.
For those interested in watching the film or simply wanting a summary, read this short-hand version to become familiar with the basic plot:
Bella Swan: I love you Edward.
Edward Cullen: I have to go and be an enigma somewhere else.
Bella: I love you Edward and while you are gone, I'll become an adrenaline junkie.
Jacob Black: Hi, I'm buff now. Let's go out! Oh, and I'm a werewolf.
Bella: Cool. Edward, I still love you, but I'm going to hang with the furries.
Edward: I'm going to kill myself.
Bella: No.
Edward: Okay. Let me just get beat up by these other vampires and then we can go back.
Jacob: What about me?
Edward: She loves me. Bug off, dog-breath! Oh, and Bella...will you marry me?
Fin.
One of the biggest critiques on New Moon was its lack of convincing acting. The two actors under the scope in this regard were Kirsten Stewart (as Bella Swan) and Robert Pattinson (as Edward Cullen). In addition, the major developments in the plot prompts the analysis of Taylor Lautner (as Jacob Black), as he attempts to portray a newly established major character in the Twilight saga.
Kirsten Stewart's acting as Bella was composed of almost no emotion, and while Bella is supposed to be portrayed as reclusive and awkward, Stewart's exaggerated attempt missed its mark. Throughout various portions of the film, it hardly seemed like Bella's character was convinced with what she was saying or concerned with things that required concern. Stewart's performance in New Moon was certainly dismal in comparison to her performance in Twilight.
On Robert Pattinson's portrayal of Edward, there were certainly some noticeable improvements that occurred between films. In New Moon, Edward is supposed to appear protective and completely infatuated with Bella. Pattinson portrays Edward as such and even seems on the verge of tears throughout the whole film due to his current predicament. However, the actual chemistry between Bella and Edward still requires some work. How is New Moon supposed to be about romance when the two lead actors cannot even attempt an on-stage kiss without appearing to have symptoms treatable by Pepto Bismol.
Taylor Lautner plays the newest focus of the series as Jacob Black. While the general opinion of Lautner in New Moon has been that he is no more than eye candy for the fan base, it takes the witnessing of somebody with a Y chromosome to see past this visage. Lautner's acting is convincing and his dedication to his character does not go unnoticed. Throughout the course of the film, Lautner portaying Jacob's uneasiness about becoming a werewolf is entertaining to watch. Plus, the dramatic shift in Lautner's acting prior to and after the change is certainly noticeable and well-executed by the up-and-coming actor. The only noteworthy flaw that can be seen concerning Lautner is that the director decided to give Lautner's forearms too much emphasis, and perhaps more screen time than his face had. That's just poor use of great talent.
During the viewing of the film, the flaws were obvious enough, and the strengths of the film were rather translucent. The use of fight sequences and transformations was atrocious. All of the werewolves on screen appeared to be nearly identical aside from contrasting fur colors and the fights were lacking in length as well as believability. Throughout some of the fights, it simply seemed as though the actors were rolling with the punches and relying on the CGI and other special effects to pull everything together. However, there were also some noticeable positives that redeem the film to so degree. The choices for shooting locations were beautiful as well as proper in setting up for some of the more adverse scenes in the film. The music played throughout the film was fitting like custom Armani and when sadness, happiness, terror or love was to be conveyed, the music in the background did its part marvelously.
What is the deal with this film and why are so many people obsessed with the Twilight saga? In short, Stephanie Meyer wrote a series of books that overly romanticized the hackneyed concept of forbidden love, used under-developed characters that merely served the purpose of carrying out a ridiculous plot and targeted a fan base composed primarily of young females and as a bonus, their obedient boyfriends. Instead of earning profits for actually being a good film, the movie series generates its outstanding box office success off the blind loyalty of its fan base alone. Despite a poor basis for the films in general, there is still potential to turn the movie series into something worthy of praise, just as long as the director and producers take the time to do so. On that note, Eclipse, the third movie in the Twilight saga, has already been announced to be in theaters on June 30th, 2010.