The Twilight Saga: New Moon (Summit Entertainment)
Torn Between Two Lovers
The latest installment in the Twilight Saga is titled New Moon and it is the perfect fantasy film for pre-teen and early teen girls. In this film an ordinary looking girl is pursued by two boys one an effete, pale vampire and the other a buff, macho werewolf. Neither can get too passionate with her because in the vampires case he might get carried away and bite her neck, while the werewolf guy might get angry and tear her to shreds. So in the meantime they just cast longing glances each others way and let that be enough.
Bella (Kristen Stewart) is the girl in the middle of this love triangle. She is in love with Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), a vampire whose family lives in her town. Bella wants Edward to change her into a vampire but he is resisting. Finally he says they must part so that she can lead a normal life.
Standing by to pick up the pieces of Bellas broken heart is Jacob (Taylor Lautner). He has loved Bella from afar but now is ready to move into the vacancy created by Edwards departure. But Jacob has a secret too. He is becoming a werewolf and that puts Bella in danger.
All of this is played out on screen with a maximum of drama and a minimum of tension. Bella and Edward appear to be living a modern day version of the Romeo and Juliet story and it takes ages to get to the climactic final scene. There are just too many professions of love and longing and too little vampire chasing, werewolf battling sequences.
Stewart and Pattinson are the major focus of the film with Lautner only getting a few scenes to establish his character. The three are competent actors but it is up to Lautner to perk things up each and every time he appears. He has a natural way with his lines of dialogue and is a comfortable presence on the screen.
The film is rated PG-13 for profanity and violence.
Towards the end of the film Michael Sheen and Dakota Fanning make appearances but neither makes much of an impression. Maybe they will get more to do in the next episode.
The Twilight Saga has fans by the bucketsful and there will be a huge audience for this film. Perhaps if you have read the books, which I havent, the story has more impact. When you come to it cold, without the literary buildup, it all seems a little silly.
From my perspective I wish Bella didnt whine so much, Edward didnt glisten so much, and Jacob had a bigger role in the proceedings. I would also like the next director to streamline the proceedings so that everything about the story isnt so laborious.
I scored The Twilight Saga: New Moon a waning 5 out of 10.
