REVIEW: ‘The Twilight Saga: New Moon’ With Photos

By Germain Lussier on November 19th, 2009

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Your younger daughter will probably love it, your son will probably fall asleep and you’ll definitely be left scratching your head. In a nutshell, that’s “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” the second film in the “Twilight” film series based on the wildly successful books by Stephenie Meyer.

A disclaimer at the beginning of this review: I’m not the audience for this movie. I’m a single, 29 year old with no kids. I actually have read the first book, but didn’t like the first film. However, I like to think I’m familiar with the franchise and have the Alice like ability to see things – especially movies – from multiple points of view. And with a movie like “New Moon,” that’s necessary simply because it’s a phenomenon that lives beyond the screen.

We find the next chapter of this phenomenon picking up where the first left off. Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) is still living in Forks, WA and is still in love with perfect, god like vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson). However, something happens that makes Edward realize (again) that he’s no good for Bella, so he leaves her. And Bella is sad. So she finds solace in the massive arms of her neglected friend Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner). Unfortunately, Jacob turns out to be a werewolf who can only kill vampires and that becomes an issue when Bella leaves him to help the departed Edward.

That’s the basic story. And really, a few twists, turns and car drives aside, that’s pretty much it. The film drags for long stretches basically because the entire series is based on the intense, indescribable emotion that Bella feels towards Edward. Understanding and feeling that emotion in Bella’s every action is essential to the franchise but, unfortunately, is just totally implicit in the movies (In the books, and possibly in real life, it works much better).

So that becomes the biggest of the many problems “New Moon” has. Audience members unfamiliar with the material – or who have had any kind of life experience whatsoever – will find themselves completely unconvinced of anyone siding with Team Edward. Team Jacob, on the other hand, is looking pretty good. Lautner gives a layered, likable performance that truly saves the movie from being unwatchable. Jacob is the kind, charismatic person we are simply meant to assume Edward is. So the scenes with Jacob and Bella are actually kind of interesting. There’s a chemistry and emotion there. Add to that some interesting werewolf lore, and “New Moon” has its share of cool moments (even if the effects don’t really hold up).

But that main story of Bella and Edward keeps rearing its ugly head. Almost out of nowhere, Bella finds herself in Italy in front of vampire royalty called the Volturi, and it’s an okay scene which seemingly serves little purpose other than giving the film something to build to.

All of that, though, won’t matter much to your Twi-hard daughters who can hardly contain themselves at the sight of veiled romance taking place with not-so veiled boys. On the other hand, your sons will probably be rolling their eyes until there’s an action scene and when that comes, be kind of disappointed. And you, as a parent, will be wondering why dumb Bella can’t stand up for herself or make an educated, adult decision. Ever.

Yes, “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” is going to be a massive hit, just like the first movie. And if your kids can handle the PG-13 material (there are some, but not many, scary visuals to be aware of) then chances are they will want to see it just so they can talk about it with their friends. But on the way out, be sure to educate them that the world of “Twilight,” in oh so many ways, is a total fantasy.