Twilight: New Moon (C or 2/4 stars)
Twilight (a film that sort of worked on an odd level) was all about the pulsating teen romance btwn. 17 yr. old Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) & Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), the 109 yr. old vampire who looks her age. This film, 'New Moon', directed by Chris Weitz, picks right up where the last ended; with Bella & Edward dating. All is well. But during her lavish 18th birthday celebration, she gets an unfortunate paper cut. Blood surfaces, & all hell breaks loose in Edward's vampire abode. And though there are other vampires out too kill Bella (namely, Victoria, from the last installment), Edward un-wisely decides that the best way to save Bella from further danger is to disappear. So he & his family (save for Alice) leave Forks, Washington for good.
The next hour of the film chronicles Bella's deep depression over Edward's meaningful departure. She mopes, recedes from family & friends, cries, screams, grabs her tussled hair, & mopes again. And after seeing haunting visions of Edward when in the face of danger; she finds comfort in reckless living - a danger seeker, so to speak. The moping stops, however, when childhood pal Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner) - who's been carrying a torch for her - rescues Bella from her near-suicidal doldrums They start hanging out. A romance seems destined. But just when things start heating up, something starts happening to Jacob that he can't fully explain to her (he's actually a werewolf; a breed whose enemies are vampires like the Cullens. Grrreeat).
Furthermore, Bella gets some disturbing news about Edward that forces her to make a choice btwn. the undead, romantic vampire & the buff manwolf, Jacob. Drama ensues in Italy where Bella must try to save both herself & Edward from a mysterious vampire coven named the Volturi (with characters played by a hammy Michael Sheen & a red-eyed Dakota Fanning).
I'm actually sad that I didn't like this more, because while the 1st film definitely had its faults, there was a 'star-crossed love' guilty pleasure component to it. And while some of the production values did improve (pretty art direction, Alexandre Desplat's moody musical score) from the 1st film to this one, the narrative energy really dipped quite low. On a positive note, I kinda dug the new relationship btwn. Bella & Jacob. It's developed nicely (for a cheesy, melodramatic teen movie). Jacob's werewolf revelation has both a good build up & execution. And in fact, the entire werewolf subplot kept me mildly intrigued. Kristen Stewart is okay as Bella. I guess no one else could play her. But Bella has become annoyingly draggy. I believed her chilly nature in the 1st film. But in this one, her emotions/actions feel ridiculously overwrought. Without Taylor Lautner at her side, she's almost insufferable to watch onscreen.
Director Chris Weitz also did 2007's The Golden Compass (which I think was a very interesting near-miss). But this lacks that film's ambition. And 'New Moon' just doesn't have enough story to constitute its 2-hour running time. It needed better dialogue, fuller characterizations (especially with the Volturi), a little more action, & a faster pace. Every scene seemed to be elongated; as if there were extra beats to every line of dialogue and/or reaction. And the final misfire of the movie is the audience confusion over who Bella should be with. Anyone can see that Bella has more chemistry with teddy bear Jacob; and yet, she's supposed to be unmistakably lovesick for gothic Edward; a guy with little charisma, & who is absent for 3/4's of this film. Overall, 'New Moon' is not awful; just a bland sequel. But if my sister, her friends & thousands of teen girls (and/or guys) across America matter ... you'd think they just watched Gone with the Wind. They just want to see hunky Taylor Lautner standing shirtless in the rain. HE's their 4 star movie.
The next hour of the film chronicles Bella's deep depression over Edward's meaningful departure. She mopes, recedes from family & friends, cries, screams, grabs her tussled hair, & mopes again. And after seeing haunting visions of Edward when in the face of danger; she finds comfort in reckless living - a danger seeker, so to speak. The moping stops, however, when childhood pal Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner) - who's been carrying a torch for her - rescues Bella from her near-suicidal doldrums They start hanging out. A romance seems destined. But just when things start heating up, something starts happening to Jacob that he can't fully explain to her (he's actually a werewolf; a breed whose enemies are vampires like the Cullens. Grrreeat).
Furthermore, Bella gets some disturbing news about Edward that forces her to make a choice btwn. the undead, romantic vampire & the buff manwolf, Jacob. Drama ensues in Italy where Bella must try to save both herself & Edward from a mysterious vampire coven named the Volturi (with characters played by a hammy Michael Sheen & a red-eyed Dakota Fanning).
I'm actually sad that I didn't like this more, because while the 1st film definitely had its faults, there was a 'star-crossed love' guilty pleasure component to it. And while some of the production values did improve (pretty art direction, Alexandre Desplat's moody musical score) from the 1st film to this one, the narrative energy really dipped quite low. On a positive note, I kinda dug the new relationship btwn. Bella & Jacob. It's developed nicely (for a cheesy, melodramatic teen movie). Jacob's werewolf revelation has both a good build up & execution. And in fact, the entire werewolf subplot kept me mildly intrigued. Kristen Stewart is okay as Bella. I guess no one else could play her. But Bella has become annoyingly draggy. I believed her chilly nature in the 1st film. But in this one, her emotions/actions feel ridiculously overwrought. Without Taylor Lautner at her side, she's almost insufferable to watch onscreen.
Director Chris Weitz also did 2007's The Golden Compass (which I think was a very interesting near-miss). But this lacks that film's ambition. And 'New Moon' just doesn't have enough story to constitute its 2-hour running time. It needed better dialogue, fuller characterizations (especially with the Volturi), a little more action, & a faster pace. Every scene seemed to be elongated; as if there were extra beats to every line of dialogue and/or reaction. And the final misfire of the movie is the audience confusion over who Bella should be with. Anyone can see that Bella has more chemistry with teddy bear Jacob; and yet, she's supposed to be unmistakably lovesick for gothic Edward; a guy with little charisma, & who is absent for 3/4's of this film. Overall, 'New Moon' is not awful; just a bland sequel. But if my sister, her friends & thousands of teen girls (and/or guys) across America matter ... you'd think they just watched Gone with the Wind. They just want to see hunky Taylor Lautner standing shirtless in the rain. HE's their 4 star movie.