Movie review: “The Twilight Saga: New Moon”
Carlisle (Peter Facinelli) comes to Bella’s (Kristen Stewart) aid after she is injured in an accident in “The Twilight Saga: New Moon.”
A version of this review appears in Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman. 3 of 4 stars.
‘New Moon’ not as biting as book
‘Twilight’ fans will enjoy second installment in movie saga, but too much potential is left on novel’s pages
A bigger budget and a pack of charismatic werewolves work wonders for “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” the second film in the supernatural romance saga.
The sequel can’t avoid moments of awkward teen melodrama, made more painful by a few bad performances and an overbearing score from composer Alexandre Desplat. But fans of Stephenie Meyer’s best-selling book, especially those who align themselves with Team Jacob, will likely find the film a satisfying cinematic experience.
As with its predecessor, the 2008 blockbuster “Twilight,” “New Moon” leaves too much potential of Meyer’s addictive novels on the page. That may be unavoidable since so much of the books are set inside the head and heart of heroine Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart).
In “New Moon,” Bella remains blissfully in love with Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), a vampire who abstains from human blood. But she is haunted by dreams of growing old while he stays eternally young.
Her nightmares are just beginning. At her 18th birthday party, a minor accident puts Bella in serious jeopardy. Fearing for her safety, Edward breaks up with Bella and the Cullen coven leaves the town of Forks, Wash.
Bella plunges into a numbing depression, but starts to recover when she discovers she can conjure visions of Edward by putting herself in danger. The revelation leads her to She takes a pair of junker motorcycles to her childhood pal Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner), a Quileute Indian teen and aspiring mechanic.
As her friendship with Jacob grows, Bella’s broken heart begins to heal. But her life gets supernaturally strange again when Jacob unintentionally taps into his tribe’s genetic ability to transform into werewolves and becomes part of the pack led by Sam Uley (Chaske Spencer).
Director Chris Weitz (“The Golden Compass”) takes the helm from “Twilight’s” Catherine Hardwicke, and his experience with computer-generated images proves invaluable. The lightning-fast werewolf transformations are impressive, and the hulking beasts are scary as they battle. The super-speed of the vampires remains problematic; “New Moon” uses more slow-mo than a 1980s rock video, which is still an improvement over the cheesy effects in “Twilight.”
Weitz greatly benefits from a less stingy budget, so the entire film, from the deathly white vampire makeup to the character’s clothes, looks much better. He and screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg also make key plot changes to beef up the action, which may irritate “Twihard” purists but enhance the movie.
On the whole, the mostly young cast seems more at ease with their roles, particularly Lautner as Jacob, and the addition of gifted actors such as Michael Sheen and Dakota Fanning as the intimidating Volturi vampires boosts the talent level. But Jackson Rathbone’s horribly wooden performance as Jasper deflates one of the film’s most dramatic moments.
While the sequel should have fans squealing, “New Moon” probably won’t convert too many holdouts. Many of the teenage declarations of devotion are embarrassing, and the multitude of shirtless-young-men moments should induce cringes from anyone older than 16.
-BAM
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