Review

Twilight has taken the world by storm, beckoning millions of fans to the movie house over and over to watch the same movie. The phenomenon has reached cult status, but is the status rightly deserved or is this just a hormonal teenage driven frenzy.

New Moon takes off with the same predicament we left the characters with in Twilight. Bella wants to become a vampire and live with Edward for eternity but Edward fears for Bella’s soul, and refuses to dam her to hell. In a rather sudden turn of events, Edward decides it’s no longer safe for him to stay with Bella and relocates to get away from her. Bella is crushed, becoming a sort of zombie to the world.

Bella begins a ridiculous crusade of dangerous stunts to get a glimpse of Edward. In the madness she begins to spend a lot of time with Jacob, her werewolf friend who is clearly head over heals in love with her. And so begins the classic love triangle.

The movie has its moments, some beautiful cinematography, a great score and some cool CGI. Unfortunately that’s not enough. The poor script is messy and lacks pace, letting the characters down countless times. The fantastical story line lacks any kind of believability, and the characters seem ridiculously stupid at points. For example, what kind of girl would spend her nights screaming with horror over an ex-boyfriend? In fact, Bella’s father makes that exact point in the movie, ironically pointing out a flaw in the storyline.

Unfortunately, this ridiculous nonsensical nonsense that Hollywood continues to pump out is being consumed by the masses by the bucket load. From Transformers 2 to Jennifer’s Body, poor scripts continue to bring in cash for reasons that are beyond me. But despite the poor script, and unbelievability New Moon will charm audiences. The acting, although many may disagree, is above par, with a short appearance by the brilliant Dakota Fanning. Taylor Lautner (Jacob Black) is brilliant as a leading man, proving to the studio and the world that he has what it takes.

Screaming girls, and a few confused guys, who centre their lives on Twilight will get to see a shirtless, muscular Jacob and a sickeningly white Edward fight for a terribly love sick Bella for a 128 minutes romp in the forest, and it just may be worth it.

6/10

Synopsis

In the second instalment of Stephenie Meyer’s phenomenally successful TWILIGHT series, the romance between mortal and vampire soars to a new level as BELLA SWAN (Kristen Stewart) delves deeper into the mysteries of the supernatural world she yearns to become part of – only to find herself in greater peril than ever before. Following Bella’s ill-fated 18th birthday party, EDWARD CULLEN (Robert Pattinson) and his family abandon the town of Forks, Washington, in an effort to protect her from the dangers inherent in their world. As the heartbroken Bella sleepwalks through her senior year of high school, numb and alone, she discovers Edward’s image comes to her whenever she puts herself in jeopardy. Her desire to be with him at any cost leads her to take greater and greater risks. With the help of her childhood friend JACOB BLACK (Taylor Lautner), Bella refurbishes an old motorbike to carry her on her on her adventures. Bella’s frozen heart is gradually thawed by her budding relationship with Jacob, a member of the mysterious Quileute tribe, who has a supernatural secret of his own. When a chance encounter brings Bella face to face with a former nemesis, only the intervention of a pack of supernaturally large wolves savers her from a grisly fate, and the encounter makes it frighteningly clear that Bella is still in grave danger. In a race against the clock, Bella learns the secret of the Quileutes and Edward’s true motivation for leaving her. She also faces the prospect of a potentially deadly reunion with her beloved that is a far cry from the one she’d hoped for. With more of the passion, action and suspense that made TWILIGHT a worldwide phenomenon, THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON is a spellbinding follow-up to the box office hit.

Release Date

27 November 2009 (SA)

Cast

Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Ashley Greene, Rachelle Lefevre, Billy Burke, Peter Facinelli, Nikki Reed, Jackson Rathbone, Kellan Lutz, Anna Kendrick, Michael Sheen, Dakota Fanning, Chaske Spencer, Alex Meraz, Kiowa Gordon, Jamie Campbell, Elizabeth Reaser, Edi Gathegi, Michael Welch, Christian Serratos, Justin Chon

Age Restriction

13V

Director

Chris Weitz

Producers

Mark Morgan, Greg Mooradian, Wyck Godfrey

Trailer

Tags: Alex Meraz, Anna Kendrick, Ashley Greene, Billy Burke, Chaske Spencer, Christian Serratos, Dakota Fanning, Edi Gathegi, Elizabeth Reaser, Jackson Rathbone, Jamie Campbell, Justin Chon, Kellan Lutz, Kiowa Gordon, Kristen Stewart, Michael Sheen, Michael Welch, movie, New Moon, Nikki Reed, Peter Facinelli, poster, Rachelle Lefevre, Robert Pattinson, Stephenie Meyer, Taylor Lautner, trailer, vampire