A stale and boring rehash of the first one

Rating: 4/10 (13 November 2014)

More of the same from terminally awkward teenager Bella Swan, and unfortunately this time it starts to wear out its welcome. That's not to say it's all bad, though. Some positives include improved cinematography and a good soundtrack. The cast also seems more comfortable in their roles this time, although the peripheral cast is woefully underwritten and seems to be there just to pad out the story/run time. This time around, Edward leaves Bella for her protection almost as quickly as they got together in the first one. This leaves more time allocated to supporting character Jacob Black, which wasn't a good thing. Taylor Lautner isn't as good of an actor as Robert Pattinson, and he lacks the (limited) charisma that Pattinson brings to his role as a 109-year-old vampire. Another positive element is several self-aware pop culture references and jabs at the nature of the story itself. But a few funny moments do not a good movie make. The story has some major pacing issues, jumping right into the story but then slowing down to a crawl as Jacob and Bella spend more time with each other. Also, in this installment, the audience is introduced (rather unceremoniously) to the Volturi, who seem to be some kind of vampire "elitists". After an offhanded reference early on (which does have a cool sequence of a vampire being ripped limb from limb), they aren't seen until the obligatory climax which this time involves Edward threatening to expose himself for what he is. One minute, Bella's in Forks reuniting with Alice and the next, she's whisked off to Italy to save Edward from getting himself killed. It all just happens so fast and without much aforethought. One positive thing I did get from this rushed final act was Michael Sheen, who plays the Volturi leader. He brings a certain elegant sleaziness to the role which I liked. He also seemed to be having fun with the ludicrous material he was given. After this sequence, the movie ends on one of the most ridiculous cliffhangers I've seen in recent memory. Overall, the movie doesn't cover any new dramatic territory, which results in it being stale and boring at times. However, the filmmaking quality was improved, even it just amounted to polishing a turd.