Disappointing after Twilight

Rating: 4/10 (4 December 2009)

I am a huge fan of the first Twilight movie which was fun, exciting, romantic and enjoyable. I know New Moon is the darkest episode but sorry to say the movie was just too dreary and slow, often lacking both intimacy and excitement. I actually felt sleepy during some scenes and I had been so looking forward to see this.
Firstly, New Moon does have good points: Wolf Pack animal effects were good - not over the top.
Acting: Great cast delivers. Kristen Stewart was natural and unaffected. Taylor Lautner gives an earnest and energetic performance. Ashley Greene was sweet, strange and right on spot. Rob Pattinson was even paler than before and showed a different side but might have been slightly too distant and subdued.
Attractive scenery in Italy and the Pacific Northwest.
Bad points: Direction. The plodding direction of Chris Weitz dragged the whole thing down to a BORING pace at times. If even a fan can be bored then he can't have done a good job. The romance between Jacob and Bella felt awkward. In fact most of the scenes lacked edginess and tension and intimacy and vulnerability when required. If only they had stuck to Catherine Hardwicke. A woman's perspective is valuable because this is a story centered on a female heroine and that's what made Twilight successful and different. If it ain't broke why fix it?
Music. The score mostly didn't suit the movie. The thick orchestral violin background music was out of place. I know they were trying to be more classical and less music video but it just sounded grating and old fashioned. The songs with vocals loudly distracted from what was going on instead of enhancing the storyline. Sometimes there was no music when music would have helped. I much prefer Twilight's score and song selection which helped set the mood of each scene and didn't overwhelm instead.
Supporting cast: Insufficient camera time and dialog for supporting cast namely the Cullens and Bella's friends. A little more focus on the people around Bella would have been good to show contrast and give some perspective. One or two more funny lines would have helped.
Screenplay: In Twilight the screenplay added humor and sped up the pace by combining characters and using certain composite scenes to make it a better and more fast moving story. In New Moon following the book more closely resulted in too many slow and uninteresting scenes and draggy moments. There wasn't enough improvement from page to screen
Cinematography: The change in filming location from Oregon to Vancouver was quite noticeable and it felt like a different place. The scenes in the woods were not as attractive as Twilight. Instead of being eerie and cool they looked bleak and washed out. The cool blue gray colors often found in Twilight became yellowish in New Moon.
Casting: Michael Sheen looked goofy and lacked both stature and a sinister side. Dakota looked unappealing. The other Volturi were unmemorable. Why use so many less than charismatic and average looking British actors?
So overall - if you are a fan or just dating a fan do go and SEE IT but be prepared to be disappointed and yawn a bit.