Longest movie title reveal in the history of movie title reveals. Seriously, could the words 'New Moon' have appeared any *slower*?...

Rating: 10/10 (18 November 2009)

Having said that, I liked/appreciated this film even more on second viewing.
Kristen Stewart, as Bella, goes through something so emotionally exhausting/painful, after the love of her life (who she deems herself unworthy of), Edward, leaves her. She settles into a severe state of depression, and Stewart portrays this extremely well. People complain about her never cracking a smile? Not like she has great reason to. Robert Pattinson (with his gravity-defying hair) as Edward is in a smaller portion of this film to Twilight, but what he lacks in actually being physically *there* for Bella, he makes up for with ghostly apparitions of himself (brought on by Bella endangering herself).
Jacob is the one bright spot for Bella after (Edward's departure). I really liked watching their growing friendship develop. Taylor Lautner has great chemistry with Stewart (though, different to Pattinson's) and really proved himself (not only with meeting the physical demands required of him, but doing the role justice in this movie). The change from the Jacob we met in Twilight to the Jacob we see in his rain-soaked scene with Bella in this movie is dramatic. He literally grows up before your eyes (exactly how it's described in the book).
The Cullens (now with nicely effective otherworldly eyes) are given a lot less screen time this movie than last. All except Alice (the perfectly cast Ashley Greene). The other Cullens (aside from Carlisle) are limited to one or two lines, at most, though Kellan Lutz manages to make the best of his. Alice, meanwhile, thankfully gets to interact with not only Bella and Edward, but Jacob as well. I really liked the different dynamics between them. Alice is a great character and provides some of the best bits/lines. Bella's lucky to have her as a friend.
Bella's human "friends", however, aren't so lucky to have Bella. She treats them like crap, especially Jessica (awesomely portrayed by Anna Kendrick, who's very funny). You can understand her attitude towards Bella, after she potentially endangers both their lives. Mike Newton (Michael Welch), while not as amusing as he was in Twilight, gets one memorable scene (involving him, Bella and Jacob going to see the laughably titled 'Face Punch' - apparently an exceedingly violent movie with hilarious dialogue). Billy Burke continues to be great as Bella's father, Charlie (getting some good/funny lines).
The introduction of the wolf pack is hit and miss. Sam Uley is good (Chaske Spencer shows promise), as is his tragically scarred fiancée, Emily (Tinsel Korey). The rest? Not so much (hopefully they'll improve). The reveal of the werewolves is well-handled (the movie actually sticks to the book very closely in most respects). The werewolves themselves look pretty good (for CGI). Jacob as a werewolf is quite expressive. Their fight with Laurent is given more detail than the book, which is nice. Rachelle Lefevre as Victoria is merely a cameo this time around (though her running through the woods scene was well done, I thought. Perfect use of music there).
The Volutri, like the wolves, are portrayed with varying degrees of success. Michael Sheen (who's switched sides from werewolf in the Underworld films to playing a vampire here) is quite good as Volturi leader, Aro. Despite my reservations, I'll concede that Dakota Fanning actually fills the role of sadistic Jane pretty well. The other members mostly just look freaky with their red eyes/lips and not much else. I did appreciate, however, the inclusion of even the smallest roles, such as Heidi (Noot Seear) and receptionist, Gianna (Justine Wachsberger). The scene of tourists (including kids) being led to the slaughter was very effective.
As far as plot goes, you can't help but see the slight wrongness in Bella/Edward's relationship (ie. Bella decides to endanger herself so she will hallucinate him). Everything goes to hell at Bella's birthday, when Jasper (Jackson Rathbone - who's *still* making that facial expression where he looks like he's holding in a fart) tries to kill Bella thanks to a mere paper cut/few drops of blood. This leads to Bella getting hurt and Edward never wanting to put her in danger again - so he leaves. However, this hurts her more than he knows. Following his departure, Bella's not simply in a grand funk...she becomes totally hollow (ignoring her human "friends", etc).
Jacob proves to be "better" for Bella in a lot of ways - she actually smiles around him/is far less angsty. The two are great on screen together (though I don't condone her using of him at her convenience. He's there for her when no one else is). Things change when Jacob discovers that he's a werewolf. He hurts Bella, as Edward did, by cutting himself off from her. When she in no longer hallucinating Edward, Bella goes cliff-diving (dangerous sport). Edward gets wind of Bella's recklessness (thanks, Rosalie!) and, thinking she's died, he pulls a Romeo and wants to die too. The Volutri (vampire "royalty") are able to oblige...if Edward reveals himself (and the existence of vampires) in a visually spectacular sea of red scene set in Italy.
Those who have problems with the New Moon soundtrack will be happy to hear the music is used in the film exceptionally well/just at the right moments. The effects/fights are good too. The direction is more that of an action movie when compared to Twilight. Chris Weitz knows how to make things more "thrilling", but he sadly lacks Catherine Hardwicke's skill at exploring the more character-driven/subtler moments. Twilight was a more 'intimate' film, while New Moon is far more elaborate. With only a few bits of the book skipped over and/or altered somewhat, the movie's very faithful to the source material (I enjoyed hearing the characters uttering lines from the book). The cliffhanger ending is a doozy (vastly inferior end credits to Twilight, though). New Moon is excellent, and while I might like Twilight a little better, here's hoping that Eclipse...well...eclipses them both.