Worthy of Any Fan's Money, But Don't Expect Perfection

Rating: Null/10 (21 November 2009)

As a fan of the books, New Moon was entirely enjoyable to watch--albeit, much like its predecessor, Twilight, it had its issues. One should note that the overall tone of the film seems to possess a different feel from the original. This difficult-to-describe-in-words tone, which one will recognize once he or she watches, produces an unflattering tawdry effect.
Unlike Twilight, New Moon does not make introductions (in so much that as far as the main cast is concerned, Bella and the Cullens) and the problem rests here. The film's obviousness in assuming its audience is well-acquainted with the characters results in line of cheap jokes (which I will not disclose so as not to spoil any part for any fan, like me). However, just because the film wants to cater to the already loyal fan base of the saga, does not mean that it must make that catering so noticeableâ€” there are plenty of other ways (just being loyal to the books for instance) to appease and delight the fans, who for the most part will enjoy anything about the series.
The special effects, which one might rightfully assume should be better since this films budget should be more substantial than the last, are just fine. However, there was a noticeable change in the eye colors of the vampires, which seems to be significantly brighter than in the first. The red eyes are more like rubies and with the brightness of the topaz, all the Cullens' eyes seem like huge, inhuman, bug eyes. In other words, while this may or may not be a more expensive effect, it does nothing but take from the film. Aside from just looking wrong (the Cullens look so alien that it is absurd the audience is expected to believe any residents of Forks have fallen for their charade as humans who are just exceptional beautiful)
That being said, the rest of the Film has definitely improved upon the last. The make-up and hair is better: there are no more lines where we can easily find the pale make-up ends, a problem Twilight did not bother to fix.
While the acting has improved (though I personally didn't find a real problem in the first), there are inescapable scenes from the book that would be hard to make look respectable on screen. Note that this is not a knock on Meyer's writing, just a reminder that some things work better in books than they do in movies. Any other improvements I might mention would spoil the film, but there are more the audience will definitely appreciate
All problems aside, New Moon is a delight for any fan and well worth that over-priced ticket.