Not as bad as people make it out to be

Rating: 10/10 (24 November 2009)

I am going to come to the defence of this film. OK so it probably should not be 10/10 but I am trying to add some balance to all the 1/10 votes that are also not reflective of the film.
Firstly, those who commented and gave 1/10 because this film offers a bad role model to teenage girls - oh come off it, what has that got to do with the film? Seriously, try and think back to when you were at high school and you ached to be with someone so much that it was painful and you cried yourself to sleep at night - then when you finally got with someone and they dumped you for whatever reason how much that really hurt - first time your heart is broken is a real killer, how quick you forget. Do you seriously want to do anything during those couple of months? Hobbies? Careers? Exams? Who cares about that when your heart is broken and all you want to do is curl up in a ball and die. Keep in mind that Bella is also in love with a vampire who is designed to be attractive in drawing in their prey - making the heartache much more powerful.
Secondly, those who commented and gave 1/10 because of mumbling and flat performances - keep in mind that teenagers tend to be like that in real life. They are acting as teenagers in the film so for me that actually made the film feel more realistic. Bella was supposed to be dull and ordinary in the books, Edward is supposed to be broody and sullen, Jacob is one of the most complicated characters in the book - starts off shy, but also has a happy go lucky attitude but also has violent mood swings (completely contradicting personalities in the books that Taylor pulls off pretty well).
OK now my own review... I felt that the film kind of rushed things, especially towards the end. There was not enough time given to really capture the heart ache either but I thought the scene with Kristen sat on the chair and the world spinning around was a good idea. Incidentally, Kristen was gorgeous in this film... I can understand a lot of jealous women not getting enough of Robert and feeling inadequate compared to Kristen's beauty. Personally, I was disappointed that there was not more of Ashley Greene who has to be the most talented actress/actor in the entire series (compare her role in this film to summer's blood). The cgi wolves were amazing - it was almost worth going to see the film just to see the wolves. Michael Sheen was also brilliant - I was probably most concerned at how Aro would be played and I think they got it spot on. Taylor was not as bad as some people were making out - probably another case of jealousy coming from the men this time. Once again, Taylor is supposed to be playing a moody teenager with huge mood swings because of the shape-shifting thing. More could have been done about Sam's 'cult' though and Jacob's fear. New moon felt more like a film while the first film felt like it was an extended pilot episode for a TV series. Although, I think had I not read the books prior to the film then I would probably have missed a lot. I could certainly sympathise with those who had not read the books feeling short-changed but those who have read the books should have realised some of the subtleties in the performances that are trying to match the books. Edward is supposed to be broody with a sullen attitude. Bella is supposed to be ordinary and dull and full of heartache - some people must be so lucky not to have had that experience in their lives when at high school. Jacob is supposed to be a shy teenager who then hits a kind of 'puberty' with massive mood swings. The worst acting in the film was actually Dakota Fanning's inability to smirk sadistically. Realistically, if I was not trying to balance the poor voting, this film was a 6.5 out of 10. More to do with the script than anything else that failed to capture the main points of the book.