The Next Chapter Begins

Rating: 6/10 (22 November 2009)

After Bella recovers from the vampire attack that almost claimed her life, she looks to celebrate her birthday with Edward and his family. However, a minor accident during the festivities results in Bella's blood being shed, a sight that proves too intense for the Cullens, who decide to leave the town of Forks, Washington for Bella and Edward's sake. Initially heartbroken, Bella finds a form of comfort in reckless living, as well as an even-closer friendship with Jacob Black. Danger in different forms awaits.
I have to admit it. I enjoyed the first film, TWILIGHT, very much so. I'm a sentimental guy so I was swept away easily by the romance between Edward and Bella. To make it clear for anyone of you out there, the TWILIGHT series are not vampire movies. Instead, think of them as a ROMEO AND JULIET story WITH vampires. Some people like these kinds of things. Others don't. I'll try to refrain from saying only teenage girls would love this movie because when I went to see this movie, there were people between the ages of 2 months and 65 years old, half split with males and females. I guess the stereotype wasn't true after all.
You can automatically feel a huge difference between this and the first film. This film is definitely much more slower paced. While never boring, it's quite a drag since it's over two hours long. Although it starts off slow, the ball does get rolling after Edward leaves Bella by herself. Unfortunately, it's also much more moodier, but I guess teen relationships are like that, aren't they? On top of that, the story isn't really all that interesting. After all, it's mostly about Bella being depressed when Edward leaves her. The finale seemed a bit rushed too with little payoff.
However, all is not bad. Director Chris Weitz does a much better job in here than Catherine Hardwicke, giving the film a distinctive look in the title sequence alone. If you may remember, I complained that the first film had too low of a budget to make it look like a blockbuster like it is. However, the problem is quickly fixed since the budget is twice as large as the first, which helped make the film look less like a CW TV show than before. The special effects are put to good use here, especially for the werewolves, an addition that makes the story much more interesting. The score by Alexandre Desplat is really fantastic. See how much a bigger budget can help a movie?
Kristen Stewart does a great job in here as always. I think she grounds the movie to reality. Although Robert Pattinson is underused here, along with most of the case, he's good with the small amount of screen time he has. Taylor Lautner gets a much bigger role in here, which is fortunate not only for the Twihards out there but for everyone else too, because he makes the movie more interesting. As stated before, many of the cast members are underused. Remember Rachelle Lefevre, playing Victoria, the villain, who was part of the cliffhanger ending in the first film? Well, we see her for brief moments in here, totaling up her screen time for only seconds.
The story is much more moodier and less interesting in here, in my opinion, compared to the first. The characters are in here mostly to mope and be depressed because of a such complicated relationship. However, the technicality is much improved, from the cinematography to the score. Director Chris Weitz does his best here, along with the rest of the cast. It's a decent sequel to a good movie but it could have been much better. Maybe the screenwriter should cut out some unnecessary bits from the novels to make it more interesting. A little action wouldn't hurt, would it? Don't you just hate it when someone you love turns out to be a vampire? I think Bella needs a break.