Sticks Close to The Novel Most of the Time

Rating: 8/10 (23 August 2010)

Okay, after reading the "Twilight Sagas", I came the theaters last year expecting the outcome and I didn't care very much if they didn't feature everything that the book contained. But when you think about it, Stephen King adaptations don't incorporate every scene in his novels or J.K. Rowlings' Harry Potter adaptations for that matter. It's not really necessary to nitpick every detail from the book and classify it as a terrible movie. You just have to take it for what it's worth, a movie that will keep you on your seat for the next two hours so enjoy the movie first, then draw your own conclusions later.
"New Moon" wasn't the best story of the saga, but it wasn't the lowest of the lot. The rivalry between Edward (Robert Pattinson) and Jacob (Taylor Lautner) over the love for Bella (Kristen Stewart) brings a closer bonding between the two. That's how see "New Moon" a way that segues into the rather mundane sequel "Eclipse".
Storywise, "New Moon" follows the novel quite accurately. Granted some scenes were neglected which will not sit well for die-hard "Twilight" fanatics, but the scenes omitted were not very important. There were plenty of dramatic scenarios, and the slow-motion scenes give it that full effect even where Bella was running through a water fountain.
The acting was kind of weak in some areas. Overall, Stewart and Pattinson played out their respected roles that were given to them, and even turned their performances have improved a bit higher here than in the previous Twilight movie. There was no act of absurdity this time around between the two and the chemistry seems more relaxed as they seem more at ease in their roles this time around. But Taylor Lautner as Jacob, well that's another story. I guess his more airtime this time around may have overwhelmed him a bit. The over-drama element in the story was the cause of his letdown. I guess he was just on for the ladies to drool on so he can show off his shirtless body which is featured in most of his scenes. Dakota Fanning who wasn't on for a long period of time, out-acted Lautner. In the acting, Lautner was the Achilles heel.
The visuals in this movie was a staggering improvement than the previous Twilight. It shows that the budget has gotten bigger thanks to that ballistic fan base it has gotten over the years. Edward's skin didn't glitter as much when exposed to light, and we see what gives the vampire Cullen family a fist glance at how they operate. The wolves were pretty cool. Still very CGI, but since they couldn't use real wolves, CGI will have to do. The change from wolf to human looked a little rushed and no need for him strip every time he transforms, but I won't lose any sleep from this.
In general, this sequel was ten times better than the original "Twilight". Sure it's over two hours long, but never once did it wears out his welcome. It was slow at the beginning, but gradually, the pace began to pick up, it just had to clear a few things out of the way. The acting was pretty good. Lautner needs more acting skills and to ease off on the body exposure. There was something that totally irked me, which may not be important to others. But three parts of the of the credits were edited out. I'm not trying to be on the anti-Lautner bandwagon, I'm sure with more roles in the future he might get better through time, like a fine wine. I'm not on Edward's side or Jacob's side. I'm going to play it in the middle and root for Bella all the way. This is the best of the series. I hope you all enjoyed it.