I don't know what everyone is complaining about - LOVED IT

Rating: 8/10 (20 November 2009)

I came to this site this morning to see what other people thought of this movie. I am 34 years old and must admit that I am a Twilight lover. I am not a tween in love with the vampire or the werewolves but rather a grown up in love with the story. I saw the first Twilight before reading the books and then read the whole series, twice. New Moon was not my favorite of the books but I thought the movie was great. In my opinion it was better than the first. It surely looked like it had a better budget, the special effects were much better. The fight seems were more real and the transformation of the wolves was very well done. Some commented on the eyes of the Cullen's being distracting in this movie; well, if you read the books, they eyes are meant to be distracting. They awe people with their eyes in the book. I thought that feature was much better. The vampires did stand out more in this movie, they were paler, the eyes more vivid but again, the book always stated that they stood out and looked obviously different. In the first movie they did not look that way to me.
As for the story with Jacob; I was always a "team Edward" individual based on the book. I was often bored with the Jacob parts when reading BUT the movie changed my opinion on that. I was actually wanting them to kiss. When I read the book I wanted her to slap him. The movies stayed serious and true to the book but also added little one-liners that made you chuckle and enjoy the film.
When people complain about the acting, well I guess I can agree that they will probably not win Academy Awards but I thought they all did a great job. This is not Romeo and Juliet or some classic novel brought to film. It was an enjoyable, easy read, teen focused series brought to film. To me, Twilight was an escape from the everyday. An enjoyable love story and mindless entertainment. It just makes you feel good while entertaining at the same time. For those looking for classic, award winning quality kind of a movie, I guess this is not it. For the Twilight fan or someone just looking for a moment to escape and enjoy some entertainment, the movie was great.
It did a good job filling in some of the gaps that might not of been relayed in the book like how Harry Clearwater dies from his heart attack. It also shows some good behind the reading scenes like those of Victoria searching for Bella or when Edward thinks Bella is dead. Those were not really scripted in the book because they were beyond Bella's knowledge of conscious. I have read the book multiple times so I was able to follow some of the quick movements from one scene to the other. I do not know how it would be for someone who did not know the story. I guess I will see. I plan on taking my husband and he has not read the books but enjoyed the first Twilight.
I give it 8 stars. They have two more books/movies to get through to perfect the film depiction of the story. The second was better than the first and I have high expectations that it will continue to improve with each one, as the characters fall into themselves more and become more experienced and comfortable with the roles. The acting is good, not great... some room for improvement. The flow was a little choppy but they did an excellent job of covering most of the important points and staying true to the book.
Overall, I loved it. I plan on seeing it again with my children and husband while it is still in the theater and will be waiting in line to purchase it on DVD.