Went in expecting a guilty pleasure; it was better than I anticipated.

Rating: 7/10 (29 November 2009)

I'm one of those Twilight fans that I think are more common than people guess. I enjoy the books for the emotional melodrama and the popcorn action and the humor (intentional or otherwise), but I don't usually admit to it in public. The extremes on both ends of the spectrum probably wouldn't want anything to do with me.
I loved the first movie, flaws notwithstanding. I went into this one expecting to laugh and cry and cringe a little at the cheesier moments. I got everything I was hoping for, and ended up cringing much less than I anticipated.
The humor of the humans in Bella's life is pitch-perfect. Her father and school friends have always been very well done. Bella and Edward both seem to have relaxed into the roles a little, and their dialog (while still very very teen-angsty) at least conveys an undertone of self-awareness. The vampires are better made up and articulated than in the first movie, and the wolves are great. The fight scenes were *much* improved.
And I have to say Michael Sheen's Aro is FANTASTIC. In my imagination, I saw him as physically weak looking, a little too perky, and scary just because of his context. But Sheen makes him truly truly creepy. When he's looking at Bella and wanting to see if he can read her, I kept wanting to stand up and back away. He doesn't do the emo-stare most of the vampires succumb to, and he doesn't do a parody of the affably evil Big Bad. I really believed him. Very impressive.
All in all - not exactly film as high art, but better than I thought it would be, and a good time. I'll probably see it again.