The Twilight Saga: New Moon

Rating:

It seems like it took a long while coming, but New Moon just does not thrill audiences the same way Twilight, the movie or the books have. Overall the film covers the basics of the novel but fails to deliver as compelling a story.

As with any rewrite, stories have to be manipulated to adapt however for a novel about the development and growth of two prominent characters and relationships this film never fully develops. Everything about the film, from the music to most of the liberties, seems so disconnected and distant that it always feels like you are watching clips of the book.

Despite the problematic nature of the adaptation Chris Weitz’s constant desire to keep the original style of the film was very rewarding. With the exception of the almost obvious edits to existing sets, the overall style of the film and direction are what keeps this film close to the original novel. The novels established characters all seem very believable; however the triangle that is supposed to be formed at the end of the film, almost seems established from the start.

As a movie audience it is hard to see how much Bella has grown attached to Jacob without inserting dialogue. However, for a two-hour movie, this movie comes up short of making any progress and so the dialogue falls flat. In fact when it finally seems to be getting somewhere the conclusion of the film picks up its pace too rapidly and then it almost seems like a second films is starting.

Unfortunately this film just never gets passed the dramatics of a smaller role for Edward and fails to deliver the conflict that is supposed to drive this film and fuel the next.