Film Review: Twilight (New Moon)

Posted by: Ian – Nov 20, 2009

I want to preface this by stating that I had very low expectations going in to this film. I have not read any of the books in the series and I disliked the previous movie. While these low expectations allowed me to enjoy New Moon more than I did its predecessor, I still found nothing in this sequel to justify the immense popularity of this franchise. There is no deep romance present, nor is there any supernatural action to make things exciting. The suspense of these films does not stem from wondering what will happen next, but rather if anything will happen at all.

This chapter of the saga follows Bella on her senior year of high school. She is still dating the teenage vampire, Edward, who saved her from evil vampires in the first film. Though they are supposed to be in love, their relationship is far from joyous. Bella worries about the future as she will continue to grow older, but the immortal Edward will never age beyond seventeen. She wants to be immortal, too, so they can be together forever. Edward, on the other hand, longs for death. Though he does not age, he is actually more than a century old. Bella is the only reason he does not end his own life. When considering how miserable they both are, Edward makes the very logical choice to leave town. He tells Bella he will never return, and that she must go on with her life as though he never existed. Given that much of the success of the first film was likely because of Robert Pattinson, the heartthrob actor who portrays Edward, it is not surprising that Bella continues to see visions of him even after he is gone. It would have been unwise for the filmmakers to remove him completely.

With Edward gone, Bella begins to spend time with her friend Jacob. Jacob clearly wants to move in and take Bella while she is on the rebound, so he spends most of his time without a shirt on so he can show her his muscles. She notices, and it seems his plan just might work. The only problem, it turns out, is that Jacob is a werewolf, and is thus a sworn enemy of all vampires. It seems Bella is doomed to fall for monsters, and so finds herself in a difficult situation. Her new boyfriend and old boyfriend are arch rivals in an ancient supernatural war. The only thing that could make her internal conflict more complicated would be the return of Edward. Who would she choose if such a thing were to happen?

There is more that occurs in the film. We see the return of a couple of the evil vampires from the first movie, and Bella even travels to Italy to meet the Volturi, the leaders of the vampire world. The scenes feel very out of place and abrupt, but they are the closest semblance to a plot in the film, so I will not give details and spoil it. It is unfortunate, though, that so little attention in the movie is devoted to the development of this plot, because I believe a secret governing vampire council in Italy is far more interesting than an awkward love triangle between a girl who never smiles, a buff werewolf, and an eternally glowering teen vampire.

Though I admit I liked New Moon more than the first Twilight, my overall feeling about both films is very much the same. It seems as though they are constantly leading up to something. I was waiting for something really interesting to happen throughout the first movie. I found myself still waiting through this sequel. I am beginning to seriously doubt that these films will ever reward my patience.

By Gareth Mussen