Dominic Baez – Editor-in-chief. A gigantic yellow moon covers the screen, signaling the start of the movie. A chorus of cheers and claps echoes throughout the theater as “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” makes its midnight premiere.
In relation to “Twilight,” directed by Catherine Hardwicke, “New Moon,” directed by Chris Weitz, sticks closer to the book’s plot, a definite plus.
However, because of the depressing nature of the book itself, not much could make the movie more interesting than it was. One can only be enraptured by gloomy teenagers for so long.
“New Moon” picks up several months after the end of “Twilight,” the first part of author Stephenie Meyer’s worldwide, best-selling “Twilight” series. Following the story of Bella (Kristen Stewart), a normal clumsy and self-centered girl and her 108-year-old vampire sweetheart, Edward (Robert Pattinson), “New Moon” enters the dark and depressing world of teenage moodiness.
The plot of the “Twilight” series revolves around Bella falling in love with Edward, who is part of a clan of vampires. While Edward is content with human Bella, she has other aspirations of immortality, good looks and forever being at Edward’s side. Despite Bella’s increasingly annoying pleas for everlasting vampire life, Edward refuses to give in, resulting in an impassé.
“New Moon” opens with Bella turning 18, followed by a birthday party at Edward’s house. However, not all goes as planned during what was supposed to be a festive event. As Bella opens a gift from Edward’s “parents,” she slices her finger, and one drop of blood drips to the floor, sending Jasper (Jackson Rathbone), Edward’s vampire brother, into a blood-thirsty frenzy. Edward saves Bella, but in his anguish over what could have been, he leaves town but not before telling Bella, “I promise that this will be the last time you’ll see me. I won’t come back. I won’t put you through anything like this again. You can go on with your life without any more interference from me. It will be as if I’d never existed.”
Bella didn’t handle that well. She then spirals into a near-catatonic state, staring out a window for three months.
No matter your opinion of the books, no one was feeling chipper here; most audience members were just waiting for the self-pity to end.
And while the self-indulgent, “oh, pity me” attitude continues, the highlight of the movie finally appears. Jacob (Taylor Lautner), her Native American friend from down the road, helps part the clouds hanging over Bella’s head. But it’s revealed that Jacob has his own secrets, which begin to manifest through his muscles – not that anyone was complaining.
As the two reconnect, their relationship continuously deepens emotionally.
But Bella still pines to see Edward, and, through what could only be described as psychosis, she does see him: Not the true him, mind you, but a fuzzy, semi-transparent form recalled from memory that cautions her when she’s about to commit a crime of idiocy. After realizing that a screwed-up concoction of fear and adrenaline can create these hallucinations, Bella does what any normal teenage girl would: engages in reckless, near-suicidal behavior to recreate an image.
But it gets better. Remember how Jacob was harboring inner demons of his own? Well, it turns out he’s a werewolf. The graphics for the pack of wolves were much better than expected, especially after the special effect travesty that was “Twilight.” The boys-turned-wolves provide some humorous entertainment, but, as in any good “Romeo and Juliet” wannabe, the plot returns to the star-crossed lovers soon enough.
But who will Bella choose? Her vampire love or her werewolf best friend?
The anguish-ridden sound-track doesn’t help matters, either. (On a side note, the soundtrack is worth checking out when not in conjunction with the movie.)
Serious fans of the books and the first movie will be sufficiently sated, but for those who aren’t in the loop, it would be best to stay that way.
“The Twilight Saga: New Moon” is rated PG-13 because of violence (though nothing interesting) and runs 122 minutes. Twi-hards eager for “Eclipse,” the next movie in the series, will have to wait until June 30, 2010, to sink their teeth into it.