In many ways, New Moon follows a similar framework as Twilight. Much of the first half of the film is slow and moody with a little bit of mystery mixed in. Then there is a little bit of tension building before a break-neck pace takes over the final quarter of the film. The big mid-film reveal (this time it’s that Jacob and his tribemates are werewolves) is, once again, a total anticlimax due to the marketing of the film, word of mouth, and obvious foreshadowing from the first film.
This time around, Bella isn’t alone in making sudden, nonsensical decisions. Edward breaks off their romance and cuts off all communication early on in the film when Jasper shows difficulty controlling himself when Bella gets a paper cut. Late in the film, Edward shows no common sense when Jacob tells him over the phone that Bella is dead. Instead of verifying this shocking news with his psychic-powered sister or even calling someone else back in Forks for confirmation, Edward decides to go off the deep end and expose himself to humans so he can be killed by the Volturi, a fascinating group of characters that are woefully underutilized. This would-be dramatic turn stands out as a sign that the author wasn’t paying attention while she was writing. Instead of building toward this event all along, it comes suddenly, out of nowhere and via a ridiculous spur-of-the-moment coincidence.
One of my biggest beefs with the story of New Moon is the inclusion of Victoria. In Twilight, her hunter vampire boyfriend was killed by the Cullens, leaving the vampiress thirsty for revenge. Instead of a firm revenge plot taking sail, Victoria simply stalks Bella from a great distance. It’s just enough for Bella to need a bodyguard detail in the form of her new werewolf friends. The problem is that Victoria never becomes a legitimate threat; she just lurks in the shadows to provide filler before Edward breaks out the Jump-To-Conclusions Mat. Maybe I’m going a little too Chekov’s Gun here but don’t bother teasing us with the possibility of Victoria seeking revenge if you’re not going to bring her back in full and finish that story arc. It’s lazy writing and strings the audience along.
The visual effects are better this time around but they are still a mixed bag. The budget for New Moon was 35% higher than that of Twilight. While it seems evident that some of that increase went to the visual effects, not quite enough of it did. The color palette is warmer this time, unlike Twilight’s terrible digital grading to sap most of the color out of everything. Had the filmmakers made this decision because Jacob and his werewolf brethren are hot to the touch as opposed to vampires being stone cold, I might have given the film some style points. Alas, it wasn’t as intentional as that. The director simply wanted to emulate the color palette of the Italian artwork he likes.
The visual effects for the wolves that Jacob and his friends turn into, however, fail to impress. Part of it may be due to the unnaturally large size of wolves they turn into. Their proportions are correct but their size registers in your brain as wrong. They also don’t look like they occupy the same space as the flesh-and-blood actors on screen with them or the real environments they are inserted into. That’s how it looks on my TV screen. Perhaps it looked better on the big screen, as many visual effects often do.
One of the few things that New Moon has going for it is a little bit of character development. Unlike the relationship between Bella and Edward, watching Bella and Jacob grow in their friendship is believable. Maybe it helps that their starting point is a place of friendship instead of mystery and bloodlust. Mystery is added to the mix after they’ve grown close and Jacob shuts her out of his life for a while. Their interactions and the chemistry between the actors feel natural and right, which is the complete opposite of how Bella and Edward felt in the first film.
I originally trashed this movie and gave it a lower rating than Twilight. After taking a second look at New Moon, I actually think it is a better film on the whole than its predecessor. Some of the technical aspects that were unwelcome in Twilight have been done away with. Sadly, New Moon is just as guilty for not rebuking Bella for her irrational behavior to the point of learning an actual lesson. By not having the heroine change and mature, the film legitimizes at least some of Bella’s moody, hormonal, teenage thought processes and actions in the eyes of some in the audience. Along with this, there are enough flaws to hold this film at the same level as Twilight but I think I would easily watch this one again over the first installment if given the choice.
ORIGINAL RATING: 2 out of 5
NEW RATING: 2.5 out of 5
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