New Moon movie review

I don't usually go to see movies on opening night, but I was near the theatre after work and the next showing available was less than two hours away so I bought a ticket and waited in a nearby Barnes and Noble.
                    
If you're one of the few people on earth who hasn't seen the first installment of this saga, you need to do that before seeing New Moon. You can't get the flavor for what all this is about unless you've seen Twilight first. I have friends who didn't see Twilight, but were drawn into the advertisements and planned to see New Moon. Do yourselves a favor and see Twilight first. New Moon was truly like being dropped into the middle of a story. It's a continuing saga-true, but I found that a bit disconcerting. It didn't have a clear beginning for someone who isn't familiar with the story.

Mind you, I have not read New Moon yet. I intend to.  I found out from the first movie, it was better to see the movie first and then read the book. Lots of people were disappointed with the movie after reading the the book first.  I didn't have any expectations when I went to see Twilight, because I had no idea it was a book. I discovered that little tidbit when I was sitting in the theatre and spoke to the people waiting for the movie to start! Of course I went right out, bought it and devoured the book. I decided then, not to read any subsequent books until after I've seen the movie, that way, I won't be disappointed by any deviations from the book.



Now about that movie. I definitely liked Twilight better. New Moon wasn't bad, I mean it was well made, but it just wasn't as interesting as the first one. I think this has to do with the focus of the subject matter. New Moon focuses a lot on Bella's angst and depression over Edward leaving her. It's hard to capture those emotions in a way that is visually exciting and interesting on film. I heard a lot of sighs and people moving restlessly in their seats.

Jacob (Taylor Lautner) spent most of the time with his shirt off. The girls did squeal, but you also heard a lot of laughter, especially from guys watching the film. Let's face it. We've all pretty much heard how Taylor had to work out like a mad man to bulk up and keep that role. The constant nakedness from the waist up seemed a bit gratuitous and dare I say "cheesy".

In my humble opinion, the best scene was Edward fighting with the Voultari to protect Bella. The theatre got really quiet then. Can you say "tension" and "conflict"-two words all good writers should be aware of!

In any case, it wasn't as good or as fun as Twilight, but certainly worth seeing.

Toodles!