The
Twilight Saga: New Moon
(It sort of
sucks)
Plot Outline
As the next movie in The Twilight Saga franchise is released,
Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward (Robert Pattinson) return to our screens for
a second round of uneventful romance and fantasy.
Review
Picture this as a film opening. The protagonist, an
unsociable, near-depressive teen has reached her eighteenth birthday and,
despite her apparent fears of growing old, her vampire boyfriend’s vampire
sister insists in throwing her an out-of-this-world birthday party, to
celebrate the beginning of her adulthood, with the rest of their vampire family.
Hmmm…
However, (don’t give up hope yet) the new director, Chris
Weitz, who also directed The Golden Compass, decides to up the ante with a bit
of blood and gore when Bella drastically receives a paper cut from some
wrapping paper, at the party, and is nearly eaten by her brother-in-law who
still hasn’t gotten to grip with the whole ‘vegetarian vampire’ concept. This
tragically leads to Edward’s realisation that it is possibly not a good idea
for Bella to have a vampire boyfriend because of potential circumstances
resulting in her violent death. Therefore, the Cullens (Edward’s family) decide
to ditch the town of Forks (the film’s main setting) to protect Bella. Edward, as
well as telling her that they are leaving, informs Bella that he no longer
loves her to ensure that she is able to get over him easily in the future.
Sadly, (for Bella and the audience) this doesn’t seem to help her at all and
she spends weeks in a depressive state, feeling sorry for herself because her
sparkling lover is no longer a part of her life.
The movie does then begin to pick up when Bella rekindles
her friendship with her Native American friend Jacob. Although the plotline
becomes a little furry around the edges (no pun intended) as the pair encounters
various obstacles throughout the film, their relationship starts to develop and
secrets about Jacob’s life and ancestry are revealed, opening up the storyline
a little. In addition, there is an impending threat from two non-veggie
vampires, Laurent and Victoria, who have decided that Bella (wait for it) is their
necks victim, because Edward killed their friend James in New Moon’s predecessor,
New Moon. This helps to distract the audience from the slightly torturous
Bella-Edward-Jacob love triangle that begins to form.
What the film is lacking is effective characterisation. What
would be more interesting is a little more prime time for the minor characters.
For example, little attention is given to the individual members of the Cullen
family, who each have quite intriguing pasts. A lot of the film is based around
the three main characters who, to be honest, become a little bit of a pain in
the neck by the end of the film (pun entirely intended). Undoubtedly, because the
original novel is told from her point of view, the film becomes very Bella-obsessed
and it’s quite baffling that she receives so much male attention (her friend,
Mike, from school, also has a crush on her as well as Edward and Jacob) as she
struggles with severe indecisiveness and has peculiar behaviour – she concludes
that she should embark on a marathon of thrilling, life-threatening activities,
like jumping off cliffs, to help her deal with her devastating break up.
Nevertheless, the blockbuster’s soundtrack and effects fail
to disappoint with the talented Alexandre Desplat being enlisted to compose the
stunning score for the film, ‘New Moon (The Meadow),’ which is the sequel to Carter
Burwell’s famous ‘Bella’s Lullaby’ in Twilight. And Tippett Studio joins the
production team to create the additional fantasy characters that are successfully
introduced into the movie.
Final Verdict
Although the movie redeems itself, slightly, with captivating
music and impressive effects it doesn’t quite save itself from plunging into a dreary
chasm of dispirited teenage romance. Unless you are a Twilight Saga fanatic you
will not be satisfied due to its limited characterisation and a narrow,
slow-moving storyline.
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