Review: THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON – Girl’s Night Out

Mandi and Kristina saw the movie, without their guys, and offered up their opinions.

Mandi writes: We got to the theater early because we didn’t want to risk not getting a seat. (Getting a good seat was a nice reward for being there 2 hours early.) We were 5th in line and everyone was very nice and reading magazines all about NEW MOON, or had the books themselves that they were reading. We chatted with several people and everyone was excited. Security was very high, which kind of heightened the excitement for everyone.

Once we got into the theater (about 30 minutes before start of the show) you could feel the excitement build. There were lots of young ladies there, but there were several sets of guys there as well, besides the ones that were drug there by wives and daughters! As the lights started to dim, everyone cheered and you could hear the little giggles from everyone with anticipation. (I know that all the giggling didn’t come just from me!) We were afraid that there would be lots of noise and swooning but were very surprised by the lack of it. There were several whistles and hoots when first looks of the new and improved Jacob took his shirt off, but that died down quickly and we went on with the movie.

Overall, THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON was great! So much better then TWILIGHT that there really is no comparison! Where TWILIGHT kind of felt disjointed and there was no chemistry at all between any of the characters, NEW MOON just rocked with that kind of lusty feeling that you wanted Jacob to have for Bella. My friends and I have talked a lot about why TWILIGHT was just not the movie it should have been and now having seen NEW MOON, which had the same screenwriter and the same actors, the only thing we could come up with is the difference in directors.

Chris Weitz did an amazing job making the movie stick to the book. I could count only a few places that diverge from the book. These didn’t feel out of place at all. It was like you could see this having happened in the book as you read it. Making a movie based off of a first person narrated book must be very difficult. The Alice e-mails were a great way to put you into that feeling you got when you read the book. You got to hear her thoughts just like you were reading and it was much easier to feel her pain and heartache.

The wolf transformation was wonderful! Not cheesy or overly CG at all. You could almost feel the ground shake when they all transformed. At times, they were even kind of scary. They fit in perfectly with the surrounding area and they never looked out of place in all the nature shots. They were pretty much exactly like what was described in the book and the way I pictured them in my head. Jacob (Taylor Lautner) did a wonderful job. He played his part well enough to “almost” make me change from Team Edward to Team Jacob, at least for the movies!

If there was one bad part of the movie I would say it would be all the close-up face shots all the time. I got kind of tired of having to literally look back and forth on the screen in order to see both people on it. That could have been because we were sitting pretty close to the front of the theater and we were in the MegaPlex. It also made me feel kind of like we were intruding, instead of just watching.

Overall, I thought this was a win-win for everyone. It was a pretty good stand alone movie, it way out-shined the first movie so, as a sequel it was tremendous, and as for following the book, it did great!

Kristina writes: So, after waiting for months and months, I’m finally sitting in line to see the preview of THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON. I have arrived two hours in advance to ensure a good seat in the theater (we were fifth in line) and I am glad I have come prepared with popcorn, candy, and a wonderful friend to chat with. Minutes pass and a few more people wander into the line. It wasn’t until about an hour before the show when the mass crowds started to show up. Even though I felt a little old as well as tall, it was nice to know that I share the same affection for The Twilight Saga with so many different people. Just minutes before letting our line into the theater, the sound in the lobby was deafening by all the excited fans. Once in the theater, we were impressed by the selection of seats available (all made possible by getting there two hours early). Once the lights came down, I was so giddy with excitement that I could hardly stand it!

The NEW MOON movie definitely passed my expectations. As a die hard fan of the books, I was worried at first that the movie would be dull and drag on. I was also worried that as someone who is “Team Edward”, the movie would be lacking with the absence of one of the main characters. Director Chris Weitz did a wonderful job of incorporating Edward as an image in Bella’s head when she would come across danger. However, as much as “Team Edward” I might be, I couldn’t explain the excitement I had once Edward had left Bella. Most of “Team Edward” can’t stand reading this portion of the book but I was ready to see Jacob as well as the rest of the wolf pack. The actors did an amazing job buffing up for their roles. Even the CG of the wolf transformations was astounding and in some portions of the movie, the wolves are almost scary! The movie ended with a “cliffhanger” (unless you’ve read the books) and I’m sure the next seven months until ECLIPSE will seem like forever!

As for the actors, I felt that the chemistry between Bella and Edward was a little lacking, even before the big birthday scene. I know there is a huge struggle within Edward between loving Bella and protecting her, but I was just hoping for a little more emotion from Edward. Once Edward left, I was able to feel Bella’s heartache. As for Bella’s growing relationship with Jacob, that could not have been hotter! The chemistry between Bella and Jacob was exhilarating and did a great job of swaying me to “Team Jacob” for the majority of the film.

So, I have asked myself… with both Twilight and New Moon being wonderful books, what makes the NEW MOON movie so much better than TWILIGHT? My only answer is the director. Twilight is a wonderful story, but unfortunately I don’t think Catherine Hardwicke knew what she was getting into and missed a lot of opportunities to get creative with the film. In my mind, Chris Weitz has redeemed The Twilight Saga. By sticking well to the book but also enhancing some things, I believe he has made his fans (at least this one!) very happy. Now I believe the pressure is on for David Slade and Eclipse. Only seven more months!