Updated 11/20/2009 08:53 PM
NY1 Movie Review: "The Twilight Saga: New Moon"
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The enormously popular "Twilight Saga," based off of the best-selling books, has a new second installment called "Twilight Saga: New Moon."
Bella, like in the last "Twilight" film, is still in high school and living with her dad in Washington State. She is head over heels in love with the young vampire Edward. But this romance is about to come to an abrupt end when Edward feels that she would be safer if he stayed out of her life forever.
Edward disappears without a trace and Bella falls into a deep funk and spends her days pining away for her long-lost vampire love.
A friend, Jacob, periodically helps snap Bella out of her mood, and she sort of falls for him. But buff Jacob also harbors a secret identity, like Edward. Jacob is a werewolf, and transforms into a wolf on occasion to rescue Bella when she's in danger.
But Edward, Bella's real true love, is not entirely gone. He appears from time to time as a ghost-like guardian angel, and offers advice to Bella when she seems to be in harm's way.
Bella's now got two supernatural, attractive guys looking out for her welfare, but she's still very unhappy. What's a lonely girl to do? I won't give any more plot details away, but it doesn't really matter. You either like this sort of stuff or you don't. Apparently legions of fans, lead by predominately teenage girls, eat this up with a spoon.
The new film has a couple of action scenes, but they're not really enough to bring this thing fully to life. Most of the movie is sort of a drag, with Bella longing for Edward or Jacob. Kristen Stewart as Bella, Taylor Lautner as Jacob and Robert Pattinson as Edward don't exactly ignite the screen with their acting chops. But the acting here is no better or worse than in the last film.
The CGI wolves look really cheesy, like bad animatronics. The storyline does pick up a bit towards the end and there are a few humorous sequences. But overall, the last film actually had more bite.
Leave "Twilight" to the teens and leave HBO's "True Blood" to the grownups who like vampire stuff. That's a show you can sink your teeth into.
"The Twilight Saga: New Moon" is currently in theaters.
Neil Rosen's Big Apple Rating: 2 Apples