Let me start by saying I still wouldn't call myself a "Twilight" freak but I like it. There, I said it. I like "Twilight." In early September I told you my story of how I came to read the books and see the first movie (I am a Freak) and now that I have, I feel like I have a much better understanding of the entire "Twilight" world. Having read all four books in the series I can look back at the "Twilight" movie and see why some things like how quickly Bella falls in love with Edward and their insanely strong commitment makes sense. Whole chapters of the almost 500 page book are dedicated to certain situations and topics that are only on screen for 15 seconds in the movie. I don't think the purpose of the movies is or will ever be to be the greatest movies in the history of film or even to be great films period. I think the point of the movies is to capitalize on the love people have for the books and to treat them with the visualization of the stories.
Ok, with that said, "New Moon" starts off with Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward (Robert Pattinson) in this fantastic relationship but when Bella cuts her finger opening birthday presents, Jasper, Edward's vampire bro, totally tries to snack on Bella. Edward goes apeshit. He's so disappointed with his family and himself for ever letting Bella come close to danger, he decides to split town for Bella's own good. Bella is of course devastated and the only thing that brings Bella out of her months of depression is her old friend, Jacob (Taylor Lautner). You've seen the previews you know what happens from there...Let's get down to business.
I loved this movie. I think the acting has improved a million percent. The first movie felt so awkward, I felt like in this movie that the actors were those characters, it didn't feel forced. It also wasn't afraid to poke fun at itself...Bella's jokes about Jacob's buff bod were great. Also, the humans definitely stood out as comic relief. Bella's friend Jessica (Anna Kendrick) totally does not let Bella's freakishly deep depression slide. When they finally hang out again after months, Jessica totally calls Bella out on her strange behavior. Charlie (Billy Burke), Bella's dad has some amazing, yet subtle one-liners that were definitely needed in such a serious movie.
I think Chris Weitz as the director of this film definitely gave the whole movie a different feel. Even though the story behind this movie is much darker than the first, the tone feels much lighter. In the first movie, directed by Catherine Hardwicke, every color is deep blue and gray and it made every situation feel very heavy. It's almost as if Weitz knew not to take things so seriously...perhaps a better choice when you break down the nature of the plot. There were only a few moments that stood out to me as being totally cheese ball (i.e. Sam Uley's slow-motion cliff dive and see the ***spoiler*** at the end of the post).
I'm biased in my review because I can understand the subtleties of certain situations, looks and dialogue in the movie because I have read all four books. There are certainly some things that make much more sense to me having read the books than to outsiders who have only seen the first movie.
For instance, Bella's reasons for wanting to become a vampire so badly are mostly vain. Bella has an intense fear of aging, it's not because she thinks the vamp lifestyle is cool. It's because she knows she's going to be with Edward forever and doesn't want to get older while Edward still looks like a sparkly 17-year-old. Bella already feels like a chump standing next to the sexy vamp, can you imagine if she was like 80 years old?
In the book, Jacob's distrust and loathing of Sam Uley's (Chaske Spencer) gang (aka the wolfpack) is explained in great detail. Jake feels he's lost some of his friends and thinks the guys are up to no good. But low and behold, Jake gets let in on the secret when he transforms into the sexy little beast boy, but Bella's still left in the dark. If this was stressed a little more I think it would make more sense as to why the normally docile Bella felt compelled to punch a huge, shirtless guy in the face leading to him phasing into a wolf and almost ripping her face off.
There's a scene in Italy when the Volturi want to kill Bella. Alice reveals that she sees a vampy-Bella in the future which would save Bella's life. We see inside Alice's mind and see Bella in a frilly dress with sparkly skin running with Edward in the woods. People in the movie theatre laughed because it certainly looked like a cheesy fantasy. But of course those of us who have read the books know that scene actually happens in "Breaking Dawn," as soon as Bella wakes up from her transformation she's very thirsty and Edward takes her hunting for the first time. I thought their addition of this clip was great giving us a glimpse of the final film.
This movie kicked ass. It certainly exceeded my expectations considering the low, low bar I set after the first film. After seeing this installment of the saga, I'm slightly less ashamed to call myself a fan. BUT, I am thoroughly ashamed to say I saw the film at midnight last night. The movies are definitely a special treat for those who read the books and it probably won't make sense for everyone else. So I say if you care enough to pay to see the movie, do yourself a favor and read the books first...it will make it much more enjoyable.
***Spoiler***- The audience got a little bit of a cliffhanger at the end of the film. If you had read the books you would know that Edward most certainly does not propose to Bella in the forest. When it happens in the context of the book it makes much more sense even though Bella's answer is no. The real proposal happens toward the middle of "Eclipse" in a much steamier setting.
