Following Bella Swan's ill-fated 18th birthday party, Edward Cullen and his family abandon the town of Forks, Washington, in an effort to protect her from the dangers inherent in their world. As the heartbroken Bella sleepwalks through her senior year of high school, numb and alone, she discovers Edward's image comes to her whenever she puts herself in jeopardy. Her desire to be with him at any cost leads her to take greater and greater risks. With the help of her childhood friend Jacob Black, Bella refurbishes an old motorbike to carry her on her adventures. Bella's frozen heart is gradually thawed by her budding relationship with Jacob, a member of the mysterious Quileute tribe, who has a supernatural secret of his own. When a chance encounter brings Bella face to face with a former nemesis, only the intervention of a pack of supernaturally large wolves saves her from a grisly fate, and the encounter makes it frighteningly clear that Bella is still in grave danger. In a race against the clock, Bella learns the secret of the Quileutes and Edward's true motivation for leaving her. She also faces the prospect of a potentially deadly reunion with her beloved that is a far cry from the one she'd hoped for.

It’s extremely rare, well at least for me and I know I am not alone in this sentiment, that you enjoy a movie vastly more than the book it was based on. But for the second time and for the second film in the Twilight Saga I have enjoyed the movie far more than I enjoyed the book. The main reason being is that Stephanie Meyer as an author has no sense of pacing, plot or storytelling and for the movies the directors have had to add all these elements to make the movies more cinematic and also much more enjoyable and bearable for me the non target audience. Once more I actually found myself liking a moving and thinking it was ok for a book that I despised because of its poor quality and terrible writing.

As far as the books go New Moon was by far the best of the series and the movie is also better than its predecessor as well. The reason I found New Moon more enjoyable than any of the other books is because it contains the only character in the series that has any depth and is more than just a clichéd shallow depiction that seems like it was cut straight from a cookie cutter. That character is Jacob, he is a character that seems real and has more depth that all the other characters in the series combined. He is struggling with issues of becoming something he did not want to become and an affection for a woman that does not return the affection in the same manner. Taylor Lautner does a fantastic job in the film of portraying this and he adds so much to the movie that was missing from the first film, a real relatable character even if the character is a werewolf. Unlike Edward who is simply one thought and one desire and that’s all there is to his character so much so if you hear him say he can’t live without his precious Bella one more time you want to beat him with a tire iron.

I was saddened by the fact that you can see the rushed timeline on the film and the shortened budget. They do such an amazing job of the werewolves and their transformations that you are jonesing for more of it and instead you only get a few short scenes sprinkled throughout and it’s a shame. In an effort to rush the film to theatres and make a buck they take away a little from the film and don’t to fully flesh out the stories of Sam and his pack and that was one of my favorite parts of the books.

I am beyond sick and tired of Robert Pattinson and he is horrible in the movie, simply horrible. His lines are dry, rehearsed and come off as flat and without any sense of emotion. He delivers them like he is already bored with the series and just wants it to be over and done with. Where on the other hand Taylor Lautner delivers his lines and character with a passion and heart and he sells Jacob to you instead of just going through the motions which is probably due to the fact that he had to fight just to keep the role. Kristen Stewart is also a little tiresome but that is more the character than her acting as he character is so shallow that it is hard to bring anything to it. Once again I enjoyed the movie and despised the book something that rarely happens.

Grade: B