I am an unapologetic fan of the “Twilight” Series. I have read all four books twice and own the first movie on DVD, Blu-ray and Digital Copy. What do I like about it you ask? The story, the characters and of course… Edward.
I saw the first movie before I read any of the books. And although the film-lover in me thought the movie was terrible – I also fell in love with it (truthfully, him) immediately. I could write a huge list of the things that were terrible about the movie or the acting or the special effects – but I didn’t care about those things. The movie reminded me of the crushes of my long vanished youth and I was addicted to it.
In beautiful serendipity – I saw the first movie right before I was going on a 2-week cruise. It inspired me to purchase all four books and bring them on my journey. I read them all in the first 5 days of the trip. With 10 more days to go, I had nothing but time, so I read them again. And I loved them even more. Let’s be honest though, they are not great books. No offense to Stephenie Meyer, but she is not a great writer. You could probably cut out over a third of each book for the excess prose – and in my opinion “New Moon” should have been a short story not a novel, but that doesn’t matter, because again, while not a great writer – she is a great storyteller. And I love the Cullen family. I find these characters fascinating – and of course most of all I love Edward. Edward is the perfect man. He is a handsome teenager with the maturity of a man (a centuries old man in this case). He is patient and romantic and did I mention handsome. Most importantly, he risks it all for a girl of no importance or amazing beauty. This is why women all over the world have fallen head over heels in lust/love with him.
“New Moon” is a better movie than “Twilight”. Clearly getting a bump in budget with the success of the first movie – it is dressed up in every way to be better than its predecessor. Unfortunately it can’t get out of the way of the story. Or lack thereof. It doesn’t matter if you are on Team Jacob or Team Edward – the hook to these stories is the incredible romanticism of the Edward/Bella relationship. And let’s face it – when Edward and the Cullens disappear 30 minutes into the movie – so does my interest. Without the romantic relationship of Edward and Bella – there is really nothing to latch onto. Nothing against Jacob – but we know, even if we haven’t read all the books – that Jacob will never be anything more than a great friend. Edward and Bella are meant to be together – and this is very firmly established in “Twilight”. So there is no “will they or won’t they” excitement. No passion, no longing and most importantly no romance. Those of us that are Team Edward find it insane that she could even consider Jacob*. There is just no real comparison. And what I think gets lost, is these books are not popular because they are vampire novels. They are popular because they are romances. The romance is the most important element – the vampirism is a fantastic way to bring the “from different sides of the track” conceit to its highest level.
*[Spoiler - Jacob/Taylor does get his moment to stick it to Edward/Robert late in the movie. When Edward removes his shirt in Italy to provoke the Volturi, it doesn’t have quite the visceral impact it should, and no pun intended, pales in comparison to Jacob and the rest of his pack in all their tan and muscled glory.]
But we shouldn’t judge “New Moon” by the standards of Shakespeare and Scorsese. Overall – the movie was fun. I went with some girlfriends from work on opening night and the vibe in the air was electric. The theater was 95% women, 4% gay men and 1% straight men dragged by their girlfriends – but most people knew this was a movie to see with a group of friends that understand your obsession.
As the lights dimmed and the movie started – the screaming and cheering began, and never let up. Although it was a little creepy at first – the audience continued to cheer for the shirtless Jacob and his lupine brothers and it quickly became laughable. As was most of the movie.
[Spoiler Alert] My favorite laughable moment was near the end when we are deep in the bowels of the Volturi encampment. Aro the main speaker for the Volturi grabs Alice’s hand to see her vision of Bella as a vampire in the future. As we witness this vision – instead of a sexy vampire moment – we get Bella and Edward running through the woods together in what looks like a tampon commercial. I almost peed my pants laughing.
There were some good moments too. The improved special effects were really strong in the Victoria chase scene. Unlike in “Twilight”, the jumps, darts and movement that Victoria made in the woods near the search party really made you feel that she could be a threat – which is a nice setup for “Eclipse”.
I could go on and on about the good, the bad & the ugly from “New Moon” – but really – why bother. The movie has already made well over $200 million in two weeks and has done more to prove women are a viable consumer at the theater than any other movie in recent history including “The Devil Wears Prada” and “Mamma Mia”. Coupled with The Blind Side – the last two weeks have seen female centric films in both actor and theme at #1 & #2 at the box office, making this the best two weeks for women in the history of film (or at least for as long as I can remember). I may see it again if work stays slow during the holidays and I will definitely own it on at least one format if not all three! But most importantly – I have started the countdown to “Eclipse” (my favorite book in the series) which opens on June 30, 2010. And in between, I may just read them all again.
