'New Moon' surpasses all expectations !!!

There are those who are Twilight fans, and there are those who are not (though the latter category grows smaller and smaller by the hour). In this review of The Twilight Saga: New Moon, the perspective is unabashedly that of a fan of the books and film series, and it is intended to speak to those who share that origin.

For starters, it must be said: The Twilight Saga: New Moon was a Twilight film made explicitly for Twilight fans. That's not to say that any run-of-the-mill attendant won't enjoy the movie, of course, but the truth of the matter is that New Moon was constructed around and for its built-in fanbase ' and it's all the better because of it.

DIRECTOR: Chris Weitz
SCREENWRITER: Melissa Rosenberg
STORY: Stephenie Meyer

CAST: Bella Swan: Kristen Stewart, Edward Cullen: Robert Pattinson, Jacob Black: Taylor Lautner, Alice Cullen: Ashley Greene, Carlisle Cullen: Peter Facinelli, Jasper Hale: Jackson Rathbone, Esme Cullen: Elizabeth Reaser, Rosalie Hale: Nikki Reed, Emmett Cullen: Kellan Lutz, Charlie Swan: Billy Burke, Billy Black: Gil Birmingham, Aro: Michael Sheen, Jane: Dakota Fanning, Caius: Jamie Campbell Bower, Alec: Cameron Bright, Felix: Daniel Cudmore, Demetri: Charlie Bewley, Marcus: Christopher Heyerdahl, Sam Uley: Chaske Spencer, Paul: Alex Meraz, Embry Call: Kiowa Gordon, Jared: Bronson Pelletier, Quil Ateara: Tyson Houseman, Emily Young: Tinsel Korey, Jessica Stanley: Anna Kendrick, Mike Newton: Michael Welch, Angela Weber: Christian Serratos, Eric Yorkie: Justin Chon, Laurent: Edi Gathegi, Victoria: Rachelle Lefevre, Harry Clearwater: Graham Greene, Heidi: Noot Seear, Gianna: Justine Wachsberger

SUMMARY: The movie, like the book, ushers in two new exciting and at times dangerous sets of characters ' the "wolfpack" and the "Volturi" ' as it follows the continued story of Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart). Because of a few unfortunate events (namely, a papercut taken place in front of six vampires), her "love, life, meaning," Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) and his family (Carlisle Cullen (Peter Facinelli), Esme Cullen (Elizabeth Reaser), Jasper Hale (Jackson Rathbone), Alice Cullen (Ashley Greene), Rosalie Hale (Nikki Reed), and Emmett Cullen (Kellan Lutz)) all take off and leave Bella without a trace of their existence. This leaves her in a state of complete and unbridled sadness, and her father Charlie (Billy Burke) is left with a broken daughter who is plagued with unending nightmares. When he offers to send her away to her mother's home in Jacksonville, she reacts by trying to reach out to her once-friends (Jessica Stanley (Up In The Air star Anna Kendrick), Mike Newton (Michael Welch), Angela Weber (Christian Serratos), and Eric Yorkie (Justin Chon)). This, in turn, leads her to discover that she has a knack for thrill-seeking (primarily because it induces hallucinations-turned-confrontations with Edward). She seeks out the assistance of Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner) to help her restore some old motorcycles ' again, with the intention of inducing said hallucinations. Only, her relationship with Jacob becomes more than she could have expected, and it leads her into uncharted territory with what becomes the wolfpack in New Moon (Sam Uley (Chaske Spencer), Embry Call (Kiowa Gordon), Paul (Alex Meraz), Bronson Pelletier (Jared), and, eventually, Quil (Tyson Houseman)). Meanwhile, danger lurks in the wings as Victoria (Rachelle Lefevre) and Laurent (Edi Gathegi) linger around Forks to seek Bella out. She must rely on the wolfpack to protect her, only strengthening her relationship with Jacob. Things take a turn, though, when Alice alerts Bella that Edward is ready to confront the Volturi ' the one thing that he can do to, for all intents and purposes, commit suicide ' Aro (Michael Sheen), Caius (Jamie Campbell Bower), and Marcus (Christopher Heyerdahl). They must all confront the situation in Volterra, and they must do so quickly before the clock, quite literally, runs out.

REVIEW: The Twilight Saga: New Moon comes on the heels of one of the most surprisingly successful films (aside from this year's Paranormal Activity) that's been seen in a while. When Catherine Hardwicke and Summit Entertainment made Twilight, there was no indication of what was to come with this film series. In fact, there was no clear expectation that it would be a film series so much as a single independent movie. Now, with Twilight fans having made a very vocal and undeniable mark on popular culture, The Twilight Saga: New Moon comes at the behest of weighty anticipations.

"The wait," as the cast of New Moon has said, "is over." The Twilight Saga: New Moon opens this week in theaters, and there is no doubt that whatever type of fan appreciation award exists for a job well done in this film series will be bestowed aplenty upon this team for this movie.

To start, the screenplay was incredible. Melissa Rosenberg did a phenomenal job in bringing Stephenie Meyer's beloved book to the big screen. Not only did she ring in key moments from the story in such a creative and traceable way, but she also brought new ideas and flavors to those points. Two particular moments come to mind with this statement (spoiler alert). For starters, to welcome in the Volturi, she brought in that moment between Edward and Bella when they were looking at Carlisle's portrait with Aro, Caius, and Marcus. In order to jazz it up, there is an incredible shrinking pan onto the portrait which then becomes a scene in and of itself involving the Volturi. Beautiful, really. Also, one of the more difficult things ' at least perhaps in the minds of fans ' to bring to life on the big screen would be the month to month transition between "the end" and when "time passes." In this instance, she did so by writing in a scenery transition with a 360 degree shot around Kristen Stewart in her catatonic state. In other words, she stayed true to the book, but she made it movie material.

Chris Weitz, no doubt, will be the subject of many a Breaking Dawn campaign after this one. He took New Moon to whole new heights by introducing action-oriented sequences with exquisite special effects. As Lauren Suero from the Twilight Facebook stated, these scenes were "flawless." There are a few instances in particular which will surprise even those fans with the most ardent expectations. You have come to expect good CGI from Chris Weitz thanks to clips and TV spots, but he will blow your expectations out of the water. There is a moment with Rachelle Lefevre as Victoria where Weitz and Rosenberg took the storyline and melded it forgivably into this intense, and honestly pretty frightening, sequence.

Over all, Weitz and Rosenberg took few liberties with the story in The Twilight Saga: New Moon, but each were pointed and altogether impressive. Other than those instances where the story line deviation is completely justified, the story of New Moon (even those seemingly nit-picky details put through the Twilight sieve here and otherwise in the Twilight fandom) is brought, as promised, with incredible fidelity. A+ to Melissa Rosenberg and Chris Weitz for The Twilight Saga: New Moon.

The acting was impeccable. With Kristen Stewart's portrayal of Bella Swan, there is no room for complaint. The innuendos made by her very glances and smirks speak volumes. Her motion and emotion was plainly Bella. She brought the human in Bella out when necessary, and she was completely convincing in even the toughest moments.

Robert Pattinson, too, once again brought that inner conflict and reality of self-inspection to Edward Cullen. He's often stated that he doesn't play Edward as the perfect guy but instead seeks out that inner turmoil and confliction. Well done for this film, to be sure.

Taylor Lautner had a tough pair of shoes to fill with the character of Jacob Black. Jacob is, by all means, an unsteady and emotional creature. Lautner claimed, in interviews, that he had to transition from being pre-transformation Jacob to post-transformation Jacob all in the same day on-set sometimes. Nevertheless, Lautner pulls off Black without a hitch, and his performance is certainly sure to bring over a few new "Team Jacob-ites" to his corner.

Aside from the obvious leading cast, there were others whose performances really stuck out in The Twilight Saga: New Moon. Billy Burke (as Charlie Swan) was certainly one of them. He really embodies a sadness unseen in New Moon as Charlie lives in Bella's depression right along with her. His approach to the character has always been charismatic (referred to as one of the unsung heroes of Twilight on occasion), and he nails it in New Moon. Michael Welch, too, puts a somewhat annoying character from the books on a likeable display. If Michael Welch doesn't bring Mike Newton to cinematic fruition, no one could. Anna Kendrick, whose Oscar buzz for her work in Up In The Air is a source of pride for Twilight fans, really delivers on Jessica Stanley. She's a character, Kendrick has admitted, that hasn't really grown since Twilight, and Kendrick doesn't perform the role with any overkill. Her monologues and facial reactions are spot-on, as were they in Twilight, and she once again brings both comedic relief and mainstream reality to the screen in New Moon. Another notable performance in the film belongs to Michael Sheen as Aro. Aro is an interesting character to Twilight fans because he's so on the confusing line of good and evil that it's hard to tell which team he really plays on. Also, his character ' in the minds of those who've read the book ' may have looked a little different than Michael Sheen. As Sheen has admitted, even his daughter saw Aro as bald. Yet, Sheen delivers on Aro so well that it's almost as though any trace of the mind's eye Aro disappears completely while watching him. He perfects that balance and tumultuousness, and he makes Aro a character that you simply cannot wait to hear more about.

That's not to say that there was any lack of excellence by other cast members. Every character was given a methodical line to speak in the film ' thanks again to the fine work of Rosenberg and Weitz ' and they're all done very well.

One of the best things about the film is that it does not pander to Twilight fans. There is no caricature of any character or event, but instead there is a thoughtful and artistic approach taken to making the story a reality. Still, where the story was linear and calm, the film remained so as well. Where the story was dramatic and words were poignant, so it happened in The Twilight Saga: New Moon.

For non-Twilight fans, the film would certainly be approachable. It is an exciting and very fluid interpretation of the books such that someone with no knowledge of the New Moon storyline could pick up on the events and enjoy the film as well. That said, the thesis still remains that The Twilight Saga: New Moon was made with Twilight fans in complete regard.

Of course, there are other aspects of the film that are pleasant as well. The soundtrack aligned well with the story. A couple of favorite combinations might include the scenes associated with Lykke Li's "Possibility" and Thom Yorke's "Hearing Damage." The score, too, was appropriately tuned in with the mood of the moments involved. Since New Moon is a combination of so many cinematic genres (action, romance, comedy, and suspense, to name a few), the score is scattered, but rightfully so. Alexandre Desplat did a particularly marvelous job in heating up some of the more intense combat in New Moon.

As a final note, you'll want to know that The Twilight Saga: New Moon brings in a few surprises for Twilight fans (spoilers). For starters, Alice's vision of Bella and Edward in the future is revealed (effectively explaining the dreamy running still that had so many confused). Also, fans are offered a glimpse of Edward in Rio (much to fan delight, to be sure).

Over all, New Moon was spectacular. For Twilight fans, it doesn't get much better than this. If there were ever any reservations about where this film series was headed, worry no more. On a five star scale, it's five stars (and that's only because saying something like 6 or 10 would be cheesy). Twilight fans are going to absolutely love The Twilight Saga: New Moon. The film opens tomorrow (though most Twilight fans will probably be seeing it at the midnight screenings this evening).

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQuo5LAU78k[/YOUTUBE]

LINK:http://www.examiner.com/x-4908-Twilight-Examiner~y2009m11d19-The-Twilight-Saga-New-Moon-surpasses-all-expectations-advance-review