Vampire hype worth the wait
The third movie in this Twilight series is due to come out mid-June of 2010. Photo courtesy of marcustheatres.com
As soon as the lights went down, every single teenage girl in the audience erupted into a fit of high-pitched screams and giggles. Not just from the prospect of seeing the sequel of the oh-so-famous saga, Twilight, but more so because they had been waiting so long for this movie. A whole year. Trust me, a whole year is a very long time to have to wait. However, this year, it wasn’t so much the vampire everyone was hyped up about. It was the werewolf.
Taylor. Lautner. Enough said. He is the reason so many girls in movie theaters and around the world are swooning. My friends call him “drop dead gorgeous”, which some may say is an understatement. He plays Jacob Black, Bella’s best friend, Edward’s enemy.
For those that don’t know, the Twilight Saga is about a coven (family) of vampires who live among humans in Forks, Washington. Bella Swan, a new residence to this city, falls in love with one of the vampires. Because vampires and humans aren’t supposed to coexist, Bella surviving is becoming a challenge in itself. After Bella is hunted down and nearly killed, Edward, her vampire boyfriend, decides that he must leave Forks in order to protect her. This is where the second book, New Moon, begins. After Edward leaves, Bella begins spending more and more time with her friend from out of town, Jacob. After a grueling argument and several missed phone calls, Bella realizes that Jacob is a werewolf. However, vampires and werewolves are, in a nutshell, archenemies. It will be nearly impossible for the relationships to stay the same.
A movie just isn’t a movie without shirtless werewolves and sparkly vampires. Compared to the first movie, Twilight, the second is a galaxy away in sophistication. The difference in quality between the two films is immense; it’s a miracle the first even received decent reviews.
New Moon’s special effects were thousands of times better, and just the acting in itself showed great deals of improvement. After seeing this sequel, I really don’t think I will be able to watch the first again without cringing at the horrible graphics.
Some may say I may be over emphasizing; but I kid you not when I say that I could have done a better job with green screen effects. For example: Vampires sparkle in the daylight, which is why they can’t be seen during the day—or at least when it’s sunny. In Twilight there are a few scenes when Edward is showing Bella the way he sparkles. Sounds intriguing, right? Wrong. The sparkles looked, no exaggeration, as if they had been painted on by a three-year-old. They didn’t blend whatsoever.
My one complaint concerning this rather impressive sequel is the fact that the ending was rather abrupt. Most movies gradually close, but this was a simple, shocking phrase, a second of silence, and then the screen turned black. Up until that point the movie had been following and explaining the book
Overall, the new director Chris Weitz improved the screenplay and effects leaps and bounds. With better special effects, improved acting, and the way the movie emotionally appealed with its audience clearly shows what can be done when talents are embraced. Though there is going to be another name directing the Twilight Saga: Eclipse, hopefully David Slade, the next director, can continue the quality of the production. If he doesn’t continue, hopefully he will drastically advance the production so the fourth movie, Breaking Dawn, can be utterly incredible.
New Moon: 4.5/5 STARS
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