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Tuesday, May 07, 2024
The independent student publication of The University at Buffalo, since 1950

"New Moon, more Edward"

Grade: B-


The cast and crew from Twilight are back, and they're bringing with them more lust, passion and romance with the next movie in the Twilight saga, New Moon.


The movie's script is based on Stephanie Meyer's novel, New Moon, the second of four books depicting the love between Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart, Adventureland) and vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson, Twilight).


The movie begins with Bella attending a birthday party at her vampire's home.


However, Bella's 18th birthday party doesn't go as planned, and before she can collect her thoughts, Edward leaves the small town of Forks, taking his family and Bella's heart with him.


After the emotional breakup, it quickly becomes evident that Stewart's depiction of Bella and her skills as an actress have not improved since her first time portraying the character in Twilight.


Left abandoned and heartbroken, Bella turns to her family friend, Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner, Twilight), for comfort and support.


Lautner has not only matured as an actor since Twilight, he's grown up and grown more muscle for his physically demanding portrayal of Jacob.


As Bella and Jacob bond over two broken motorcycles and their general happiness with each other, fans wonder if Jacob will be the new love in her life.


In one scene, Bella crashes a motorcycle into a rock, injuring her head and leaving Lautner to take off his shirt and tend to her cut.


Oh, Jacob – what a good friend.


Not only does he stop Bella's bleeding, but Lautner also displays his incredibly toned upper body, complete with washboard abs and bulging biceps.


While Pattinson doesn't make as many appearances in this film as he did in Twilight, fans don't seem to mind, as long as Lautner keeps his shirt off.


As the plot develops, Bella fears for her life when Victoria, (Rachelle Lefevre, Twilight), the vampire who wants nothing more than to kill her, comes back to Forks and is out for blood.


However, even without her Cullen clan of protectors, Bella has little to dread when she finds out that Jacob and his friends are werewolves, the only creatures that vampires fear.


While chasing Victoria throughout Forks and keeping Bella safe, Lautner and fellow actors Chaske Spencer, Kiowa Gordon, Tyson Houseman, Alex Meraz and Bronson Pelletier are forced to spend a significant amount of time in their wolf form.


When werewolves were introduced into the mix, fans doubted if the movie would look realistic. However, the digital animation is done masterfully, turning Lautner and the group of men into furry ferocities in seconds.


Edward's sister, Alice (Ashley Greene, Summer's Blood), returns home after several months to see if Bella is still alive after she takes an adrenalin-induced cave dive.


When Alice doesn't speak to Edward in time, he believes Bella to be dead and leaves for Italy to try to end his life.


Bella and Alice chase after him in an attempt to stop him, but Jacob begs Bella to stay.


As Lautner pleads with Stewart, fans fall more in love with the actor and his character. Not only does he play a role as a loveable and reliable friend, but he also executes a level of talent throughout the film that would seem above his abilities at his young age.


When Bella goes against Jacob's wishes and arrives in Italy with Alice, fans begin to see that the film noticeably differs from the book.


Events happen at a faster pace than in the book, failing to leave enough time for the plot to thicken and for important details to reveal themselves.


When Bella finds Edward, things turn more violent in the film than Meyers depicts in the book, leaving fans to question what new director Chris Weitz's motivation was to drastically change important scenes.


However, once Pattinson and Stewart are united and he becomes a more prominent figure on the silver screen, fans soon forget the disparities between the book and movie and revel in the glow of Pattinson's silhouette.


Pattinson's acting in New Moon remains on caliber with his acting in Twilight. Fans clapped and cried out in happiness with their love for the man who makes their hearts beat for his talent, overall sexy demeanor and perfectly placed hair.


As the film comes to an end, Bella, Edward and the Cullen family return to Forks, and the empty hole in Bella's chest is finally filled once again.


While New Moon is an overwhelming success, complete with action and the passion of true love, fans will have to wait for the answers to all their burning questions in the next installment in the Twilight Saga, Eclipse, expected to be released in the summer of 2010.



E-mail: arts@ubspectrum.com



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