The director of "New Moon", Chris Weitz ("The Golden Compass"), expands on the creative momentum of the original film directed by Catherine Hardwicke. "New Moon" explores the blossoming friendship between Jacob and Bella now that Edward has left her. A love triangle is created (leading to the Team Jacob vs. Team Edward fan battles). This adaptation must have been difficult since the soul of the original film, the romance between the vampire Edward and teenage Bella, is limited by Edward's absence from the story. Weitz explores the Jacob and Bella relationship in the movie's core while using a bookend technique to present Bella's fractured bond with Edward. This format works to give both male characters equal time in "New Moon" to try and woo Bella. What is a teenage girl to do?

My biggest concern for this film from the early trailers was whether Weitz's team could create believable transforming CGI giant wolves. Weitz's technical wizardry in "New Moon" is no small feat, keeping the audience firmly rooted within the reality of the picture. While Weitz gives the sequel more action and special effects, the all-important love story feels a bit overdone. The Jacob-Bella interactions are fresh and different, adding an interesting new dimension to the "Twilight" story, but the Edward-Bella scenes feel like copies of the fights and make-ups that occurred in the first picture. At the end, when "New Moon" needed the pent-up emotions of the last two hours to be released, the director was unable to fully deliver. The introduction of a vampire hierarchy in Italy adds depth to the Cullens' (Edward's family) world but Edward's sacrifice lacked the emotional drama that the movie needed.

I am pleased to see the entire cast return for this sequel; it adds a consistency to the material as each new director adds their own mark to the series and the story expands. The wolf pack storyline is the best part of "New Moon" and more than equals the introduction of the Cullens in "Twilight." Kristen Stewart's Bella continues to be the overly emotional, reflective girl from the first picture. Robert Pattinson's Edward is still broody and protective. Taylor Lautner's Jacob changes the most, from slightly jealous friend to hyper-masculine romantic interest. Lautner and Stewart actually work better together in the picture than Pattinson and Stewart, for some reason. It may be difficult for audiences to fall back in love with Edward as they did in "Twilight."

I am a thirty-something year old man, therefore not the primary audience for this movie. But a quality movie production should be appreciable beyond its core audience or genre. "New Moon" is better in some areas than "Twilight," while not as strong in other areas. The dialogue may be overly dramatic and emotional but no more so than in its predecessor. Overall, the picture should satisfy its core audience as a transition film to the more action-oriented "Eclipse." Perhaps the Edward-Bella relationship will be back on-track by then.

4 out of 5 reels

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