Let me establish some ground rules. First, I'm not a Twilight fan, and I haven't read the books, and I probably never will because teen romances aren't really my thing. If you're looking for a review from a fan, please, check Kim's out. Instead, I'm the type of guy who believes there are no happy endings in real-life love stories. Thus, I never really understood what the hype is around Twilight. But, that didn't stop me from watching New Moon in theaters last night. And, I must add, I also watched Twilight on DVD over the weekend.

Second, I've seen some critical reviews of the second installment in the Twilight series, and they're all along the lines of "it's bad" or "it's boring" or "it's not worth watching if you want to enjoy what you're watching". I remember reading a review expressing frustration over how Bella (Kristen Stewart) always looks like she doesn't know what to do with Edward (Robert Pattinson) first, then Jacob (Taylor Lautner). I always thought it's because the reviews were written by those who probably don't get it, like I do. Surely fans will fawn over every moment. I won't, so I won't comment on the story and whether the translation from words to celluloid works nicely, but instead I will comment on how the film stands out on its own.

That said, I got a bit bored with New Moon. I know we were supposed to have a taste of how mundane Bella's life became after Edward left, but sometimes I thought they took the point too far. The film was more than two hours long; I think it would've been better if was thirty minutes shorter. Then again, the film was seemingly built to keep fans happy, giving them a way to relive the scenes they only read previously in the novel, and finally see it unfold right before their very eyes. I can imagine a fan having chills watching Edward leave Bella, or seeing Jacob transform into a werewolf for the first time. Or, maybe, in the first sequences when Edward arrived at Forks High School and everything went in slow motion.

To their credit, however, New Moon had better pacing than Twilight. Twilight really dragged - I know they were supposed to establish everyone and everything there, but it took so long, even my friends who are fans of the series got bored. The action scenes in New Moon were so much better: I enjoyed the scene where the wolf pack went after Victoria (Rachelle Lefevre) in the woods. It was well-handled and well-shot.

In fact, the best thing about New Moon is its more consistent, tighter look. Kudos to director Chris Weitz for bringing to the film what Catherine Hardwicke didn't bring to Twilight: a singular vision. The first film felt like a hodge-podge of styles: it felt like, "look, kids, I can do this, and I can do this!" and it got in the way of me watching the film. While Twilight veered towards a confused take on the documentary look, New Moon is sweeping and grand. Weitz played the right tricks at the right time, and it helped emphasize Bella's feelings towards both Edward and Jacob, somehow inviting comparisons to a fairy tale. Kudos also goes to Alexandre Desplat for a score that's more appropriate for the series, although I felt tracks from the soundtrack were too prominent in the beginning.

New Moon's graphics also benefited from Weitz's previous experience on The Golden Compass. While the werewolves (and the transformation) were handled well, some others felt a little more lacking. I couldn't get over the wolf pack cliff-jumping--it looked plastered on and unnatural. I figure it's because the crew didn't really have much time to work on post-production on the film, with Summit rushing both New Moon and the upcoming Eclipse to theaters. Given more time, it would've looked more flawless.

Too bad that the Volturi weren't really a major part of the film: I was left wanting more after seeing Michael Sheen and, especially, Daniel Cudmore do their deed on Edward. Rachelle Lefevre didn't have much screen time as Victoria (understandably), but her impact was so strong that, already, I regret her being removed from the Eclipse cast in favor of Bryce Dallas Howard. I don't really have much to say about the three leads, though. Kristen Stewart did a pretty good job handling Bella, but Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner felt more like eye candy to me.

New Moon may still be a treat for fans, and something incomprehensible for those who aren't, but this film is much more watchable than Twilight. It is, indeed, a sign of confidence from everyone working on the series--they finally know what to do, and what we have now is a more polished work. Now, to see whether David Slade and Eclipse can live up to these expectations--mind you, they aren't much for me at the moment, but they're more than what I had before.





(Image courtesy of Summit Entertainment)