New Moon was one of my most anticipated movies in 2009. I first saw the trailer in cinema when I was watching This Is It and I couldn’t help but screaming quietly “Aaaa .. New Moon! New Moon!!”. Though I never really favoured the book, as it was the weakest link of Twilight Saga. Yeah, Edward Cullen was missing for a whole middle portion of the story. Things couldn’t get to be interesting without him. Could it? But then .. there was Jacob Black. I, for sure, was anxious to see him in the movie.So .. since I had to wait longer than the lucky people who got the tickets to EX premiere .. (damn, what kind of a monopoly game was that???!!!) .. I decided to re-read the book. And frankly speaking, the story got better. My expectation rised up. I did hope the movie would be better than Twilight.
It wasn’t.
Not only Edward was missing indeed, but he was awkward in his limited interaction with Bella. Why couldn’t Robert Pattinson look straight to Kirsten Stewart while he was talking to her? Most of the time he looked like he was dreaming while he talked. And why he’s lacking of composure? I mean .. c’mon, Edward Cullen in my mind was very cool, very elegant. Whatever he got in Twilight .. he got it worse in here. I could never stand the way he walked toward Bella at the school parking lot .. in slo-mo .. with a mischievous smile .. it’s so MTV-ish!! Arrrrghh!! I wanted to dig a hole on my seat and hide in there for a while. Then came the parting scene .. and I got dizzy. The camera movement was quite disturbing. Probably that was the director’s intention, but it’s not a pleasant feeling. Really.
My first impression of Jacob Black .. boy, he got big bright teeth!! The long hair, oho, so cruel, I tell you. But thank everyone, he looked better after a while. Much better. I only got one objection: Jacob Black had a husky voice. And Taylor Lautner didn’t have it. Of course, he’s only sixteen! And I loved, loved the way he transformed. Exhilarating. Lautner was indeed better than Pattinson in this movie. At least he could talk to Bella like he really meant it, and he had guts to pierce her with his look. It was his time to shine.
In fact, all scenes with the pack were quite good. It was amazing they all really looked similar, like brothers .. and oGODtheywereHANDSOME!!
Volterra scene. Now you’re talking!! Beautiful colors, beautifully executed. Despite the short-length cloak that kinda irritated me (wasn’t Jane afraid of the sunshine on her legs??), I love everything that happened inside Volterra. Dakota Fanning was creepycool. Edward got a fight with Felix (which was not in the book) .. and Edward lost his red lipstick. Yippiiee!!!
And all the rest .. was so-so. Even the papercut scene was too fast to thrill a single hair.
Wait, what about Bella Swan? People were bashing her for being so cheap with Jacob while Edward was away. Heh. I didn’t mind. Though sometimes I thought she was selfish and undecided, but I always like Bella. Since Twilight, the only character that fit exactly into my imagination was Kirsten Stewart. Her acting skill was more advance than her co-stars too.
I could understand when non-fans said New Moon was a borefest, as I was kinda disappointed too.
Then I found this quote from Stephenie Meyer:
“When the advanced reading copies began to fall into the hands of my fans, I asked people read New Moon twice, promising that I would explain why later. It's later, and this is why: the first time through New Moon, I've found that readers are so anxious about the absence of Edward that they can't settle into the middle portion of the book. They skim and speed read and flip ahead until, at last, they find him again. However, at that point they've missed the main section of the novel almost completely. On a second reading, knowing that Edward will return to the story at the proper place and time, the reader can slow down and enjoy the wondrousness that is Jacob Black.”I hardly find it was my case. But I realize, my 2nd reading was much better than my 1st. And it was not because I skipped the middle portion earlier. It was the details, the mood and the feeling that I caught more. (I think Jacob Black is wonderful since the 1st reading though!). So when I had the chance to watch New Moon for 2nd time, I grabbed it.
The actors were still the same, the story began and ended the same .. but I got to see and hear more. (Now I admit, my main focus on the 1st viewing was mostly to look for diamonds on Edward’s face and chest). Apparently, what I had missed earlier was the music and the cinematography. It blew me away!! The score had me when Edward recited “Romeo and Juliet” in class (and it was repeated when Bella’s standing at the edge of the cliff). Cinematography .. well, apart from the dizzying thingie .. it captured the scenery so well. Including the exceptional angle when Sam did the cliff-diving .. which made me disoriented (Is that the sky? No, that’s the sea. Or is it the other way around? How come Sam jumped upward into the sky? That’s not jumping, that’s flying. Er .. whatever).
And yeah, the movie got better. I’m not that disappointed anymore. Non-fans may skip it, but fans should NOT.
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