Cast:
Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan
Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen
Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black
Ashley Greene as Alice Cullen
Jackson Rathbone as Jasper Whitlock
Peter Facinelli as Dr. Carlisle Cullen
Elizabeth Reaser as Esme Cullen
Kellan Lutz as Emmett Cullen
Nikki Reed as Rosalie Hale
Billy Burke as Charlie Swan
Anna Kendrick as Jessica
Michael Welch as Mike
Justin Chon as Eric
Christian Serratos as Angela
Chaske Spencer as Sam Uley
Gil Birmingham as Billy Black
Graham Greene as Harry Clearwater
Kiowa Gordon as Embry Call
Tyson Houseman as Quil Ateara
Tinsel Korey as Emily
Edi Gathegi as Laurent
Rachelle Lefevre as Victoria
Michael Sheen as Aro
Dakota Fanning as Jane
Cameron Bright as Alec
Review:
The wolf’s out of the bag! “New Moon” is guaranteed to be the blockbuster of Thanksgiving weekend. From the beginning of the film you could tell that Weitz had a good vision and interpretation of the book over Hardwicke’s “Twilight” (the first of the series). The film color change from the cool blue to the warmer golden tones was pleasant. The topaz eyes of the Cullens were much more striking and aside from Rosalie’s horrible wig, the make-up was a huge improvement from the caked on stuff from the first film. I was also wondering about the special effects and if they were going to be able to pull off a ferocious wolf pack and they did! The snarling, teeth showing, oversized wolves were even better than Stephenie Meyer’s description.
One thing I really wanted to translate from the book to the movie was the gut wrenching pain in the break-up scene in the woods. I was expecting to cry my eyes out, like I did when reading this part of the book… and my eyes didn’t even well up. The emotion just wasn’t quite there, which was a let-down but after getting past that and more into the film, I began to get into it and see Bella’s painful depression and heartbreak. Jacob was the biggest highlight in this film, which could be heard from screams and squeals in the theater as he took off his shirt. Not only did he have the body for the film, but also stepped up to the challenge and did an amazing job showing more range of emotion and really being Bella’s sun. There were little bits of comedy thrown in which kept the film more light. Jessica was hysterical, her timing was perfect and she talked at the speed of light. There were some perfect awkward moments, when you’re just waiting for something to happen and then the moment is interrupted. Loved it! Pattinson did a much better, less angry portrayal of Edward and seemed to really convey the right emotions, even during the break-up scene. I was expecting to see more sexual tension between Edward and Bella which turned out to be pretty weak. This was definitely one place Catherine Hardwicke did a better job.
Overall, the movie stayed pretty true to the book, considering everything had to be squeezed into a two-hour film. It left out most of the subplots which was a little disappointing. I was hoping for a lot more Alice since she’s one of my favorite characters. It was really fast paced and kept me on the edge of my seat. I actually found myself squealing like a teenager in a few parts and my heart racing as Bella ran to rescue Edward. This movie was perfect for its target audience and may have even sucked in a few sci-fi/fantasy and action movie lovers.
