Starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner
Rated PG-13 for some violence and action
Finally, it’s here. After months of anticipation and a media blitz ad nauseum, The Twilight Saga: New Moon has finally hit theaters. Thousands of women will flock to cinemas across the globe this weekend to gather an early Christmas present for themselves. Thousands have already been intoxicated by the film with midnight showings earlier today. I am one of those. With little sleep and much needed coffee, I offer my review on The Twilight Saga: New Moon.
New Moon follows the ongoing story of Bella Swan and Edward Cullen. After Bella's birthday party turns into a near death experience for her, Edward and his family decide to leave Bella and the community of Forks, WA. Bella is left behind to face a crushing hole in her heart and start over - yet again. Cue the new boy in the picture - Jacob Black. In the Twilight movie, we only saw a glimpse of Jacob, but his story is critical to the entire Twilight saga. Jacob helps Bella recover from her devastating loss, and a new relationship buds between them. New Moon takes the Twilight audience into a darker portion of this teenage love story. It is filled with hopelessness. Bella thinks she will never recover from Edward leaving her. Bella cannot figure out how to reconcile what she thought was real with this new supernatural world she now knows. And Bella knows that she is using her best friend Jacob to occupy her time until her own death.
The Twilight Saga: New Moon takes its liberties with the original storyline in the book. Unlike its predecessor, the changes made for this movie make sense for the portrayal of the story on screen. The dialogue is edgier and sounds more like real-life teenagers. The sexual tension between Bella and Jacob is increased significantly. (I can’t tell you how many times I thought they would kiss.) Some favored scenes from the book are left out, but it seems forgivable in the film. And The Twilight Saga: New Moon blows its predecessor away when it comes to special effects and action. The after-school special feel is gone and replaced with a solid film.
While New Moon is a story about hopelessness, The Twilight Saga: New Moon gives a light and almost logical appeal to the darkness of depression. The movie reminded me that everyone interprets stories differently. While I thought Bella was suicidal through most of the book, many of my friends thought she was just acting a like a teenager. That is how Bella is portrayed in The Twilight Saga: New Moon. In the movie, her overwhelming depression is covered at lightning speed. In the book, Bella has a miserable existence. She feels hopeless and powerless to change.
Rated PG-13 for some violence and action
Finally, it’s here. After months of anticipation and a media blitz ad nauseum, The Twilight Saga: New Moon has finally hit theaters. Thousands of women will flock to cinemas across the globe this weekend to gather an early Christmas present for themselves. Thousands have already been intoxicated by the film with midnight showings earlier today. I am one of those. With little sleep and much needed coffee, I offer my review on The Twilight Saga: New Moon.
New Moon follows the ongoing story of Bella Swan and Edward Cullen. After Bella's birthday party turns into a near death experience for her, Edward and his family decide to leave Bella and the community of Forks, WA. Bella is left behind to face a crushing hole in her heart and start over - yet again. Cue the new boy in the picture - Jacob Black. In the Twilight movie, we only saw a glimpse of Jacob, but his story is critical to the entire Twilight saga. Jacob helps Bella recover from her devastating loss, and a new relationship buds between them. New Moon takes the Twilight audience into a darker portion of this teenage love story. It is filled with hopelessness. Bella thinks she will never recover from Edward leaving her. Bella cannot figure out how to reconcile what she thought was real with this new supernatural world she now knows. And Bella knows that she is using her best friend Jacob to occupy her time until her own death.
The Twilight Saga: New Moon takes its liberties with the original storyline in the book. Unlike its predecessor, the changes made for this movie make sense for the portrayal of the story on screen. The dialogue is edgier and sounds more like real-life teenagers. The sexual tension between Bella and Jacob is increased significantly. (I can’t tell you how many times I thought they would kiss.) Some favored scenes from the book are left out, but it seems forgivable in the film. And The Twilight Saga: New Moon blows its predecessor away when it comes to special effects and action. The after-school special feel is gone and replaced with a solid film.
While New Moon is a story about hopelessness, The Twilight Saga: New Moon gives a light and almost logical appeal to the darkness of depression. The movie reminded me that everyone interprets stories differently. While I thought Bella was suicidal through most of the book, many of my friends thought she was just acting a like a teenager. That is how Bella is portrayed in The Twilight Saga: New Moon. In the movie, her overwhelming depression is covered at lightning speed. In the book, Bella has a miserable existence. She feels hopeless and powerless to change.
Like Bella, we all feel powerless at times. No matter how hard we try to control our circumstances, we fail. We don’t have any control over people. This realization can send us into a search for meaning in life. Like Bella, we can walk around like zombies, not knowing how to function. As a Christian, I know that every human has hope in this dark and sometimes weary world. The Bible has a lot to say about feeling powerless. In Ephesians 2:1-10, the writer describes the hopelessness of human life and how God jumps into the water to save us.
It wasn't so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin. You let the world, which doesn't know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience. We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat. It's a wonder God didn't lose His temper and do away with the whole lot of us. Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, He embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on His own, with no help from us! Then He picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah.
Now God has us where He wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all His idea, and all His work. All we do is trust Him enough to let him do it. It's God's gift from start to finish!
Ephesians 2:1-7, The Message
God has given us a gift of everlasting hope. We can have joy and real life in Christ. You know, the Twilight books have caught a large amount of slack for Bella’s unhealthy dependence on Edward. I will agree with the “unhealthy” assessment of that relationship, but I think that Bella is a good representation of humanity. We all seek to put our happiness and hope into Someone bigger than us, and we feel defeated when that person fails us. Hope can only exist in God. Outside of Him, we are left to our own devices and limited abilities.
My own hopes for The Twilight Saga: New Moon were tempered after my ongoing disappointment with the first movie. But I think that most Twilighters will be pleased with the second installment. Plus, the guys will like it as well. The one major downer in the movie is Taylor Lautner’s acting as Jacob. Once Edward leaves Bella, the movie slows down and almost leaves its exciting pace. The introduction of the wolf pack keeps the story moving, but Lautner’s poor acting was distracting to me. All becomes well in the Twilightuniverse when Edward returns at the end of the movie, and we are left with a cliffhanger to be solved in the third installment, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse(coming June 2010). While the New Moon book and movie may differ at points, they both leave us with a solid message – hope changes us.