My New Moon Movie Review: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (Spoilers!)

Whitley | November 24, 2009 | 11 Comments

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So I’ve had time to see New Moon twice this weekend (going a third time tonight!), and I’ve had the time to let it simmer on my brain so I could figure out what I really wanted to focus on when I wrote this post. Since I took notes (yes, I actually took a notebook in with me so I could write my thoughts) the second time I saw it, this will be a monster of a post, but I will have stills from the movie spread throughout as a gift for your eyeballs. Beware, this post is a monster.

Why couldn’t I give a thorough review after just one watch? Well, as I mentioned in my quickie review I wrote right after I got home from the midnight showing, I went to see this movie, so excited I was about to pee myself, with a NEW MOON! mental list of all the things I wanted to see come to life from the book on the big screen. Since I was watching the movie the first time thinking, “Ok, that line from the book made it in, CHECK! That scene is here, ok, CHECK!”, I felt like the movie was extremely fast-paced. In fact after the movie was over, I felt disappointed it wasn’t longer. I know I wasn’t alone in this since I saw plenty of other people on Twitter echo the same sentiment (Strangely, most negative critic reviews felt the movie dragged on). After the second viewing, I had changed my mind. It definitely slows down the next time around, but in a great way.

So, as I stated in the title, all of my thoughts with be divided into three categories. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

Let’s start with The Good:

Bella’s Dream- I can’t even explain how happy I was that this made it into the movie. Reading New Moon, this is always the first time I cry. I had been

feeling it in Twilight already, but the urgency Bella felt about needing to be changed in order to be with Edward was extremely palpable to me here. It was the first time I had thought of what it would be like if Edward got his way and never changed her, and I was as horrified by it as Bella. I thought they pulled this off perfectly in the movie, and I wouldn’t have changed a thing about it.

Edward’s Sexy Intro- My first thought on seeing this was “WOW!” First of all, the song used here was absolutely perfect (hear it here, it’s my favorite on the soundtrack and so spot on for Edward), and I love how when he walked up, it was sexified in slow motion, so you could take in all the hotness.

Robward quotes Romeo and Juliet- This was worth the price of admission alone, people. I absolutely LOVE that they managed to incorporate the work of literature that New Moon was based on into the movie (wish they could have done the same with Twilight, and I hope they keep it up), and Edward quoting Romeo in the death scene was pure gold. (I also love the cut to Erik Yorkie bawling his eyes out!)

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The birthday party- Even though we had all (well, most of us spoiler bunnies) had seen this a million times in all the previews and trailers they put together, I was still looking forward to seeing this on the big screen. Jackson/Jasper was VERY scary (I loved the new way of showing the vampires moving, slowing it down so we can actually see him dodge everyone trying to restrain him), and the look on Edward’s face as he looks down over Bella as she’s laying there bleeding is agonizing. He’s made his decision to leave her at that moment, and nothing will change his mind now.

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The BREAK-UP Scene- This is capitalized because we all know how important this scene is to the story, even to the over all story of Edward and Bella’s relationship. This was so depressing to read, the saddest chapter in all four books. Although this wasn’t captured perfectly (I don’t think Edward was as cruel as in the movie as he was in the books), I still loved this scene, as much as I could love one of the saddest things I’ve ever seen. I think Rob and KStew pulled this off totally, and I felt her pain as he left her there in the forest. I loved that it showed her wandering the forest in a daze, and how Sam found her in wolf form before bringing her back to her dad. (One thing though. Why doesn’t Charlie freak the eff out at the half-naked boy carrying his daughter home? I know my parents would have been curious to know why he was shirtless, to say the least).

I was very worried about how they were going to show the months passing since Edward’s absence. This was one of the major things I was concerened about making the transition to film, because it was a scene in the book that touched me deeply. I’ve been there, I know what it’s like after a breakup when you are too frozen in pain to anything but simply exist. I didn’t even know if they were going to attempt to show it, since there was no way I could picture how to pull this off in a way that is faithful to the book. This is the part where I want to marry Chris Weitz, because THEY DID IT. Bella sitting dead-eyed in front of the window watching the seasons change, time pass and life go on without her, with that particular song playing (hear it here, and have tissues nearby) was heart-breaking.

Charlie- There is no way to explain how much I loved Billy Burke/Charlie in this movie. My crush on Billy Burke is well documented, and I have to say that he defintely made it worse while I was watching this. The look on his face everytime he would run in to stop Bella from having a nightmmare was so sad, and he also provided some much needed laughter a few times too (“Famous ladies man.”!). Another reason I want to shake Melissa Rosenburg’s hand is she left in the, “Be careful.” “Always am.” between he and Bella, and it was perfect.I have to say that my most favorite Charlie moment is when he tells Bella, “Sometime, you have to learn to love what’s good for you.” I wish everyone could have a parent giving them that great advice at a time like that where you really need it. I’m not ashamed to say I cried at this too.

Taycob’s hot body- We all knew from watching every promo interview and seeing pictures from the set that Taylor had put on 30 pounds of muscle to play this part, and frankly (and you will be surprised I’m saying this), I was kind of over it. I’ve never really thought a ton of beefy muscles were attractive, and basicallly it was all anyone ever talked to him about when he was in front of a camera.

I finally got all the fangirling over his body during this scene:

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When he was walking on the side of the road when Bella was driving by in her truck looking for him? My GOD, I would have run off the road and crashed. How did she manage to look him in the face while they were talking?

Chase Scene with Victoria- This was simply beautiful. I love the way it was filmed, where you can see the bird above flying at a super low speed compared to Victoria running away from the wolves. Another instance of the song choice being absolutely perfect for this scene (listen to it here, and be prepared to thrash out). I loved how Victoria’s scene here coincided with Bella’s cliff dive to make this the climax (hehe) of the movie.

Bella drowning- THANK YOU for getting this right, Chris Weitz! Bella seeing Edward as she drowns was spectacular, and I LOVED LOVED LOVED that you could actually see Victoria coming for her in the water. Seeing her swimming with all that fiery red hair around her face was one of the scariest parts of the movie. I have a feeling this was something that Cathy would have left out, considering it a small detail. I’m overjoyed it was done, and done correctly.

THE phone call- I had been loving Jacob, even at one point FORGETTING Edward was coming back (I know! WTF was WRONG with me?) until this point. During the books too, this was the one action he did that convinced me forever that wasn’t good for Bella. He had seen her go through this depression for months, he knew what she was going through, he knew it was Edward on the phone (in the movie he did) and he intentionally didn’t let Bella speak to him?! I could slap him everytime I see this part! But, as annoyed as I am at this scene, I think they got it perfect for the movie. The fury at Jacob (I’m not the only one who feels that, right?), then the immediate switch into running to save Edward was one of the best scenes of the film.

Robward’s shirtless scene- It’s easy to be confused here because Edward is shirtless off and on for about 20 minutes of the movie (and it is glorious!). I’m referring to all of that, every. last. second.

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Are those abs painted on? I couldn’t care less. They were amazing all the same.

I love when Bella run up and catches him and he buries his face in her hair,saying, “Heaven.” Another part where I cried. When they shut the doors behind them and they are alone together for the first time in months was SO beautiful…until the Volturi came up and ruined everything, like they always tend to do.

The Volturi- Although we didn’t get to see much of them, they were still creepy as EFF, espcially Aro and Jane. Micheal Sheen captured the bi-polarness of Aro perfectly, talking to Bella like they are friends one second, then about to kill her the next. Dakota Fanning as Jane was a spot-on casting choice, and she looked beautiful and murderous at the same time.

I was defintely glad when they were able to get out of there, even though I knew it was going to happen.

THE PROPOSAL!- I could write a post this size on the last 5 minutes of the movie alone. It was SUCH an emotional rollar coaster, with the stand off between Edward and Jacob, Bella telling Jacob, “It’s always been him.” (Damn right!), then Jacob running away in pain. It’s encapulated the whole mood of the movie, of being torn between the two of the; her head and her heart. This scene is why I will go to see this movie again and again. The look on Edward’s face, and in his eyes when he finally gets the words out (seriously, was that the longest pause ever, or what?) is so *SQUEE!*. That’s all I can do everytime I think about this to try to describe it. I just can’t put it into words. I love her little gasp, then it ENDS! Best cliffhanger ever!

Ok that was the list of good things about the movie, and it was LONG. Here we go with The Bad, which will not be so lengthy.

Bella continually emailing Alice- I did not like this part at ALL. In fact, the first time they portrayed her doing this, I said in my head, “NOOO! Don’t do it!” You can imagine my relief when it showed they weren’t even getting delievered.

Although this doesn’t really apply to Bella and Edward (what relationship rules do?) this is the cardinal rule for all break-ups; Do NOT contact them for a certain amount of time after the split. This amount of time is not to be decided by you: the dumped. Have a friend who is familier with all the events in your relationship to decide on the ban (I reccomend 1-2 months), then just keep yourself busy with whatever you need to do in order to distract yourself.

If reading this paragraph stopped one girl from obsessively calling/facebooking/emailing/texting her ex or his family/friends, then I have not written it in vain. Leave with your dignity people, I promise you won’t regret it.

Where did Victoria’s lines go?- Walking out of the theater after seeing this for the first time, something was bugging me about the movie and I couldn’t figure it out. I kept going over it and thinking, “No, I loved that, and that too, so what could it be?” I was halfway home before it hit me.

Victoria didn’t speak at all during the movie. Not once.

Now, I suppose this is not too far off from the book, since Victoria is now hunting Bella alone, and had no compantion with her the entire story. I can understand that…

…but I suspect this has more to do with Suckmitt being assholes after they fired Rachelle LeFevre and wanting to downsize her part in this movie as much as possible. We’ll see when the DVD comes out if there are a lot of extra’s having to do with Victoria, and see how many of her scenes got cut.

Where was the “Moonless night” speech?!- I had wanted to see Robward recite this ever since reading it in the first book. That scene in her bedroom after he comes back would have been PERFECT for this! I’m keeping my fingers crossed they just cut this out for whatever reasons and it’s on the DVD extras. I suppose if it’s not there, I can take Edward reciting Shakespeare as a replacement *grumble*.

And now, it’s time for The Ugly.

Jasper’s hair-

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Yes, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, but still. I’m still pissed at whoever thought his hairdo needed to be changed. It looks like a poodle.

Well, that’s my monster review of New Moon! It’s taken 3 days to write this, so I hope you found at least one thing to agree with. Please share your favorite parts, thoughts about the movie and cast, and your least favorite parts in the comments! How many times do you think you’ll be seeing New Moon in the theaters?

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