New Moon: DVD Review
New Moon
Rating: M
Released by Sony Home Pictures
The Twilight Saga: New Moon opens with a shot of a full moon and
ends with Bella taking a breath - and, in between for the fans of
the saga, there's everything they could want. But for those who are
probably not 100% bona fide Team Edward/ Team Jacob, there could be
a lot of eye rolling and wondering what on earth the continuing
obsession is about.
The story takes up where Twilight left off - with Bella (Kristen
Stewart) and Edward (R Patz) deeply in love and on the eve of
Bella's 18th birthday. Despite her protestations, the Cullens throw
Bella a birthday party - but a paper cut sees Bella shed some
blood, which sees Edward's brother Jasper try to take her
life.
As Edward ends up hurting Bella while trying to protect her, he
decides it's safer for him to be out of her life - for good.
Destroyed by the rejection of her first love, Bella falls apart -
enter Jacob (Taylor Lautner) who plugs the hole in her heart
(despite hiding a secret about himself) with companionship and
sworn oaths of fidelity.
But Bella finds he's not enough and when she discovers that thrill
seeking and becoming an adrenaline junkie allows Edward to appear
to her, Bella chooses to live life on the edge to be with her one
true love.
Danger for Bella is just around the corner though - with vampire
Victoria out for revenge after the death of her mate (whom the
Cullens despatched in the first Twilight) and hot on Bella's trail.
A series of miscommunications leads Edward to believe Bella's dead
and forces him to sacrifice himself at the hands of the vampire
clan, The Volturi (a la Romeo and Juliet.)
Can Bella save Edward in time? And more importantly, will she
sacrifice her burgeoning relationship with Jacob for the star
crossed love of her life?
Some films are review proof - and the latest in the Twilight
franchise is one of those. It soared at the box office and
continues to soar on DVD and Blu Ray.
Sure, I could spend time telling you how there's a gratuitous
excess of abs on slow-mo show here (both with Jacob and Edward) -
but that's what the fans want to see (certainly judging by the
lusty cat calls and wolf whistles at the NZ premiere); I could
reveal there's some horrendously corny teen love lines - such as
Edward's "You gave me everything just by breathing" to Bella, but
the swoons of any audience watching this suggest to
me that that's just pandering to the fans - and I could tell you
that parts of the film play like music videos as the soundtrack
swells over aching teens caught up in their relationship and during
the Wolf Pack chasing Victoria the vampire - but again, that's what
the diehard fans of the franchise want.
With the third film almost here, it's a welcome burst for fans of
the saga; everyone else may wonder what the fuss is all about - and
some may claim New Moon with its bustling buff bodies and lustful
tones as a guilty pleasure.
Extras: A sneak peek at Eclipse among a wealth of
other goodies for fans of the Stephenie Meyer series.
Rating: 7/10
