Fans go toward the light of New Moon

When you’ve got a fan base so passionate they call themselves Twi–hards, making the New Moon movie places you under a lot of pressure. Aside from having to stay true to the book, you have to surpass the performance of Twilight, which was a certified hit. New Moon seems to have done just that.

Vampires, werewolves, and others For those who’ve been living under a rock, New Moon is based on the second installment of writer Stephenie Meyer’s very popular vampire romance series, which started off with Twilight. It’s the saga of vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) and his non-vampire sweetheart Bella Swann (Kristen Stewart). Also thrown in the mix is werewolf Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner) who is, in more ways than one, sniffing around Bella. As in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Edward and Bella must go against the rest of the world so that their love may prosper. But while Romeo and Juliet have become literary icons, pop culture is undoubtedly Edward and Bella’s domain. Supernatural stats According to estimates released by Summit Entertainment, New Moon's opening weekend raked in $140.7 million in the US and $258.8 million worldwide. Twilight opened at $69.6 million last year. Not surprisingly, New Moon’s social media stats—151,155 followers on Twitter, 523,868 friends on MySpace, and 4,207,153 fans on Facebook—give credence to the mass hysteria. Moon madness After Twilight was shown last year, there was much anticipation and expectation about New Moon, purportedly the “most depressing" part of the series. You see, in New Moon Edward and Bella have to temporarily cool off. It turns out that hanging out with Edward is dangerous to Bella. She has blood and he comes from a family of bloodsuckers. Enough said. Thus, Edward has to leave her for her own good. Distraught, Bella grows reckless and deliberately puts herself in danger to induce hallucinations of Edward. Her friend Jacob tries give her support in her time of need—but he’s got problems of his own. Bright young stars The original cast from Twilight comes together for New Moon while welcoming new additions who play brief but memorable roles. Pattinson, who is Edward personified, and Stewart, who is a fiery Bella, play the role of beleaguered lovers perfectly. Not to be ignored is Lautner as Jacob, who certainly made the most out of his screen time. Billy Burke delivers an endearing performance as Bella’s father Charlie. As for the members of the Cullen clan, Ashley Greene stands out as the clairvoyant Alice Cullen and Jackson Rathbone brings out the humorous side of Jasper Hale. Bella’s friends also provide comic relief in the movie, with notable performances from Anna Kendrick who played the perky Jessica Stanley, and Michael Welch who played insistent Mike Newton. All-grown-up former child actress Dakota Fanning, a self-confessed fan of Meyer’s books, appears briefly as Jane, a vampire from another tribe. More action, less mush Director Chris Weitz and screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg stayed true to the book and made sure that the movie would be a crowd-pleaser. They knew what fans wanted and they gave it to them. Fans who feared Edward would be sorely missed throughout the movie, since he was absent in most of the book, would be happy to see he has a fair share of exposure. Weitz wisely injects Edward's presence in the visions that Bella has every time she is in danger. Weitz’s seamless visual transitions are reminiscent of Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula (1992)—what with a painting coming alive (so to speak) in one scene and 360-degree shots of Bella to indicate the passing of time. New Moon also has more action and less mush, perhaps owing to the male director at the helm. This could be an advantage if you’re not that much into the romance angle, but it’s naturally a disadvantage if you and your friends see yourselves as Bella Swan and have bought Team Edward or Team Jacob shirts. In any case, Edward’s parting words to Bella leave the audience wanting to sink their teeth into the next installment in the vampire saga: Eclipse. Love at first bite, indeed. - FI/YA, GMANews.TV The Twilight Saga: New Moon Red Carpet Premiere was held last November 19 at the SM Cinema in partnership with GMA-7 network. The film started its regular run in cinemas nationwide on November 20.