"New Moon" begins on Bella Swan's birthday. She hates making a big deal out of it, but Alice Cullen can't resist throwing her a huge celebration. But when Bella cuts herself and Jasper tries to attack her, you can guess where it goes from there. From then on, Edward feels guilty about not always being able to protect her, and finally decides to leave her... forever. Bella, depressed and alone, seeks comfort in her best friend, Jacob Black. Though they at first share many good times, when Jaco turns out to be a werewolf (who hates all vampires), the tension and suspense in the story is tightened. Of course, if Edward never came back, there wouldn't be any third of fourth stories, but all in good time. In the end, the plot stayed on close track with the book, just like its predecessor, and kept a good flow that had me entertained throughout.

The acting is where things begin to slow down. Though I like Kristen Stewart and find her to be a mature actress with an impressive resume (especially seeing her age), the dialogue she was given bordered on weak. She did well with what she was given, and beat her performance in "Twilight," but it still felt a bit robotic. Speaking of robotic... can you say Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner? Girls are going to shoot me for saying this, but I care more about how many times they rip off their shirts in slow motion. They just aren't very good actors. Lautner takes up more of the screen this time around, and though he did better than his previous attempt at Jacob, he still was very... corny. Pattinson was even more so, delivering his lines in such a formulaic and cardboard way. Dakota Fanning, however, turns in a very brief yet stunning performance as an evil vampire, Jane. The rest of the cast from "Twilight" returned, but none are given too much to do.

Things speed up again when we reach this film's visuals. Though I did enjoy "Twilight," it felt like the work of amateurs, and the handheld camera work didn't do the book justice. This time around, however, we are given a steady camera with great special effects. The production budget must've been higher, as the action scenes that were in this movie were three times better than "Twilight." The introduction of the werewolves added more excitement to the screen, and towards the end, when Bella and Edward visit a group of nasty vampires, the special effects really get a chance to show off. I tired of the almost constant action scenes filmed in slow motion, but overall, the visuals were a triumph compared to the weak and draggy ones of the first.

What I also liked was how similar the movie was to the book. Yes, I have read them. All four. Once (just to clarify). I found them all quite enjoyable, but not amazing enough to re-read seventeen times like the rest of the world. "New Moon" was actually my least favorite, as after Edward left Bella, it slowly slid downwards, becoming more dry with each chapter. The movie, however, doesn't have hundreds and hundreds of pages to waste. This movie is two hours long, and spends its time wisely following key points in the book. Sure, they added in a few action scenes here and there, but it was only to keep up the suspenseful flow and keep some of the males entertained. Yes... there is both romance and action in this one, making it a bigger appeal to both sexes.

I attended "New Moon" with seven other girls. The moment the lights dimmed, the theater erupted with screams, while I sat there awkwardly, waiting for it to start. I felt quite out of place. However... "New Moon" is not just for girls. Though that is where the main fan base lies, guys should find something enjoyable here, whether it be the eye-popping werewolves or the suspenseful climax. Yes, the acting was wooden and quite unbearable at times. Yes, at times this movie just felt formulaic and corny. But on the other hand, it followed the book's path almost completely, the special effects have definitely improved, and the whole direction of the movie has just... improved. A lot. Fans of "Twilight" will most definitely find something to love here, and even those who didn't care for the movie should be able to tell that this movie is different from its predecessor. And in this case, that's a good thing. In this case, it means that "New Moon" tromps "Twilight" (movie-wise.)