ANGST.
I haven't seen so much angst packed into two hours since high school. As in, real life, when I was in high school. In fact, I'm kind of sad I couldn't watch New Moon as a 16-year-old girl because I think I would have LOVED it. It was just so angsty. Everyone was sad and mopey and dramatic and beautiful and breaking up and having misunderstandings and almost kissing. ANGST.
Besides the angst, here are my other impressions of the movie:
-Jacob still bugs. He's improved since Twilight, but he still bugs. Sorry.
-I thought Bella did a lot better in this movie. She didn't sputter and stammer as much, which was nice.
-I really liked how the film portrayed the aftermath of the breakup.
-I LOVED Michael Sheen as the vampire Aro. You may remember him from such movies as The Queen, in which he portrayed Tony Blair. In some ways, it seemed like Sheen was the only one in New Moon who didn't take himself too seriously, and his performance was awesome as a result.
So, yeah, my feelings are quite mixed on this one. I did thoroughly enjoy the movie. It was engrossing, moody, and well produced. But there were lots of cringe-worthy moments and I don't know that anyone who doesn't like the books (to which it is shockingly faithful) would like the movie.
Also, let me just state for the record that even though Jacob as portrayed in the movie kind of bothered me, he did lend a certain vibrancy and momentum to the story that disappeared whenever Edward showed up again. This is why I am adding Bella Swan to the list of Literary Heroines Who Ended Up With the Wrong Man (also on that list: Jo March and Anne Shirley).
Did you see New Moon? What did you think?