'Twilight' Sequel Makes Box Office History

By Casey Neeley
Rotunda Reporter Lately for many young girls, as well as boys, there has been a twinkle in their eyes and many warm, happy feelings. And it is the season for such joy. No, I'm not talking about Christmas; "New Moon," the second part of the four-part "Twilight Saga" has just been recently released in theaters. The same excitement many students feel for winter break and the holidays came early this year on November 20.

The movie picks up several months after the first movie left off. Bella (Kristen Stewart) is celebrating her 18th birthday with the "vegetarian" vampire family, the Cullens. While opening a gift, Bella cuts her finger and begins to bleed. Most of the family cannot handle the temptation of her blood and Jasper (Jackson Rathbone) attempts to attack Bella. Her boyfriend Edward (Robert Pattinson), is forced to fight off his brother to protect Bella. As a result, the family moves away in order to protect Bella, and Edward leaves, promising she will never see him again.

The heartbroken Bella ends up developing a friendship with the son of a family friend, Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner). As their friendship grows, so do Jacob's feelings for Bella. Though the Cullens left to keep Bella safe, she soon finds herself in danger again when Jacob and some of his friends begin to experience supernatural changes.

Fans have a right to be excited for "New Moon." Arguably, the second part of the saga has proven to be much more entertaining and professional than the first film, "Twilight." From the special effects to the acting, the second film is proving to be much more of a blockbuster than "Twilight."

With the addition of new director Chris Weitz, the cheaply made "Twilight" that Catherine Hardwicke created takes a back seat to the new film. Weitz, who is responsible for the special effects in "The Golden Compass," accomplishes a much more sophisticated film than Hardwicke.

According to senior Katie Hicks, "I thought that 'New Moon' was a really good movie. I feel as though the filming in this movie was a lot better than the last, but I hated that there were so many pre-teens in there going crazy every time Edward came on the screen."

The Team Edward/Team Jacob debate reigns supreme in 'New Moon.' The overall consensus shows, though, that Team Jacob has won, for now. While watching the movie, several movie-goers exclaimed loudly during shirtless Jacob scenes that they had switched teams. One spectator noisily stated that she, "used to be Team Edward, but I'm pretty sure I'm Team Jacob now!"

Though Edward was not as prominent in this film as he was in the first, his scenes added a great deal to the overall appeal. One of the most evident improvements in special effects was when Bella has visions of Edward. The creative use of camera angles and the smoky appearances and disappearances of Edward serve as examples of how far Weitz has taken the film series. "Twilight's" special effects were so poorly done that a hard enough look would probably reveal the strings used in the final fight scene. "New Moon;" however, uses effects that seem effortless and are indivisible from the live action in the film.

Hicks said, "The special effects in 'New Moon' were so much better than 'Twilight.' 'Twilight' looked cheap and like the people didn't know what they were doing. 'New Moon' looks really professional and expensive, though. It looks like the people making it took a lot of time to work on the effects and try to make them look as real as possible."

The movie also adds more star power than its predecessor. The most notable additions come from the frightening and ancient vampire royalty, the Vulturi. There is the Vulturi leader and mind reader, Aro (Michael Sheen), as well as the young but threatening Vulturi guard Jane (Dakota Fanning).

Even non-fans of the series enjoyed the film.

Senior Rachel Hood said, "Being only somewhat a fan of the books, I found the movie to follow the plot line of the book better than Twilight. I didn't really enjoy the first movie all that much, but I thought the special effects and obvious increase in budget really helped make 'New Moon' a much better movie."

The overall scope of the newest addition to the 'Twilight Saga' is certainly something for fans to be excited about. There is plenty of romance and shirtless glimpses of Taylor Lautner for the girls. And for the poor boyfriends who get dragged along, don't worry; the special effects and fight scenes will give you something to enjoy, too.