Looking back on the latter part of 2009, New Moon, the second installment of the Twilight Saga, was undoubtedly one of the biggest movies of the year.
Looking back on the latter part of 2009, New Moon, the second installment of the Twilight Saga, was undoubtedly one of the biggest movies of the year.
You don’t have to take my word for it. Just ask the thousands of screaming fans that camped outside movie houses in the United States, UK and even Japan to catch the premiere. Even in South Africa, tickets were booked well in advance as Twilight Mania gripped the world.
In New Moon, Bella Swan, played by Kristen Stewart, celebrates her 18th birthday. While most teenagers look forward to birthdays, Bella is concerned that she is becoming too old for her 103-year-old vampire boyfriend Edward Cullen, played by Brit Robert Pattinson.
Now if you’ve seen the first movie, or even read the book, you would know that Edward has been 17 for over a century now. Once you’ve received the kiss of death, you forever remain the age at which you’ve "died".
Bella is consumed by nightmares of being a wrinkly, white haired woman next to her brilliantly handsome boyfriend.
Needless to say when Alice Cullen, Edward’s annoyingly happy, psychic sister played by Ashley Greene, throws a birthday party, the tortured Bella is against it.
The birthday part, however, takes a near disastrous turn when Bella is attacked by vampire Jasper Cullen, Edward’s brother.
Just when Bella thinks aging is her biggest concern, Edward breaks up with her and the Cullen family move awat from Forks.
In the months after the break-up Bella becomes somewhat of a recluse as she is consumed by heartache, falling deeper and deeper into an abyss of despair.
It’s only when she "sees" Edward one night while out with a school friend that Bella finds a purpose to life. She takes up adrenaline activities, with visions of Edward flashing warning signs to be careful.
She turns to her friend Jacob Black, played by 17-year-old Taylor Lautner, to rebuild two motorbikes to fuel her adrenaline.
While spending time together fixing the bikes, Bella and Jacob’s friendship develops into a strong bond and soon Bella’s pain of losing the love of her life starts to ease.
Poor Bella suffers more heartbreak when Jacob says that they can no longer be friends.
In a strange turn of events, Bella discovers the reason why her best friend no longer wants her in his life – Jacob is in actual fact a werewolf! And if the werewolf didn’t make Bella’s life complicated, Alice re-emerges after months to tell her that Edward is going to die and only Bella can save him.
Forget about the vampires and werewolves. New Moon is a love story, albeit of forbidden love. The ladies will love it and the boys are sure to catch a few tips too.
