Blu-ray Review The Twilight Saga: New Moon

Directed by: Chris Weitz Cast: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Michael Sheen Running Time: 2 hrs 10 mins Rating: PG-13 Due Out: March 20, 2010 Buy The Twilight Saga: New Moon [Blu-ray] on Amazon

PLOT: Edward (Pattinson) decides he must leave Bella (Stewart) to keep her safe. Bella finds a new relationship with Jacob (Lautner), a family friend, who turns out to be a werewolf.

WHO’S IT FOR? If you’re a twi-hard then you have already raced to the end of this review to see if I’m on the team that hates or loves this franchise. And the stereotype is that you are a teenage girl. Or wish you still were.

MOVIE:

This is a film that hinges on two big events. Our first one is a paper cut. After Bella and Edward finally realize they can’t live without each other in the first film, Bella gets a paper cut and this changes everything. Suddenly, Edward now fully understands that he and Bella shouldn’t be together. Vampires and humans just don’t mix. A paper cut.

This leads to an unbelievable break up that Bella believes. Time passes and there is some fun with Bella’s friends. Jessica (Anna Kendrick) gives us a typical teen friend and Mike (Michael Welch) gives us a typical teen crush. Both give us an escape from the supposed romance of a lifetime. Beyond that we have Jacob slowly coming into form. Muscles abound. Shirts come off. New feelings emerge. Can you imagine how many jean shorts these guys must go through? Insane costs. Jacob’s secret is that he’s a big furry beast (werewolf). Bella seems shocked … surprising for a girl who crushes on a vampire.

This leads to big event number two. In an odd crank call, confusing phone message between Edward and Jacob … Edward now wants to head to the Volturi (an important group of vampires) and off himself. I won’t get into all the details here in case you want to go in fresh. But it’s a phone call.

So we’ve got a paper cut and a phone call … and a romance that never feels as big as the movie tries to make it seem. There are moments, like a vampire fight in Italy, and hints of what is to come, but in its current form, we have a teenage romance that has turned into a love triangle. It’s just a passion that not everyone is allowed to see, unless you dive into that first paragraph of information up above. And for most, that’s not something we’re willing to do. And therefore, the movies remain mild, average, and occasionally interesting.

MOVIE SCORE: 5/10

EXTRAS

• The Journey Continues: a 6-part documentary on the making of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon'

life after "twilight" (4:30): The actors talk about how life has changed for them since Twilight hit the theaters. You'll get plenty of Robert Pattinson here, but it also gives you the side characters as well. I will truly never understand the idea of screaming, "Will you marry me?" at a famous person. That's just one thing that I'll never under about twihards. I could have used more Anna Kendrick here, she just has one soundbite.

chris weitz takes the helm (4:00) the subtle details (7:50) a look at production (29:00) it's not magic (10:30) ready for the world (7:20)

• Music Videos

"meet me on the equinox" by Death Cab for Cutie "satellite heart" by Anya Marina behind-the-scenes rehearsal of "i belong to you" by Muse "spotlight" by Mutemath

• Commentary with Director Chris Weitz and Editor Peter Lambert

• previews including Remember Me starring Robert Pattinson

EXTRAS SCORE: 6/10

OVERALL

Let’s get past the fan obsession. Let’s get past dreamboats, and who is dating whom. Let’s get past Team Edward, Team Jacob and Team Bella (like Switzerland from what I understand). This is a film that many have decided is great, simply because it's part of something they adore. Does that mean it's worth owning? Some will say yes.

The six-part documentary is what should bring the fans. It's not my favorite extra though. The best? The title screen. You fly through different, and absolutely beautiful artwork of all the characters in the film. The score accompanies this trip. I actually left it on while writing this entire review. The Blu-ray really does a good job of giving fans what they want, but at the same time there are some really odd extras. The behind-the-scenes with Muse is two minutes of stuff they could have left on the cutting room floor. Any commentary by anyone in the cast would have been a must for twihards. You really couldn't convince Taylor Lautner to do it? No one in the Cullen clan was available? I actually don't think there is any amount of extras that will be considered "too much" for fans. I believe there are also other versions of the Blu-ray for sale, but I'm not sure what the extras are for those. People just looking for a good movie should go elsewhere. Those who waited up until midnight to get their hands on this ... well, never mind. You already have it.

FINAL SCORE: 5/10