THE TWILIGHT SAGA CONTINUES

Soft porn for young teenage girls- that's what director Chris Weitz has to offer. Oodles of bare-chested skin show and it's all about building up to those few moments of lip-lock- be it with Bella and Edward or Bella and Jacob with lots of awkward, cheesy dialogue in between.

Bella sure does get around- from vampires to werewolves- from being a tragic Juliet to our Romeo Edward Cullen to being an adrenalin junkie Red Riding Hood for the wolf pack- from a break up in Forks to a lover's reunion in Italy-it's all about pouting and whiny BELLA whose not as awkward as she was in the original but you still want to roll your eyes and say-LADY GROW A PERSONALITY!!! But then again with our hero Robert Pattinson's Edward Cullen talking like a zombie-it's not like the hero has much of one either.

It's less Edward in the flesh- fans will have to make do with the special effects created ghostly version of him for two-thirds of the film as he comes and warns Bella repeatedly in a strange echo of a voice-" Bella don't do anything reckless" but our little petulant, dumb Bella still decides to go motor bike riding and is adamant to jump off a cliff just for kicks or maybe just for the special effects thrill. So yes with all the staring and the ogling- the romance of Edward and Bella true to tradition continues to be unconvincing and officially hollow. So if its not dashing, milky and twinkly Edward in the flesh-its Jacob who steps up- cuts his long Indian hair into a far more pleasing short crop and spends most of his time shirtless or in the process of going shirtless to show off his muscles and pecs and play werewolf.

A far more clever director would have chosen to go less literal in his adaptation and would have focussed on deconstructing the myth of the werewolf verses vampire relationship to give his characters and overall story direction some sort of fantasy fiction edge. But no no no that's asking too much- Why should it be important to know how Jacob got recruited into the wolf pack? Why would context and a more deeper understanding of the much revered and feared vampire family sitting in Italy be significant? Why would it indeed...

Having said that though the effects and overall production values have been upgraded- The CGI is seamless- particularly the werewolf transformation moments and an underwater sequence. The second half picks up its tempo, spares us with all the love longing, "I want to be a vampire" Bella ordeal but by then the exhaustion and an aching disinterest in this sappy saga has already set in. Micheal Sheen and Dakota Fanning may be all over the posters and marketing stills but they only appear in the fag end- too little too late to offer NEW MOON any redemption.

Awkward dialogue, bland characters and a prolonged, achingly boring cranky tale of vampire longing...For those who haven't read the novel, you now know (if you didn't figure it out already)without a doubt what dear little Bella's eventual fate will be. One can't believe that one has to sit through two more editions of this four part series to get to it.Darn it....