THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON is the sequel to the 2008 vampire movie TWILIGHT, both of which are based on novels by Stephanie Meyer. NEW MOON, directed by Chris Weitz, stars Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan, Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black and Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen.

The 2008 TWILIGHT film received a number of positive reviews from critics, which is especially impressive considering its target audience. It grossed over $7 million in ticket sales from midnight showings alone last year, and accumulated $69.6 million overall (more). Even David Denby's review in THE NEW YORKER was surprisingly positive: "Twilight, the first movie adapted from Stephenie Meyer’s series of best-selling teen novels, is going to be a big hit with young girls, and deservedly so -- the picture delivers," he wrote.

The sequel, however, isn't faring as well with critics this year. Stephanie Zacarek, who reluctantly praised the original TWILIGHT, wrote that NEW MOON "offers few of the juicy, go-for-broke romantic pleasures of its predecessor, and the movie is so badly shaped that it's hard not to blame Weitz as a director" (more).

James Berardinelli of REELVIEWS was even harsher in his assessment of the film. "NEW MOON comes dangerously close to self-parody on more than one occasion," he writes. Berardinelli muses that the film nonetheless "seems blissfully unaware of this and soldiers on with a seriousness that's unintentionally funny" (more).

The film does have a few supporters, like Michael Sullivan from the WASHINGTON POST, who calls the film "a sexy and scary romp", although Sullivan remains in a slim minority (more).