---
title: "The Twilight Saga: New Moon"
year: 2009
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-twilight-saga-new-moon"
fi1m_id: "the-twilight-saga-new-moon"
imdb_id: "tt1259571"
tmdb_id: 18239
wikidata_id: "Q116928"
fi1m_score: 48
critics_score: 45
critics_reviews: 14
published: "2026-10-05T11:16:05.851269+00:00"
updated: "2026-10-05T11:16:06.414014+00:00"
region: "PE"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009)

Directed by Chris Weitz · 2h 11m · Adventure, Fantasy, Drama, Romance

## Identity

The Twilight Saga: New Moon

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/the-twilight-saga-new-moon
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** the-twilight-saga-new-moon
- **IMDb ID:** tt1259571
- **TMDB ID:** 18239
- **Wikidata ID:** Q116928
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1259571/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/18239, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q116928

**Fi1m score: 48** · Critics 45 from 14 reviews

*In a sentence:* Edward leaves at twenty minutes, Bella stares out of a window for three months, and the camera stares with her

> Chris Weitz has made a handsomer, steadier film than the first *Twilight* and a much slower one, built around an absent boyfriend and a heroine who misses him. Kristen Stewart holds it together; Michael Sheen arrives late to remind everyone it could have been fun.

## Synopsis

Forks, Washington. Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) turns 18 and is thrown a birthday party at the glass house of her vampire boyfriend Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) and his family. She cuts her finger on wrapping paper, Jasper Hale (Jackson Rathbone) lunges for her, and Edward decides she will be safer if he and the Cullens leave town for good. He goes. Bella spends the autumn and winter in a chair by her bedroom window, while her father Charlie Swan (Billy Burke) worries from the doorway. She is pulled back out by Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner), a friend on the reservation who repairs motorbikes in his garage and is plainly in love with her. Victoria (Rachelle Lefevre), the red-haired vampire from the first film, is still hunting her. And Bella finds that whenever she does something dangerous, she can hear Edward’s voice.

## Review

Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) leaves Forks about twenty minutes into *New Moon*, and the film’s trouble is that he takes its pulse with him. Chris Weitz, taking over from Catherine Hardwicke, has made a better-built picture than [*Twilight*](https://film.one/film/twilight): the camera has stopped wobbling, the colours have deepened, and there is a proper composer. He has also made one in which the heroine spends the middle hour grieving a boyfriend, and Melissa Rosenberg’s screenplay, which follows Stephenie Meyer’s novel closely, is not willing to shorten the grief. At 131 minutes it is long for a film in which the main thing that happens is that somebody goes away.

Kristen Stewart carries it, and more capably than she is usually given credit for. Bella’s months without Edward are played as a dull ache rather than a tantrum. She sits in a chair by her window while Javier Aguirresarobe’s camera circles her and the trees outside go from October to December to spring, the light on the glass changing with them. We will admit that shot got to us: the slow turn, the drizzle, Alexandre Desplat’s piano picking out a line and letting it drop. Then Rosenberg has Bella explain the same feeling in voiceover, in unanswered emails to Alice Cullen (Ashley Greene), and the feeling goes.

Taylor Lautner’s Jacob Black is what the film finds to fill the gap, and the garage scenes, two kids pulling motorbikes apart and putting them back together, are the loosest and warmest stretch. Lautner is sunny and uncomplicated and the camera likes him. But Rosenberg writes Jacob as patient, then as angry, then as patient again, and the film is more interested in his chest than in his head. When Bella comes off a bike and Jacob removes his shirt to dab the blood from her forehead, we laughed, and we were not certain the film was laughing with us. There is a good deal more of this. Tish Monaghan appears to have been told to budget for cut-off jeans.

Jacob’s secret, which the trailer gives away, arrives as a pack of computer-generated wolves the size of horses, and they are the weakest thing on screen. The fur does not move with the body, the paws never quite land on the forest floor, and Peter Lambert cuts round them as fast as he decently can. A skirmish in the woods with Victoria (Rachelle Lefevre) is over before it has become legible. The first film had cheap effects and hid them; this one has better effects and shows them off, which turns out to be worse.

The rest of the craft is sound. Aguirresarobe has swapped Hardwicke’s blue-green for amber and brown, so Forks looks like a place where it rains on leaves rather than on concrete. David Brisbin’s Cullen house, all glass and pale wood, is as good as before, and he gives the late Italian scenes a stone chamber with real weight to it. Desplat’s score is the single biggest improvement over the first film: strings and piano that take the romance seriously without underlining every line of it. Billy Burke’s Charlie remains the one adult who behaves like one, and his worry over his daughter moved us more than any of the vampire business.

Michael Sheen and Dakota Fanning turn up in the last half hour, and we will not describe what they are there for. Sheen plays Aro as a delighted host, clasping hands and beaming, and his first scene is the only moment where the film seems to know how silly it is and to enjoy that. Fanning, as Jane, says almost nothing and is properly unsettling in Monaghan’s black and red. Both are gone too soon.

Weitz made *About a Boy*, which was about a grown man learning to be around other people, and [*The Golden Compass*](https://film.one/film/the-golden-compass), which spent a fortune on a polar bear and ran out of story. Here he sits between the two: tasteful, competent and apparently under instruction not to leave anything out. Gothic romance runs on danger, and the vampires here are so polite that the only real threat for most of the running time is a girl’s low mood.

If you loved the books you will have a decent evening and did not need us to tell you so. If you did not, you are watching a 131-minute wait for a boy to change his mind, and the 12A means the danger never gets more than mildly damp.

*Fi1m score 48, published 5 October 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics are unconvinced, and even the sympathetic ones hedge. The reviews agree on two things: the film gives its devoted audience what it came for, and it has little to offer anyone else. Where praise appears, it lands on Kristen Stewart, credited by several critics with carrying Bella’s heartbreak, and on the darker, moodier look, which most find an improvement on the first film. Michael Sheen’s brief turn gets a mention or two.

The reservations cluster around pace. Reviewers across the board find the middle section slow, the subplots drawn out and the adolescent angst wearing. The wolf effects draw repeated complaints, and several reviews call the supporting performances wooden. The spread is wide: Variety is alone in rating the sequel as good as or better than its predecessor, while Slant goes furthest the other way, objecting to the romance on moral grounds rather than dramatic ones.

## Straight answers

**Is The Twilight Saga: New Moon worth watching?**

*The Twilight Saga: New Moon* is worth watching only if you loved the books, and we scored it 48. Chris Weitz has made a handsomer, steadier film than the first, with a proper score from Alexandre Desplat and a capable Kristen Stewart, but Edward leaves twenty minutes in and the middle hour is a girl grieving by a window. For anyone else it is a 131-minute wait for a boy to change his mind.

**How long is The Twilight Saga: New Moon, and what is it rated?**

*The Twilight Saga: New Moon* runs 2h 11m. It is an adventure and fantasy film.

**Where can I watch The Twilight Saga: New Moon in Peru?**

*The Twilight Saga: New Moon* is not on any streaming or rental service in Peru at the moment. It is available in 50 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily.

**How violent or frightening is The Twilight Saga: New Moon, and is it suitable for children?**

*The Twilight Saga: New Moon* is a 12A, and the danger never gets more than mildly damp. There is a cut finger at a birthday party, a motorbike fall with a bloodied forehead and a brief, barely legible skirmish in the woods, and the computer-generated wolves are too unconvincing to frighten anyone. It suits teenagers and older children; the squeamish have little to fear.

**How does The Twilight Saga: New Moon compare to Twilight?**

*The Twilight Saga: New Moon* is the better-built film and [*Twilight*](https://film.one/film/twilight) is the better one to watch. Weitz steadies the camera, deepens the colours and brings in a real composer, but he also removes the boyfriend and slows everything down. The first film is rougher and cheaper, with worse effects it has the sense to hide, and the romance is still a surprise rather than an absence.

**Is The Twilight Saga: New Moon based on a true story or a book?**

*The Twilight Saga: New Moon* is based on Stephenie Meyer's novel of the same name, not on a true story. Melissa Rosenberg's screenplay follows the book closely, which is part of the problem, since it is unwilling to shorten Bella's months of grief. Readers of the novel will get what they came for; newcomers do not need to have read it to follow the film.

**What should I watch after The Twilight Saga: New Moon?**

After *The Twilight Saga: New Moon*, try [*Twilight*](https://film.one/film/twilight) (2008, Fi1m 70): The first one: rougher, cheaper and oddly more alive, with the romance still a surprise. Then [*Let the Right One In*](https://film.one/film/let-the-right-one-in) (2008, Fi1m 88): A Swedish child vampire and a lonely boy; the teenage romance done with real cold; and [*Only Lovers Left Alive*](https://film.one/film/only-lovers-left-alive) (2013, Fi1m 81): Jarmusch’s vampires are centuries into the relationship and still bored; the mature version.

### Reviews we read (14)

- **Variety**, Jordan Mintzer (75/100, inferred): Mintzer finds the sequel as good as, and perhaps better than, its predecessor, despite some rushed storytelling. He especially praises Kristen Stewart’s emotionally compelling performance, which gives depth to Bella’s heartbreak. [Read](https://variety.com/2009/film/markets-festivals/the-twilight-saga-new-moon-1200477394/)
- **Screen Daily**, Mike Goodridge (64/100, inferred): The review text is unavailable, so its verdict cannot be determined. No specific praise or complaint is visible in the accessible page. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-twilight-saga-new-moon/5008025.article)
- **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert (2.5/4): Ebert considers the film a serviceable continuation, chiefly suited to fans of the series. Its Gothic romance is the element he singles out as central to its appeal. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-twilight-saga-new-moon-2009)
- **Time Out**, Anna Smith (3/5): Smith gives the sequel a three-star assessment and frames it as a study of sexual and romantic obsession. The available excerpt highlights that thematic focus but cuts off before revealing what she praises or faults. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-twilight-saga-new-moon-1)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, THR Staff (55/100, inferred): The critic finds the sequel exceptionally faithful to the original, with its slow pace likely to test viewers outside the fan base. They praise the committed performances and dark, moody production values, though some dialogue provokes a smirk. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/twilight-saga-new-moon-film-93768/)
- **The AV Club**, Genevieve Koski (C-): Koski finds the film tedious and unlikely to win new fans, though it delivers what its devoted audience wants. She praises the improved visuals and action, while criticizing the drawn-out subplots and wooden performances. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/the-twilight-saga-new-moon-1798207503)
- **Total Film**, Jane Crowther (2/5): Crowther finds the film an overripe, melodramatic adaptation that will please devoted fans but falls short as a standalone film. She praises Michael Sheen’s entertaining performance, while criticizing the portentous tone and weak CGI wolves. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/the-twilight-saga-new-moon-review/)
- **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (35/100, inferred): Bradshaw finds the sequel predictable and says the franchise is looking anaemic. He praises Kristen Stewart’s acting development and points to a few droll scenes as entertaining highlights. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/nov/19/twilight-saga-new-moon-review)
- **Slant Magazine**, Simon Abrams (15/100, inferred): Abrams sharply criticizes the film as an incoherent, morally troubling romance. He particularly objects to its presentation of Bella’s relationships with much older Edward and the werewolf Jacob as appealing. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-twilight-saga-new-moon/)
- **HeyUGuys**, Gary Phillips (55/100, inferred): The critic says the film is not for him but works for its intended audience, with strong performances and casting. He praises Kristen Stewart’s screen presence while faulting the sparse fights and ropey special effects. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/review-the-twilight-saga-new-moon/)
- **Den of Geek**, Ron Hogan (1 out of 5): Hogan finds the film only marginally better than its predecessor and overwhelmingly poor. He singles out Taylor Lautner as the lone acting standout, while criticizing the plot, performances, and CGI. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/twilight-new-moon-review/)
- **Digital Spy**, Stella Papamichael (20/100, inferred): The review finds the sequel a draining, largely empty experience, with its middle section especially weakened by the lack of rapport between Stewart and Lautner. It praises Stewart for carrying the film and giving Bella emotional depth. [Read](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a186951/the-twilight-saga-new-moon/)
- **/Film**, Russ Fischer (2/10): Fischer finds the film listless, unimaginative, and dramatically empty. He singles out the sharper technical craft compared with the first film, but says the improved effects cannot make up for the lack of genuine feeling. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/506241/the-twilight-saga-new-moon-movie-review-let-the-wrong-one-in/)
- **Eye for Film**, Martin Gray (10/100, inferred): The critic gives the film a strongly negative verdict, finding its central romance unconvincing and its characters joyless. He particularly faults the drawn-out adolescent angst and praises Anna Kendrick and Michael Welch for bringing flashes of fun to small roles. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-twilight-saga-new-moon-film-review-by-martin-gray)

## Details

- **Director:** Chris Weitz
- **Director:** Chris Weitz
- **Screenplay:** Melissa Rosenberg
- **Novel:** Stephenie Meyer
- **Cinematography:** Javier Aguirresarobe
- **Editor:** Peter Lambert
- **Music:** Alexandre Desplat
- **Production design:** David Brisbin
- **Costume design:** Tish Monaghan
- **Producer:** Wyck Godfrey, Kerry Kohansky-Roberts, Karen Rosenfelt
- **Cast:** Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan; Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen; Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black; Dakota Fanning as Jane; Michael Sheen as Aro; Ashley Greene as Alice Cullen; Rachelle Lefevre as Victoria; Billy Burke as Charlie Swan
- **Runtime:** 2h 11m
- **First release (Belgium):** 18 November 2009
- **Genres:** Adventure, Fantasy, Drama, Romance
- **Budget:** $50 million
- **Box office:** $710 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q58iQSHhZGg

## Where to watch in Peru

Not streaming, renting or buying in Peru at the last check.

Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, HK, HR, HU, ID, IE, IL, IN, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, TH, TR, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Movie 2010: Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Movie (nominated)
- MTV Movie Award for Best Female Performance 2010: MTV Movie Award for Best Female Performance (won)
- MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss 2010: MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss (won)
- MTV Movie Award for Best Male Performance 2010: MTV Movie Award for Best Male Performance (won)
- MTV Movie Award for Best Movie 2010: MTV Movie Award for Best Movie (won)
- Teen Choice Award for Best Villain 2010: Teen Choice Award for Best Villain (won)
- World Soundtrack Award for Soundtrack Composer of the Year 2010: World Soundtrack Award for Soundtrack Composer of the Year (won)
- Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel 2009: Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel (nominated)
- Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screen Couple/Ensemble 2009: Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screen Couple/Ensemble (nominated)
- Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screenplay 2009: Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screenplay (nominated)
- Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor - Razzie Award 2009: Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor - Razzie Award (nominated)

## If you liked this

- *Twilight* (2008), Fi1m 70: The first one: rougher, cheaper and oddly more alive, with the romance still a surprise. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/twilight.md)
- *Let the Right One In* (2008), Fi1m 88: A Swedish child vampire and a lonely boy; the teenage romance done with real cold. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/let-the-right-one-in.md)
- *Ginger Snaps* (2000): Canadian werewolf film that treats adolescence as the monster, and is funny about it.
- *Only Lovers Left Alive* (2013), Fi1m 81: Jarmusch’s vampires are centuries into the relationship and still bored; the mature version. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/only-lovers-left-alive.md)
- *Wuthering Heights* (2011): Andrea Arnold’s moors, mud and silence; the brooding romance New Moon is reaching for.

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/the-twilight-saga-new-moon