The Twilight Saga’s second installment finds Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward (Robert Pattinson) feeling pretty good –- or at least a little less broody — about the state of things after having ironed out some of the finer points of interspecies dating. Naturally, it doesn’t last long. Bella’s 18th birthday party turns into a bit of a fiasco when Edward’s brother nearly kills Bella in a fit of bloodlust. It’s an awkward situation, to be certain, but while Bella is willing to forgive and forget, Edward elects to leave town -– permanently. The decision sets off a chain of miscommunications that lead to, among other things, cliff diving, a visit with vampire royalty, a supernatural love triangle, and a close call with a scorned vampire (Rachelle Lefevre) whose mate met a gory end at the hands of the Cullens.

While much has been said about Catherine Hardwicke’s direction of the original film, she understood that The Twilight Saga is an unapologetic soap opera — an epic treatise on the joys and sorrows of true love. New Moon director Chris Weitz got the message, as well. There are villains, of course, but they come in a distant second to the tortured souls of Bella and Edward. At one point, Bella begs Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner) — werewolf, best friend, and almost-rebound boyfriend — not to ask her to choose between him and Edward, because Edward will always win. Weitz didn’t ask his audience to choose between plot and Edward, because Edward had already won.

• “The Twilight Saga: New Moon: The AMG Review” and related posts (allmovie.com)