Mom Review of ‘The Twilight Saga: New Moon’

Critics might not have kind words for The Twilight Saga: New Moon but as a mom I believe it’s a worthwhile movie.

The main character, Bella Swan, is a strong young woman who is true to herself. Bella isn’t a brainless shop-a-holic teen that is the norm for most girls of a certain age in the movies.  The message of the movie is that the strength of love can, over time, overcome any obstacle.  As a mother, that is a message that kids need to hear more of!

The Twilight Saga: New Moon is breaking records at the box office but critics aren’t impressed by the $72 million dollar record the movie broke for best opening day. You can read about any newspaper or website to get a very detailed account of New Moon but from a mother’s point-of-view, I think there are many good things about this movie.

1. Importance of Family

One thing I like about the Twilight books and movies is the emphasis on the importance of family—both main characters love their parents very much. I thought that the role of Edward’s father played by Peter Facinelli  shows depth and promise of how important this character is in the books. I thought the characters of Alice and Charlie become a bigger part of the story in New Moon.

2. Love is the Theme

The Twilight series of books and movies are about love. The reason why so many people are so crazy about the Twilight saga is because it’s a story of a first love—with some vampires and monsters thrown in.  Read my New Moon review is Just a Basic Love Story to find out more about the romance part of Twilight and New Moon.

3. New Moon is Tamer than Many TV Movies

There is nothing in The Twilight Saga: New Moon that your kids won’t see on TV—during the daytime.  It’s not violent, there are a few scary parts but I think it’s fine for kids 11 and up.

Warning-One part of the movie that bothered me as a mom was when Bella jumps off a cliff, putting herself in danger so that she can see her soulmate Edward. This is a bad message to send to our daughters and one that warrants discussion after the movie.

Compared to the first movie, Twilight, Bella has more depth, Edward looks less dead and Jacob’s six-pack abs are very nice to look at.  I may be a mom but I’m not dead, you know?

Go and see New Moon with your kids and talk with your child about some of the topics raised in the movie.  You won’t be sorry. Here is the latest TV commercial for the movie, to get a preview:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKwaF8PVXk0