Parents Television Council Reviews

PTC reviews aim to provide you with advance information about an entertainment offering so that you can be the final arbiter of what you and your family see.

A sequel to the wildly-popular teenage vampire film Twilight, New Moon finds shy but determined teenager Bella Swan and young vampire Edward Cullen deeply in love. So great is Bella’s devotion that she begs Edward to make her a vampire so that she can spend eternity with him, a decision with which Edward’s vampire “family” concurs. But after Bella is threatened with harm, Edward believes it is best for him to leave her life completely. Bella is emotionally devastated, but over time her friendship and budding romance with teenager Jacob eases her pain. But Jacob has a supernatural secret of his own…  

Like Twilight, New Moon does contain supernatural elements and some violence, but is far more concerned with Bella’s romantic life and inner emotions. Bella and Edward’s love is passionate and intense, yet deeply chaste; there is no sex in the film either shown or implied, with the couple’s love expressed entirely through dialogue and a few kisses. There is no female nudity, though Jacob spends most of the movie shirtless (to the delight of the teenage girls in the audience of the screening this reviewer attended). Edward is bare-chested in a few scenes as well. Profanity is limited to “damn” and “hell,” and the word “frickin’ “ is heard in a movie Bella and Jacob attend. At one point, a discussion of the vampiric state is described as being “damned to Hell.” Bella is shown as a strong-willed and often disobedient girl, who frequently ignores her father’s wishes. Despairing after being left by Edward, she becomes an “adrenaline junkie,” engaging in various risky behaviors like cliff-diving and riding motorcycles. When discussing Edward’s concern for her soul should she become a vampire, Bella states several times that she “doesn’t believe in” a spiritual existence.

The most problematic area in New Moon is its intense fantasy violence, though this is true only in a relative sense. Vampires battle one another and some gigantic wolves, with characters being thrown through the air, crashing into trees and walls with tremendous force, but remaining unharmed. This “violence” is similar to that found in martial arts or superhero movies, though it is far less intense than that found in movies like Wolverine.  Bella, being human, is mildly injured and bleeds slightly at various points, as well as engaging in the aforementioned risky behaviors. Some very, very quick flashbacks to Twilight show a vampire attacking Bella and having his neck broken (no blood is seen). One vampire has a supernatural power to induce pain in others at a glance, manifested by Edward crumpling soundlessly to the ground. It is implied that several vampires massacre a group of human beings, though only an off-screen scream is heard.

It is unsurprising that the Twilight series has become such a phenomenon with young girls (and even some adult women). Its emphasis on the intensely romantic life of a strong-willed but unpopular girl, who is loved and protected by any number of attractive and powerful men, is one certain to appeal to many. Yet the series is to be commended for showing that romantic passion need not automatically involve sex – a lesson from which TV programs like Gossip Girl could benefit. Though the presence of supernatural creatures like vampires may concern some parents, New Moon is devoid of sexual content and restrained in its language and violence, and as such is a harmless diversion for teenagers. Because of its young adult themes and limited violence, the Parents Television Council does not recommend New Moon for viewers under age 13.

Family Movie Reviews

The Parents Television Council - www.parentstv.org

Have you seen this movie? Comment on this review, Click here!