The Twilight Saga: New Moon Review

Messages: Bella, while in some ways very mature, is the poster child for obsessive love in this movie. She intentionally acts recklessly in order to see Edward in her mind, which isn't a positive message to send young girls. And her relationship with Edward, while loving, continues to determine her happiness, as evident in her three months of catatonic depression after their break-up early in the film. Edward is downright suicidal at the thought of losing Bella forever, and his decision to provoke the Volturi is literally self-destructive. Platonic friendships are shown as being fraught with sexual tension, which is also iffy for tweens and adolescents. All of that said, there's a lot of selflessness here, too, with characters putting themselves at risk to help others.

Role models: Even though Bella is an incredibly loyal friend and girlfriend, she also has far too much of her self esteem wrapped up in her intense relationships with Edward and Jacob. She never feels that she's worthy of Edward, and she admits to feeling selfish in the way that she clings to Jacob even while telling him she can never love him "that way." That said, Edward and Jacob are both very protective of Bella, who is in turn protective of each of them. They all get a chance to save each other and don't hesitate to do so. And Charlie and Bella's father-daughter relationship, while not completely honest on Bella's part, is very close.

Violence: Notably more action and violence than in the first film. Early in the movie, Jasper almost attacks Bella, leading to a fight between him and Edward. Accident-prone Bella falls, bleeds, and gets bruised several times and in one case almost drowns to death. Victoria and the Wolf Pack have a big fight, as do the werewolves and Laurent. Bella slaps Sam; Paul then becomes aggressive and lunges at her in werewolf form, only to be caught in a fight with wolf-Jacob. The Volturi's minions dismember a guilty vampire (it's quick and not much is shown, but the effect is gory), almost kill Edward and Bella, and make Edward writhe in pain.

Sex: Although there's nothing explicit, all of Bella and Edward's scenes are filled with passionate looks, hugs (including one in which he's shirtless), and brief-but-intense kisses. Jacob holds Bella's hand and stares at her longingly, and they share several close embraces (two while he's shirtless) and at least three "almost kisses." Other couples are shown holding hands, hugging, and kissing. No shortage of shirtless, buff guys, courtesy of the La Push Wolf Pack.

Language: Just like the books, the worst is a few exclamations of "what the hell," "dammit," and "oh my God," plus derogatory barbs like "weird," "wet dog," "bloodsucker," etc.

Consumerism: Volvo once again supplies Edward's car of choice (this time it's an XC60); other featured car brands include Porsche and Mercedes. Bella's computer is an Apple MacBook, and she and Alice fly Virgin America to Italy (which is amusing, since that division of Virgin doesn't fly to Europe). The movie also has huge merchandising tie-ins with Volvo, Burger King, and Hot Topic.

Drinking, drugs and smoking: Not an issue