Twlight: Opening day review and viewer reaction

Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson in Twilight. Photo / Supplied

nzherald.co.nz's Ellen Dorset gives her take on one of the first screenings of Twilight in New Zealand. Watch the video to see what fellow members of the audience thought of the blockbuster

Fans of the Twilight saga will not be let down by the adaptation of Stephanie Meyer's second book, New Moon.

Awash with vampire vs werewolf action, romance and heartbreak with some awkward displays of teenage sexual tension thrown in, this film keeps you on the edge of your seat for most of the 131 minutes.

Directed by Chris Weitz, New Moon begins with Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) quoting from William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet - "These violent deaths have violent ends...".

Reference to Bella's favourite play continues throughout the film with similarities apparent in the storyline - especially when Edward goes to the Volturi in an attempt to commit suicide after miscommunication leads him to believe Bella is dead. The film picks up where Twilight left off, with Bella's 18th birthday.

After an accident at her party gets out of hand and Bella becomes prey to some ravenous vampires, Edward decides it would be best if he and the Cullens left Forks to protect her.

Bella spirals into a heartbroken, depressed mess with their absence and relies on Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner) to bring her out of her despair.

It may be a little too cringe worthy and cheesy in some places, with lingering gazes and loved-up lines, but subtlety is rare in the novels as well.

Much of the film consists of the half naked, ridiculously-buff-for-a-16-year-old Jacob, providing extra fuel for setting those teenage hearts a flutter.

However those with a thing for Edward (Robert Pattison) will have to be satisfied with Bella's apparitions and flashbacks to scenes from the previous movie - just until he returns with a cliffhanger proposition.

I'd say some on Team Edward will have switched sides by the end of New Moon, so if you call yourself a true vampire fan, be prepared to question where your loyalties really lie.