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If New Moon was a facial expression, it would be a scowl. Even more than Twilight, this is a story full of pain, confusion and a lot of furrowed brows. Amanda Holden would be useless in it.

Director Chris Weitz has said that he took the movie because he wanted to make a film about depression. Well, he's sure done that. Kristen Stewart makes Bella's angst totally believable, stuck between missing the largely absent Edward (Robert Pattinson) and getting closer to old friend Jacob (Taylor Lautner). In fact, there's a solid half hour in the middle where all that rainy Washington state misery almost gets a bit too much.

When Bella heads to Italy to rescue Edward it's a welcome blast of colour and sunshine. The senior vampires - The Volturi - are also a nice touch. But there's a feeling throughout New Moon that with a bit more time (Twilight was only out a year ago) the movie could've had way more style.

It still works though. The tunes are haunting, the acting spot-on and the eye candy plentiful. Why is it werewolf boys never wanna wear a shirt? It's not as punchy a tale as Twilight and there's still loads of room for improvement looks- wise but this is a movie that knows about the intense emotions that we the audience relish. It knows about heartbreak. It knows about lovesick. It knows how to frown. 3 stars.