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Media Credit: Kimberley French KRISTEN STEWART stars as Bella Swan and ROBERT PATTINSON stars as Edward Cullen in THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON. Photo Credit: Kimberley French. All Images © 2009 Summit Entertainment, LLC. All rights reserved.

It's official, "Twilight" fever has taken over the world. At the moment, you cannot walk anywhere without being reminded that the second of Stephenie Meyer's popular book series is about to be released in the cinema. As a fan of the books, I was waiting for "New Moon" to finally be released - along with what feels like the rest of the world. The good news? It's a good movie.

Keeping with the timeline of the first movie in the "Twilight" saga, "New Moon" picks up a few months from where we left high school student Bella (Kristen Stewart) and her vampire boyfriend Edward (Robert Pattinson).

Everything seems to be going blissfully well until an accident at her 18th birthday party forces Edward to leave the town of Forks, and Bella, forever.

After being sent into a deep depression by his absence, Bella slowly begins to come out of her shell again thanks to her friend Jacob (Taylor Lautner).

But the situation soon become complicated when Jacob has a secret of his own. Bella starts to become more reckless upon discovering that when she puts herself in danger, she is able to see Edward again. An attempt at cliff-diving starts a chain of events that concludes with a face-to-face encounter with the most feared of all vampires, The Volturi.

There will be a firm line drawn between Team Edward and Team Jacob for the remainder of the films and that is down to Taylor Lautner who has really made the character of Jacob come to life both physically and emotionally. There has been plenty of press about the hard work he put into buffing himself up to keep this role and I really don't think if they had replaced him they could have found anybody better.

Flying the flag for the British actors involved is Michael Sheen as Aro, one of the heads of The Volturi. He is charmingly chilling in a very friendly, British way, but just under the surface lies a darker creature that is waiting to be let loose. Next to him in the creepy stakes is everybody's favorite child actor, Dakota Fanning, who plays evil vampire, Jane, with a straight face and menacing façade.

Reprising their roles from the first installment, Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson slip back into Bella and Edward as if they have never been away or become huge superstars between the films. Following on almost effortlessly from its predecessor, "New Moon" is a bigger, bolder and, ultimately, a better movie than "Twilight." With the storyline and characters in place, you jump straight into the action and feel like you have just carried on where you left off. Not many sequels can do this as naturally as it has been done here. Kudos go to the filmmakers.

Director Chris Weitz and writer Melissa Rosenberg have managed to do something that not many are truly successful at here though, and that is taking a book and bringing it to life without editing or watering down the source material. Even if that does mean cutting the screen time of teen heartthrob Robert Pattinson, a brave move as he really has become the face of the franchise more than any other.

It seems a shame really that this writer and director duo will be split up for the next movie (director David Slade will helm the next installment) but maybe a different take is what will breathe new life into the franchise. Time will only tell.

The success of the first movie has also allowed a bigger budget for the second and that can be seen almost immediately on screen.

Gone is the amateur attempt of making the vampire's skin sparkle and in its place is a much more natural authentic attempt of what, essentially, is making somebody look like they are covered in a diamond-like finish rather than being dunked in glitter. It still looks slightly strange, but it did not create hoots of laughter from the audience, which the original did. However, the biggest effects are saved for the werewolves and this actually was the largest disappointment I had. You can tell that there was effort put into their creation, but there are times when it takes you out of the story because your entire focus is on the fact they look so computer-generated.

My one real gripe with "Twilight" was that it felt like a Catherine Hardwicke movie and not a Twilight movie. This has more than been rectified in "New Moon" with the style fitting the genre. It makes the movie itself run a lot smoother than the first.

I also wish there had been more time spent with the Quileute Tribe of wolves, as in the book you really got a sense of who they were. In the movie, it was glossed over - something that I hope will be solved with the remaining films. No matter what is said, "New Moon" will do well at the box office thanks to the masses of Twi-hard fans out there.

Thankfully, the filmmakers have not have made a film that will not only entertain the fans but the wider audience.

I can almost hear the countdown to Eclipse starting now.

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