​By Damon Smith

Not since Harry Potter first cast a spell over cinema audiences has a franchise based on a series of best-selling novels been as completely critic-proof as the Twilight Saga.

The good-looking cast could probably stare silently into the camera for two hours and fans of Stephenie Meyer’s teen romances would still flock to the multiplexes in their millions.

Thankfully, Chris Weitz’s eagerly anticipated rendering of the second instalment of the four-book saga is thoroughly entertaining and more polished than its predecessor.

Hunky male leads Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner spend an inordinate amount of time with their shirts off.

New Moon is too long – 15 minutes of gloom and adolescent angst could easily have been excised from the opening act – but it’s unlikely the target audience will complain.

Screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg sensibly spends the entire middle act establishing the love triangle that sustains not just this film but also the next, Eclipse, which is due in cinemas in July 2010.

This is soap opera writ large, complete with a cliffhanger finale.

The love affair between teenage misfit Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and vampire Edward Cullen (Pattinson) reaches a crossroads and the paths ahead all lead to heartbreak.

Edward and the rest of the vampire Cullen clan – Dr Carlisle (Peter Facinelli), Esme (Elizabeth Reaser), Alice (Ashley Greene), Jasper (Jackson Rathbone), Emmett (Kellan Lutz) and Rosalie (Nikki Reed) – are forced to abandon the close-knit community of Forks, Washington, if Bella is to be safe.

Abandoned by her soul(less) mate, the teenager becomes a shadow of her former self until her relationship with buffed-up family friend Jacob Black (Lautner) takes an exciting turn.

When bloodthirsty predator Laurent (Ed Gathegi) returns to deal Bella a fatal blow at the behest of vengeful Victoria (Rachelle Lefevre), a new protector is there for her.

The Twilight Saga: New Moon is glossy froth but it’s extremely well made, apart from some of the digitally-generated werewolves.

The slavering carnivores lack the correct inertia and momentum, notably in a pivotal chase sequence.

Weitz certainly likes his musical montages, employing them almost back-to-back in the opening hour but like everything else in the film, they are polished to a sheen.

Stewart teases out her heroine’s internal anguish as Bella finds herself torn between morose Edward and hot-blooded Jacob.

Rating: 4/5