This time last year, Catherine Hardwicke's Twilight premiered to great success, if mixed critical results, launching a full-blown pop culture phenomenon in the process. Its sequel, New Moon, faces even more of an uphill battle among film critics and non-fans, thanks to an angst-heavy plot pulled straight from the pages of its source material. But are critics being too harsh on New Moon? We rounded up a sampling of reviews.

Twilight, the first film to be adapted from Stephenie Meyer's books, proved a divisive movie upon release. Its 49 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes indicates a near 50-50 split among critics who liked it and those who didn't, the latter mostly unswayed by the romantic tension between stars Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart and the emotional authenticity that Hardwicke managed to strike, even while struggling with unfortunate effects choices and cumbersome dialogue.

This time around, fewer critics are endorsing New Moon the film. They cite a variety of reasons, although few seem to agree on exactly the combination of elements making them turn their thumbs downward. There is, however, one concession for fans: even its detractors admit that fans are likely to forgive New Moon its shortcomings.

Some take issue with the slow, deliberate pacing of the film, which runs over two hours and features long stretches of angst-filled longing, thanks to Bella's lasting depression over her break-up with Edward Cullen.

"Even upping the action quotient can't make up for the angsty, deadly dull first hour." - Jeff Vice, Deseret News

"Long opening stretches of this film make utterly no sense unless you walk in knowing the first film, and hopefully both Stephanie Meyer novels, by heart." – Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Others have problems digesting New Moon's occasionally cheesy and saccharine dialogue, translated from the book sometimes in full by screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg.

"It's cheesy, poorly focused, and features some borderline-awful dialogue and performances. None of that will matter to Twilight fans and, just as Star Trek fans forgave V'ger and Star Wars fans bravely endured the Ewoks, this group will ignore the flaws to concentrate on what works." – James Berardinelli, Reel Views

Because it's been adapted so faithfully, New Moon doesn't move cinematically.

"Ultimately, the film commits the biggest sin any film can commit: it's boring.  It's poorly structured, there's little or no tension to the film's "drama," and even the big moments like Bella racing to Italy to stop Edward's suicide or Graham Greene facing a vampire attack in the woods only to be saved by a werewolf are so poorly staged and so oddly cut that there is no energy to any of them." – Drew McWeeny, HitFix

Even so, many agree that Weitz's direction is a more finessed, technically polished improvement over Hardwicke's loose style.

"With Chris Weitz behind the lens, New Moon improves on Hardwicke's dreadful effort on almost every level. Digital effects aren't laughably bad…Weitz coaxes better performances out of his cast, as well. Even with a decent director at the helm, The Twilight Saga always will be hampered by Meyer's juvenile prose." - Sean O'Connell, Filmcritic

The character of Bella, which fans know inside and out thanks to familiarity with the books, comes across as unsympathetic to the uninitiated.

"Bella is defined solely by Edward. Every thought she has, every action she takes, is because of her love for him. That may be romantic, but such a one-dimensional protagonist (especially a somber one like Bella) stops being enjoyable to watch after a while." – Eric D. Snider

And yet, despite its flaws, New Moon will satisfy its fans.    

"Decorated with a parade of shirtless men and punctuated by Kristen Stewart's rarely varying facial expression of soulful, open-mouthed confusion (well, wouldn't you be confused, with all those monsters and bare chests running around?), the movie gives the Twilight fans exactly what they want but doesn't offer too much for the rest of us." - Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times

"A durable, recognizably faithful movie adaptation of New Moon." - Lisa Schwartzbaum, EW

"It's strictly for devotees who won't balk at plot absurdities, clunky dialogue and patchy characterizations." - Lawrence Toppman, Charlotte Observer

On the flip side, an early fan review offers yet another take on New Moon that lies closer to the reactions most Twilight fans are likely to have: mixed but forgiving, and much less bothered by pacing and characterizations than non-fans (they had 500 pages to get to know every thought in Bella's mind, after all).

"There are scenes where the dialogue feels a little heavy (though fans may not complain, since the dialogue in those scenes is practically lifted directly from the book) — but the "slower" moments were few and far between. And oddly enough — it actually felt to me like there was more romance between Bella and Edward in New Moon than there was in the first movie." – Novel Novice Twilight

With respect to the profession of film criticism, New Moon is the definition of "critic-proof" – its built-in audience will see it, no matter the reviews. And the majority of critics seem to have no familiarity (or fondness) for Meyer's source books, so their non-fan reactions are understandable. So while the Twilight Saga might not earn itself many newcomers after New Moon opens, it's poised to deliver a satisfying adaptation for its fans…but is that enough for Summit? And how will that weigh on decisions to greenlight the fourth and most unfilmable book in the series, Breaking Dawn?

Leave your thoughts below.