Never judge a book by its cover, the old saying goes. Likewise, we should never judge a movie by its posters full of shirtless young men like Taylor Lautner and Robert Pattinson, with their brooding abs and heartthrob poses.

The core of the "Twilight" fanbase will always be boy-obsessed teenage girls, and the first film of the series was fine for them (watch the MTV Movie Awards for reference). The large remainder of the "Twilight" audience, however, had to endure god-awful acting, mediocre writing, poor special effects and an overbearing seriousness that bogged down the film. Not to mention, much of the movie deviated from the plot and dialogue of Stephenie Meyer's book.

For the most part, all of those issues have been resolved in "New Moon."

"New Moon" finds Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and Edwarn Cullen (Pattinson) still very much in love. But after an altercation at Bella's 18th birthday party, Edward comes to the realization that he and his family must abandon the town of Forks to protect Bella from the dangers of the vampire world.

After the Cullen family skips town, the lonely Bella sleepwalks through her senior year of high school until she discovers that Edward's apparition comes to her whenever she puts herself in jeopardy. This leads her to partake in risky activities like cliff diving and dirt biking just to see him for a few fleeting seconds.

The only person who ever makes Bella feel better is Jacob Black (Lautner). They spend hours restoring old dirt bikes, and while Jacob falls for Bella, she still feels her heart belongs to Edward. Fed up with Bella's game of emotion, Jacob eventually shuns Bella as well. But there's actually a different (secret) reason he's keeping her away.

Bella thinks she has no one to protect her, and with vampiress Victoria (Rachelle Lefevre) on the vengeful hunt, the plot thickens.

The greatest leap came in the acting and directing departments. "New Moon" director Chris Weitz appeared to understand the characters and their struggles much better than "Twilight" director Catherine Hardwicke.

Kristen Stewart, who played the shy/awkward card throughout all of "Twilight," actually showed real emotion in "New Moon." The fear and heartbreak of Edward's abandonment were etched in her teary eyes and facial mannerisms. And Lautner isn't just eye candy for the ladies. He brings out Jacob's romantic and supernatural frustrations with near perfection. Pattinson also appears more comfortable in the role of Edward Cullen in the relatively short time he's on screen.

The action scenes and other supernatural occurrences were far more impressive as well. For example, the speed of the vampires is truly acknowledged in a scene where Victoria dashes faster than a bird flying overhead. Of course, "New Moon" had a much larger budget than "Twilight," so we can't blame the predecessors for that one.

Finally, the Twi-hards will be pleased with the film's dedication to author Stephenie Meyer's work. The plot rarely strays from that of the book, and when it does, it's a necessary improvement.

You don't have to be a romantic buff, a fangbanger wannabe or a middle-school-aged girl to enjoy this one. "New Moon" has a little something for everyone.