Jacob Black’s Body: Photos of Taylor Lautner’s amazing transformation from a scrawny kid to a rippling teen werewolf already have been making the rounds for months. But the first time Lautner rips off his T-shirt to reveal his muscled chest onscreen, the sight is still gasp-worthy. In fact, Lautner sizzles and smolders throughout New Moon as he walks the line between friendship and romance with Bella (Kristen Stewart). Though Bella’s heart belongs to Edward (Robert Pattinson), Lautner may steal Pattinson’s heartthrob status right out from under his pale nose.

Bella and Edward’s Reunion: When Edward comes to the (incorrect) conclusion that his love, Bella, is dead, he decides there is no choice but to commit vampire suicide. Of course, the only person who can save him is Bella. When she launches herself through a crowd and across a fountain in an Italian square to push Edward out of harm’s way, the sparks that fly between the soul-mates are like fireworks.

The Wolf Pack: The actors who play Jacob Black’s gang of strapping pals provide the perfect mix of teen tension and ferocious loyalty that exist between the group of guys who realize that one and all are actually werewolves. They snarl and yelp, tease and torment each other, and of course, fight together just like Twilight Saga author Stephanie Meyer describes in her series.

Dakota Fanning: She plays the pint-sized vamp, Jane, who wields a daunting power – simply by concentrating she can cause her victims to convulse in excruciating pain. She’s not in the movie for very long, but when she focuses those red eyes on her targets and softly whispers, “Pain,” everyone will squirm.

The Sense of Humor: While the Twilight series is based overwrought teenage angst, director Chris Weitz lightens the mood with some well-placed humor. Bella’s human school friends provide comic relief. When one of them has to leave a horror movie because he’s ill, Launter’s character laughs and says, “What a marshmallow.” And when a member of the wolf pack accidentally changes from human to werewolf right in front of Bella, another member quips, “Well, I guess the wolf is out of the bag.”