While most water cooler discussions today focused completely on the Kanye West VMA controversy, the playground likely had room for another topic related to MTV’s award show: the new trailer for The Twilight Saga: New Moon. But were the boys participating in that talk? Summit probably hopes so given that the spot seems to be trying harder to appeal to that young male demographic.

I don’t think the attempt will work, however. For the first Twilight film, after reaching out to the true, female-dominated fanbase, Summit released a trailer that admirably sold the thing as if it were a superhero movie. It came really close to getting me in the theater. This time they’ve got another more action-heavy trailer, which at times makes New Moon seem like The Matrix as directed by Stephen Sommers. Which I guess might seem cool to teenage boys. But there’s still enough obligatory beefcake shots and romantic fluff to overpower that idea.

Male moviegoers, feel free to prove me wrong. First, though, let’s see where the other film blogs stand on the issue after the jump:

• Jen Yamato at Cinematical is certain this looks more male-friendly, which she seems to say also makes it look good:
  

  a new extended trailer for The Twilight Saga: New Moon that just might have earned the Summit property something that previous teaser trailers haven’t been able to nail: male interest. That’s right, Twilight’s gunning for you action fans…The new adrenaline-fueled angle works better for New Moon than its Comic-Con footage did (i.e. RPattz and Taylor Take Their Shirts Off). It’s also more effective than the anemic trailer attached to Bandslam showings, which focused more on New Moon’s romantic triangle and most certainly lacked appeal to (mostly male) non-fans. After those disappointing early teasers, this extended trailer seems to have reinvigorated hopes that New Moon might actually be, well, good.

• Krystal Clark at ScreenCrave has the feeling this movie isn’t necessarily just for teen girls after all:
  

  There definitely seems to be a heightened sense of violence in this film as compared to its predecessor. People are getting their necks cracked and backs broken. Bones are being shattered left and right. I thought this was a teeny bopper flick?

• Vince Mancini is a guy and he appears to like the new trailer — though it’s possibly because he’s hoping for a bathing-suit-clad Pamela Anderson cameo:
  

  The newest trailer for Twilight Saga: New Moon premiered at the MTV Whatever it was this time awards last night, and it looks like they’re targeting the male demographic with this one.  This latest trailer is more plot driven and less meaningful-glance driven, and it looks pretty ridiculous — in, dare I say it, a good way.

• Neil Miller at Film School Rejects, also a male, also suddenly more interested:
  

  for what it’s worth, this trailer is much improved over the first teaser. More so, this second movie appears to be much improved over the look and feel of the first Twilight. Could it be the change in director from Catherine Hardwicke to Chris Weitz? How about the fact that the second book from author Stephenie Meyer is less about brooding and more about action? Or, maybe it’s the wolves. Either way, I’m hesitant to pre-slam New Moon, as these trailers don’t look too bad.

• Kofi Outlaw at ScreenRant thinks this is the best New Moon trailer for two reasons, the latter of which helps primarily with the male audience:
  

  1.   Demonstrate that director Chris Weitz has achieved something much more visually sophisticated than Catherine Hardwicke’s Twilight adaptation.
  2.   Finally show us something other than schmaltzy, awkward, shirtless, teen romance.

• Josh Tyler at Cinema Blend agrees that this trailer finally makes the thing look appealing, though more from an otherwise non-fan perspective rather than a male one:
  

  Speaking as someone who is not at all a fan of this series, this is the very first thing I’ve seen from New Moon that actually looked, well, kind of good. Saying this may cause Orson Welles to rise from the grave and strike me down, but there was a moment somewhere during this trailer where I even felt a twinge of excitement.

• Devin Faraci at CHUD.com is on board suddenly, too, but not necessarily because it appeals to his gender:
  

  I don’t usually run much Twilight news. The truth is that you guys don’t actually care…That said, here’s the trailer for New Moon, the second film in the ‘Twilight Saga.’ I present it here because it’s sort of amazing on a number of levels. First of all, it looks great…this trailer is cut in a way to make New Moon look huge, epic and beautiful. But it’s also cut in a way to make it look silly, stupid and insipid. It’s an incredible dichotomy and it’s actually pretty intriguing.

• Kyle Buchanan at Movieline puts one on the side of the trailer being female-focused by addressing the increase in varied beefcake shots:
  

  After a months-long marketing campaign that focused almost exclusively on Taylor Lautner’s abs, Summit has put an unclothed Robert Pattinson front and center for this clip so that teenage girls everywhere can start pondering the age-old question of which type of man’s chest they prefer: the Tanned, 24-Hour Fitness look, or the Malnourished, Indie Rock Hip Bones variety?

• Mike Sampson at JoBlo.com also sees more of that female appeal here than anything he’s interested in:
  

  Now with 50% more abs! The new NEW MOON trailer (which debuted this weekend with SORORITY ROW) is online and I suppose the nicest thing I can say about it is that Dakota Fanning (in the maybe 10 seconds of trailer screen time she has) is a creepy little villain. The rest is, as you might expect, a tad melodramatic for my tastes.

• Adam Rosenberg at MTV Movies Blog also acknowledges the primary appeal being for females:
  

  Probably the last theatrical trailer we’ll see for “New Moon” before it hits theaters on November 20. It’s a good one too. Lots of action, lots of shirtless RPattz — something I know you ladies love — and lots of icy Volturi stares.

• Mark at I Watch Stuff offers no stance on who the trailer appeals to more, but he does have a side in one particular political issue:
  

  The Twilight saga continues! And now there’s a vampire king or something! Which is a bit ridiculous, because it isn’t Dracula. If a vampire king is named, it’s obviously going to be Dracula. Who’s going to run against Dracula in a vampire king election? Get with it, Stephenie Meyer.

• According to Roger Ebert at Roger Ebert’s Journal, males don’t need New Moon since they’ve got their equivalent coming out this Friday:
  

  Diablo Cody, the now-celebrated ex-stripper who wrote “Juno,” is here at Toronto with “Jennifer’s Body,” starring Megan Fox, who of course has inspired paparazzi fever at the festival. It’s sort of a “Twilight” for boys, with Fox in the Robert Pattinson role, except that Pattinson was shirtless and to the dismay of her fans Fox is not.

Here is the trailer courtesy of MTV: