Eragon Reviews

[Highly rated reviewer]

eragon is great.....

my daughter enjoyed this film, but actually preferred me reading the book to her. it was a bit like star wars and lord of the rings mixed together.

the story of Eragon is about a 17 year old boy called Eragon who finds a polished stone in the nearby forest.

After desperate attempts to sell it, he finds out that the stone, is really an egg, when he sees a young dragon hatch from it.

Eragon eventually finds out, that he is one of the legendary dragon riders, after meeting Brom, who used to be a dragon rider himself.

Eragon learns that he will have to move on, and become a dragon rider, and to stop the evil King Galbatorix from ruling the land.

The special effects in this movie, are created by the legendary studio Industrial Light and Magic, and they are great.

Jeremy Irons is crusty and sensitive as the old Dragon Rider called Brom, who becomes Eragon's guide, in the ways of magic and dragon riding.

Eragon's adversary is the superb Robert Carlyle as the evil shady character of Durza.

Rachel Weisz plays the voice of Saphira, the lady dragon.

this is a very good mythological tale, set in the land of Alagaesia, but i think that you should read the book first.

Children will love it.

A good family film that the children will enjoy and no doubt wish they too could have a pet dragon!

Some scenes are unsuitable for very young children.

Read the book ? Do NOT watch this then!

Acting: well, dragon is the best actor really, Irons and Malkovich simply deserve better script, Speleers is inexperienced and shouldn't be there at all, Weisz as a dragon's voice was a bit disappointing, deeper voice could have done better

CG: this is NOT Lord of the Rings! This was done in a hurry and it lacks the overwhelming capabilities of modern CG. Sometimes it seems they've been using CG to do absolutely unnecessary shots.

Script: Poooooor! Haven't read the book, but I can imagine this script doesn't help its reputation. Characters are as flat as the EEG line of the viewers. Yes, it leaves you braindead actually.

Battles: SHAME. Who the hell was the choreographer of that main battle ? It looks like thousands entering that hidden valley and yet in one dragon's flight it's all over, just a few poorly done stunt shots... just shame. But I can imagine, after LOTR, some things are just VERY challenging.

Overall: as I have read in some review - this is a painful reminder of how fantasy movies were done before LOTR.

Not the book, but still good

As is often the case with movies made of 'cult books' this is probably not the best representation of the book, but if taken aside from that it is actually a good movie.

Since the book is huge, the changes made to the plot are forgivable. Except maybe for Angela, who was played by Joss Stone. In the books Angela is very important to the plot, but in the movie she was probably only on screen for a minute. It felt almost like a cameo apperance from Stone, and the character herself was no dipicted in the same manner as well.

The CGI in the movie is very good. I have to say that the baby dragon is one of the cutest things I have ever seen, and it's not even real! The movie has a nice combination of action, humour and I also think quiet good character development for the time alloted.

I think it's well worth a watch. But if you are a fan of the books, try to detatch from that before you watch it.

[Highly rated reviewer]

Eragon: the recipe

Start with Star Wars, replace Luke's x-wing fighter with a dragon, cast a knock-out Princess Leia, and substitute Obi-Wan's light sabre with a red sword. Add a healthy portion of Lord of the Rings, and shake briskly.

With Eragon, Christopher Paolini has reinvented Star Wars, targeting a new generation of kids who have grown up with dwarfs, dragons, etc., rather than Buck Rogers. Similarities - right down to the betrayal of the dragon riders (jedi knights) by one of their own, Morzan (Darth Vader) - border on plagiarism. In Eragon 2 I'm anticipating the line, 'No Eragon, I am your father.'

Eragon fails, however, to capture the imagination the way Star Wars did. The script is terrible - overly melodramatic, as if written by a 15-year old ;-) - and the acting suits the script. Even the stalwart John Malkovich was a disappointment in his limited screentime. Only Jeremy Irons attempted a spark of life in this dull screenplay.

My kids have the book on their bookshelf, and now that we've seen the movie I'm sure I'll be begged to read the book. I can only hope Paolini is better in print than on celluloid.

A Big Pile of Poo

I had great hopes for this film in an era where Middle Earth and Narnia came to life so vividly, however, this film was a big disappointment.

The film had a really slow start and the introduction of the characters seemed to take forever. Despite this, I still found that I didn't care about them at all as the story eventually got going. The dragon was quite well done, although why give it Rachel Weiss's voice - could they have found anybody more fluffy and girlie?? Dragons should be bold, brave and fierce like Sean Connery in Dragonheart surely??

Story was a bit muddled and felt very compressed. I have not read the books but I imagine it's a lot more flushed out in them than it was in the film. No sooner had we done one battle and the film was over. I was left feeling unfulfilled.

All in all it was a bit weak when compared to either Peter Jacksons LOTR films, or Narnia. The visuals were quite good and cinematography was good, but the characters and story left much to be desired.

Enjoyable yarn but don't expect too much

Mind the dragons breath

A young boy finds a mysterious egg and after it hatches, the boy finds he will be the new Dragon Rider. Not a bad film, probably a kids version of 'Lord of the rings' is the best way to describe it. The action was ok and the computer bits were super, but it lacked from a better put together script. The ending holds out for a sequel, but as yet I haven't heard that anymore will be made.

Brutalised mimicry

I read both books by Christopher Paolini in 2 days, Eragon and Eldest, and they left me impatient for the third. I took my daughter to the cinema to see this movie, and except for the CGI of the dragon Saphira, this movie is a mockery of the book and has no redeeming aspect. Mr Paolini must be wringing his ears in shame for sanctioning this if he ever did.

Aside from not including major characters who will be important to future films (where, I am sure they would fall into the film like stones thrown into a pond), the plot left out critical aspects that explain the entire story. Whereas the book is brilliant, logical and a treat to read, the film falls by the wayside.

Certainly, you may want to see for yourself, but I'd just advise you to save your money for something better... like Garfield.

Very sad

I was really surprised how bad this was. Lazy ‘acting’ especially from the big names (stars John Malkovich as himself), lacklustre battle scenes, hilarious continuity problems, dire costuming and a plot that wouldn’t have made it as Dungeons & Dragons adventure.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Poor storyline,empty plot, rushed and insipid.Poor lead role by an unknown, only decent performance by malkovich (what there was) and irons.The whole film must have been written in a tea break on a postage stamp.I havent read the book but i bet the whole film was worth one page.