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Eragon
Directed by: Stefen Fangmeier
Starring: Edward Speleers
Genre:
Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Run Time: 104
min.
Release Date:
December 2006
On The Web:
Official
Site
Teaser:
Movie Trailer
Reviewed by
Byron Merritt |
ERAGON is one of those films that makes
Sci-Fi and Fantasy lovers cringe. It is plainly a horrifically done
adaption of Christopher Paolini’s book by the same name, slashing vital
plots into nothingness, showing forced performances by some the best
actors of our time (the most noteworthy being John Malkovich), and
producing a main character (Eragon played by Edward Speelers) who grows
too fast and is rarely sympathetic in the short 104 minutes of the
entire film.
Note that time: 104 minutes. Chris Paolini wrote Eragon as a sort of
epic, brandishing derivative works such as Tolkien’s
LORD OF THE RINGS series and
McCaffrey’s DRAGONRIDERS OF PERN stories. But Paolini was only fifteen
when he started writing it, so quite a bit of leeway was given to him
because of youthful inexperience. He did create an interesting world,
but the book was lukewarm at best (in my opinion) yet sparked the
imagination of younger readers. Perhaps his book could be considered a
gateway to the more in-depth novels by Tolkien, McCaffrey, and the other
great fantasy authors. Regardless, his “epic” was slashed to 104 minutes
...although the ending of this movie certainly leaves it open for a
sequel even though there’s nothing on the film radar/horizon to suggest
one is coming. Which pretty much leaves this flick dead in the water.
Dropping off plots in order to wedge the story into a certain time-frame
for a certain audience has proved disastrous time after time.
THE LORD
OF THE RINGS movies (178 min., 179 min., and 201 min. respectively),
THE
CHRONICLES OF NARNIA (143 min.) and many, many other films
proved that movie-goers will sit through long films if they're done
right. Although they did make alterations to the literary works,
they kept almost all of the plots intact. Of course longer movies mean
more costs for the production studio, too.
So the first big strike against Eragon is its short length in comparison
to the depth the novel gave us.
The second is the acting. When the best job is done by a CGI character
who’s voiced by Rachel Weisz (THE CONSTANT GARDNER), you know there’s a
problem. Her Saphira voice-over is done well, leaving all the other
actors/actresses in the dust. Although Jeremy Irons (CASANOVA) does a middlin’ job as the old dragonrider Brom,
it certainly isn’t his
most shining moment on celluloid. Many of his lines are stilted and
sound as if he’s afraid to use more than five words in a sentence. From
here, the acting takes a serious nosedive into oblivion. Newbie Edward
Speelers as Eragon is rip-your-eyes-out bad. You can tell he’s trying
way too hard to make his character empathetic and interesting but the
script wouldn’t allow it. Sienna Guillory as the magical Arya is
practically unknown to the viewer, never letting us know why she, of all
people, is carrying something so important through such a dangerous
land. Robert Carlyle as the dastardly Durza is probably the most forced
evil character you’ll ever see, making you laugh at him more than fear
him.
The best quality within the movie was the CGI. The images were rendered
exceptionally well and the dragon Saphira has a very authentic look to
her (which was good considering how much time she’s onscreen).
If you loved Paolini’s Eragon novel, you’ll probably screech in dismay
at this adaption. If you didn’t, you’ll probably screech in dismay
anyway.
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Image from Eragon
DVD cost: $17.90
Purchase:
Tower.com (Blu-Ray)
Film Review Stew
Favorite? No.
Stew Poo-Poo? No.
Newsworthy:
Many fans of the book were
upset at Stefen Fangmeier's decisions to take out crucial characters and
plot lines. Most notable differences include leaving out Angela's
prophecy, Eragon's infatuation with Arya, Murtagh's scar and Saphira's
appearance.
Movie Quote: "Your
day will come too, Eragon, and you must decide for yourself what kind of
life you wish to lead."
Other Actors/Actresses
from Eragon
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