eragon movie review

With high production values, several esteemed actors, and stunning CG effects, Eragon should have been the next Lord of the Rings. But the rushed character development, lackluster screenplay, and a starkly plagiaristic plotline prevent it from even becoming the next Narnia. In concept and visualization Eragon's delusions of grandeur may not have been so farfetched, but apparently something was lost in the translation to screen and it falters and dies like the dragon who's lost its rider.

In a galaxy far, far away, a young farm boy is granted mysterious powers and becomes the only hope left for a group of rebels to overthrow an evil emperor. When his uncle is killed by a dark lord’s troops, the young man flees his home, and with the aid of a wise old man who teaches him the ways of the force he has gained, attempts to rescue a princess from an enemy stronghold. His mentor slain in the ensuing fight against the dark lord, the young man continues recklessly onward to the hidden rebel base, and upon his arrival joins forces with them to fight off the dark lord's army in a final epic battle. Oh, wait...is that Star Wars? Apparently it's Eragon too.

I never would have thought I'd want to see another epic fantasy trilogy movie to actually be longer, but clocking in at well under two hours, Eragon could have used a beefier running time. Everything happens in the blink of an eye; a farm boy becomes a hero, a princess is rescued, an evil sorcerer is vanquished, and a baby dragon becomes a full grown dragon in, well... actually that does happen in literally the blink of an eye. Faster than Simba can walk across a branch and become a Lion King, characters are introduced and then killed off, villains appear and are then vanquished, and a band of rebels battle an army and emerge victorious. But there is no victory in the torpid character development and the plot truly suffers from the rushed feel. If the filmmakers wish to involve the audience emotionally as well as visually, they will have to allow characters a chance to fully develop before they are dispatched and never heard from again.

The strongest point of Eragon is its visuals, but CG effects alone cannot carry a film. The dragon Saphira (voiced by Rachel Weisz) is simply stunning in every scene in which it appears, blending seamlessly with its backgrounds. From grotesquely rotting henchmen to the billowing smoky demon that Durza commands, the talented animators at WETA and ILM never cease to amaze. Unfortunately not all the character designs were as insightful and unique, as the dimwitted Urgals and even Durza himself was quite bland in comparison to the villains in Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter. The final battle at the end of the film was brimming with potential as a fire-breathing dragon joined in the mayhem, but perhaps the PG rating stifled the visceral impact of any carnage finding its way onscreen. But that's really no excuse for a languid showdown as the rather tame onslaught in Narnia was still more exciting.

The actors all did a fine job with their performances, but they had very little to work with as the oftentimes downright miserable script created several scenes of cringe inducing dialogue and unintentionally hilarious remarks. Conversations between key players did little to further the story or enhance character development and extremely predictable dialogue lessened the visual impact. Djimon Hounsou seemed miscast as the rebel leader with his heavy accent, while John Malkovich and Robert Carlyle laid on the evilness with enough cheese to feed the cast of Flushed Away. Lines like "you'll have to do better than that," and "let's finish this!" in climactic moments made me wonder if I was watching a bad Star Wars fan film. Even Rachel Weisz couldn't save her majestic character from an audience outburst of immature laughs when she mentions something about Eragon needing to ride her.

It's hard to imagine what went wrong with the first part of this trilogy, but I can't honestly recommend seeing the film to find out. Suffice it to say that the rushed character development, atrocious screenplay, and unabashed imitation converge to create a paltry effort that pales in comparison to fantasy epics like The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and Chronicles of Narnia. As Jeremy Irons' Brom would say, "it is better to ask forgiveness than to ask permission," and the creators of this contemptible film may be doing a lot of the former to the legions of fans of Paolini's novel.

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