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Title: Eragon
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/| CONSUMER ADVICE |
Parents have little to worry about with this film. Aside from some mild violence this is pretty much suitable for all ages. Recommended for ages 7 and up. |
Ever since 2001 fantasy films have been huge for movie theater business. That was the year that produced both "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" as well as "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," and managed to make almost two billion dollars combined. Since "The Lord of the Rings" films are finished and the Harry Potter films on their way, new properties need to be looked at to keep the genre alive. It's easy to see why "Eragon" was green-lit: Some executive at Fox saw that this book about dragons written by a 15 year old was selling tons of copies, and decided to buy himself a new franchise. If Fox is careful though, "Eragon" could easily destroy the fantasy genre once again. Having read the book and enjoyed it despite some obvious similarities to Star Wars, I walked into "Eragon" expecting a fun little fantasy romp. Man, leave it to Hollywood to destroy the things you love. Heck, leave it to Hollywood to destroy things you even enjoy on a very simplistic level.
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I never for a minute believed "Eragon" was the next classic in the making, just a fantasy book for kids that I happened to enjoy. After watching the film I wondered whether or not I was crazy for even getting into this film in the first place. "Eragon" revolves around a young farmer named Eragon (but not Luke Skywalker), who lives with his Uncle and half brother (but no Aunt), and dreams of leaving the farm when he gets older (but not too much older). Then one day Eragon finds a dragon egg while hunting, and when it hatches into the worlds last dragon Eragon finds he is in possession of something that could change the fate of the world (but this item isn't an evil ring that makes people go all woo-ho). Shortly after Eragon names the dragon Saphira, an old man named Brom (but not Obi-Wan Kenobi) shows up to explain that Eragon is the last Dragon Rider in the world.
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Dragon Riders (which in no way should be confused with Jedi's) used to be the best magic warriors in the land, until the evil emperor Galbatorix (but not Darth Vader) destroyed them all. With Eragon though, the Dragon Riders have a chance to rise again, and destroy the empire. All Eragon has to do is follow Brom and join the rebel freedom fighters the Varden (but not the Rebel Alliance). Along the way Eragon and Brom meet up with Ayra the elf (but not Princess Leia), the evil killers known as Ra'zac (but not Black Riders), and a rouge named Murtagh (but not Aragon...oh, wait, Eragon's supposed to be Aragon. Darn, now I'm getting this crap confused). Through in some okay special effects (AKA: Money) and you have the "Eragon," which was once a charming children's book that now looks all corporate due to big wigs interfering. "Eragon," which was directed by a first time director, feels amateurish and cheap. The acting in this movie, save for Jeremy Irons as Brom, is simply awful.
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Edward Speleers, who was hand picked to play Eragon himself, is so bloody terrible I wanted to slap the kid. Why must this guy say something stupid at every. Single. Important scene? Do we need this character to say "The empire sounds really evil" and "We, shall, PREVAIL!!!" Oh, and while Eragon himself didn't say this, hands down the worst line is "Some friends can't be replaced...thankfully, some friends don't have to be." I swear, I shot soda out of my nine inches from a gag reflex (and the fact that I wasn't even drinking soda made this situation even more unpleasant). The action sequences are okay, but not spectacular. One of the characters disappears in a haze of smoke, other characters run and scream while getting barbequed by the dragon, and the evil emperor constantly complains that his minions can't do anything right. This is why neo-terrorism was never a huge threat in the old days: No body has a clue on what makes a good killer.
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They run, they scream, they do everything but kill anyone (one characters death is an accident). All of this leads up to a shocking epic village battle, where the climax features Eragon flying on his dragon and sword fighting with a wizard who has conjured his own fake dragon out of black powder. That was a great scene, though it's frustrating because it hints that this movie could have been much better then it ended up being. It's not even the epic things that is a problem with this movie, it's the minor things. A suit of armor is made for Saphira, but the armor she ends up wearing is completely different. Ayra is an elf, but do to a lack of pointy ears you would have no clue of this unless someone told you. The ending is extremely abrupt, with a scene that has been in neither of the two books, which leads me to believe this twist was either a sneak preview to book three or a big guess on the film makers part.
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It's a common thing to see a movie where the film makers obviously had no faith in their source material, it's just strange to see them having so little faith. They have the rights to film a trilogy for one of the most popular children's books in the last five years, I think they can breath a sigh of relief and not worry so much. I also admit to being disappointing the CGI, as the dragon looks overly cartoony and almost never interacts with the live actors or the ho-hum sets. The final irony in all this was to watch the ending credits with a love ballad sung by Avril Lavigne, which I suppose is supposed to be the cherry on top of this Ice Cream Sunday. Like the rest of the movie it's extremely corny, and since there is no romance in the movie at all I wonder what it's doing here. "Eragon" was a huge, huge misfire. My anticipation for the "Eldest" movie has dropped dramatically.
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