Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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27 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
not a classic, but still very good, 11 Jan 2007
Being a fan of dragons and in the middle of writing a story about one, I was very excited when I first saw the trailer for Eragon. When I my dad took me to the cinema a few weeks ago I had mixed feelings because of the very poor reviews it got. Neither of us had read the book, but we came out of the cinema smiling. It was fun, entertaining and was well worth it.
For those of you who have not seen the film or read the book, the story itself is Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope but retold as a fantasy adventure rather than sci-fi. It's 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.
However, it is not the classic that it should have been which is the shame as the film has a lot of potential. The reason it is not a classic is because of one thing: the screenplay. Absolute rubbish!
The dialogue is indeed poor, with lines like "there is nothing left for you to fear, my king" and "this royalty will be punishable by death". The acting is a mixture of good and bad. The best performer in the film has to be Rachel Weisz as the voice of Saphira but she's only a voice over. The best 'acting' performance IMO is Jeremy Irons as Brom, although Ed Speleers wasn't too bad as Eragon, considering that it is the first time he has ever acted in anything. However, the worst actor in the movie has to be John Malkovich as King Galbatorix. His performance was very poor in this movie. The pace of the film is also a bit too fast in places. I also hear that most of the book is missing from the film, but let's be positive about that. Scenes from the book will always be axed when it is adapted into a film.
However, there are some really great things about this film. For one thing, this film WILL leave you breathless! The special effects, created by the legendary studio Industrial Light and Magic, are the greatest effects I have ever seen in a long time. Although still not quite Jurassic Park standard, the CGI is VERY convincing. As for Saphira... she is GORGEOUS! She is without a doubt the best looking dragon I have ever seen in a film! I almost wanted to jump into the screen and ride on her! Of course that is not possible, but the dragon flight scenes made up for it. Whenever Saphira flew, she flew so fast that my stomach began to churn! If you have seen the trailers do not be put off by the fact that she has feathers for wings, as she still looks and acts like a dragon in the actual film. It is worth seeing the movie just to see her.
But it's not just the special effects that make up for the poor screenplay. There's also some very good set design here, and the soundtrack really fits in with the action.
Overall it is not a classic, but is not worth the poor reviews it is getting. I found it gripping, exciting and stimulating right through to the end. The screenplay sucks (hence the 4 star rating) but in the end the film entertains you, which is what you want a film to do and the reason why you watch films in the first place.
IMO this is the best dragon film ever made, and far better than Dragonheart (which is a terrible film). I recommended this to anyone who is a dragon fanatic like me!
Acting: 6/10
Screenplay: 4/10
Special effects: 10/10
Story: 7/10
Entertainment value: 8/10
Overall 7/10
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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A good preteen boys film - my son can't wait for the sequel, but he doesn't know the book, 1 Jan 2007
My son (10), a dedicated StarWars fan, really wanted to see this film despite it being slammed by the critics. I have to say that he really really enjoyed it ('What? - It was brilliant'), and I was fairly impressed as well - it wasn't that awful, and it had a great dragon. The simple farm boy's rise to becoming a Dragon Rider is well told and the baddies look typically ugly compared to the hero's golden looks (farm life has been good to young Eragon). Jeremy Iron's is suitably crusty and sensitive as the old Dragon Rider, Obe-Wan, sorry Brom, who becomes Eragon's guide in the ways of magic and dragon riding. OK the film has strong echoes of StarWars (Return of the Dragon Riders) and Conan the Barbarian, with a bit of DragonHeart and Willow thrown in, but it's a very likable mix with a good cast, great scenery, and convincing dragon related CGI. Eragon's adversery is a superb Robert Carlyle as the evil shade Durza.
Granted the mythology and people of the land of Alagaesia are rather glossed over (elves and such are mentioned but never seen), and the film storyline and script lacks some originality, but that's fine for the intended young audience. The ending is also a little like StarWars, as defeated evil King Galbatorix, last of the Great Dragon Riders, is down but definately not out - so expect a sequel or two very soon. I also rather liked the dragon's soft gentle sounding thoughts (it doesn't speak) - as rather like HAL in 2001, it adds a cold calculating edge to it's ferocious actions. So if you have any young boys in the household, take them to the cinema to see Eragon before it's too late, as like King Kong, Eragon needs the big screen to really impress. We got this 2 DVD set as soon as was released as well, although typically no-one has looked at the 2nd DVD of extras yet (my kids say that showing how it's done spoils the story).
We already have the original book but haven't read it yet - although often film adaptations have changes to the book plot to reduce the size of the speaking cast, the running time, and the need for expensive special effects - but that's no excuse for a mediocre script and no elf princess. I never really took to Tolkien's LOTR books as a teenager, which this film has been unfavourably compared to, as unlike Ursula LeGuin he wasn't very good at dragons. So we give Eragon three stars for adult mum and dad who must tag along, and five stars for the kids (well boys over 5 anyway). Teenagers and adults without a son in tow may well prefer something more substantial, along the lines of Harry Potter, Serenity, and Batman Begins, which is a shame as with a better script, and a few elves and the odd Werecat, Eragon could have easily been their equal.
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14 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Dragon Riders are back!!!, 5 Jan 2007
This film is totally awesome! I saw the film just before Xmas and I now I'm reading the book. I love it when they introduce new people like Ed Speleers(Eragon) and Garrett Hedlund(Murtagh), the latter I'd only seen in Troy. Saphira the dragon is, by far, my favourite dragon and the fact that Rachel Weisz did her voice made so much the better. Robert Carlyle's Durza was scary but I love it when he plays the bad guy. My view on Jeremy Irons has changed. He rocks! The story is great. The FX are amazing espeically Saphira's. Can't wait for it to come out on DVD but I would definately see it at the pictures again. I only wish it was longer. 10/10.
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