-Muggle Film Review-

  Name: Eragon (2006)

 Category: Fantasy

Overview:

Eragon is the film adaption of Christopher Paolini’s book of the same name. The Kingdom of Alagaesia is ruled by the evil King Galbatorix, a former dragon rider that betrayed his mates and his people in his quest for power. When the orphan farm boy Eragon finds a blue stone sent by Princess Arya, he sooner realizes that it is a dragon egg. When the dragon Saphira is born, Eragon meets his mentor Brom, and becomes the dragon rider foreseen in an ancient prophecy that would set his people free from the tyrant Galbatorix. Eragon meets the rebels Varden and together they fight against the evil sorcerer Durza and the army of Galbatorix in a journey for freedom. The film was intended to be the first in a series but was rated by critics one of the worst films of 2006 and the franchise was discontinued.

Characters:

Although the characters in the book were very much developed and quite good, the TV representations of these characters did not quite come across right due to bad writing and what seems to have been poor direction. Some, such as the evil sorcerer Durza, simply aren’t given a chance, the same going for the main female character, Princess Arya. Some characters are also left out or barely included, a disappointment to those who read the book. ★★★

Cast and Acting:

Despite the bad reviews, the actors in Eragon were definitely not at fault, and the moving included many famous faces, including Jeremy Irons and John Malkovitch. All performances were strong, but as said above, many actors ended up with bad writing to follow and not enough screen time. Considering Ed Speelers, however, who portrayed the main character, Eragon, the performance was excellent and he really suited the role. ★★★★

Writing:

The writing and pace for Eragon was not right; barely following the books and not only missing out many important elements of the story but also moving to fast and at a choppy pace. It did not balance comedy, drama or mystery very well and made for a boring watch compared to reading the book. ★

On the Whole:

Because of the poor adaption from book to screen, Eragon does not make for a very interesting watch, seeming to like The Lord of the Rings and other fantasy world franchises without important elements of the books included. Despite including a marvelous cast and visual effects, it is not going to satisfy any lover of the books and most likely will not interest a newcomer to the film and its concepts. ★★