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Eragon: Some early reviews.....ugh.
Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 5:29 pm
by aTOMiC
www.aintitcool.com/node/30956
www.aintitcool.com/node/30962
www.aintitcool.com/node/30972
Let me say I'm not a fan of Eragon. I don't know enough about it to form much an opinion. I didn't read the books and my only exposure is the movie trailer. When I heard the film was coming out I was interested. What I gleaned from the images I've seen is that I'm extremely unimpressed by the look and apparent feel of the film. It comes off like it is probably going to be a 2 hour cliché fest. I don't think my brain can handle another farm boy discovers his true calling film even though I genuinely like stories about dragons. After reading the reviews I found on AIC my original impressions seem to be accurate although the only true test is actually watching the film. I don’t know when I’ll be doing that exactly though I expect the dvd will be available in record time.
Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 6:48 pm
by A Gunslinger
It was a book for a younger audience, was it not? I thought this might be the outcome. I'll go see it with my kids though...no matter the reviews. AICN is kind of snobby though too, one must recall.
Posted: Fri Dec 15, 2006 12:03 am
by Tulizar
My twelve year old nephew is a fan of the series and he doesn't seem too excited about the movie. He said the trailers look pretty lame. The stuff he's read claims the movie isn't true to the book.
Posted: Fri Dec 15, 2006 12:05 am
by Loredoctor
I'm going to avoid this movie like the plague.
Posted: Fri Dec 15, 2006 7:58 am
by Cole
I can't believe they make crap like this and then you hear that studio's turn down TCoTC because it's "too similar" to LoTR.
*spits*
Posted: Fri Dec 15, 2006 11:15 am
by aTOMiC
www.mania.com/53056.html
A review with a bit more to say on the positive side of things. Good to have some extra perspective.
Posted: Fri Dec 15, 2006 4:38 pm
by Cail
Ouch!
www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/Movies/12/15/r ... index.html
(AP) -- The fantasy land of Hollywood now presents "Eragon," essentially "Star Wars" -- with dragons. Or maybe "The Lord of the Rings" -- with dragons.
This sword-and-sorcery tale loots its plot points and character archetypes from millennia of standard-issue mythology, old and new. It does offer some striking visual effects and a climactic battle of computer-generated combatants that's rousing enough, even if it looks like outtakes from the epic clash of "The Return of the King."
To the movie's credit, director Stefen Fangmeier has rounded up a top-notch cast, including Academy Award winners Jeremy Irons and Rachel Weisz, along with John Malkovich, Djimon Hounsou and Robert Carlyle.
Adapted from the first novel in Christopher Paolini's "Inheritance" trilogy, "Eragon" is set in Alagaesia, which would have made a good name for a laxative but is the author's stand-in for Middle-earth of "The Lord of the Rings."
Alagaesia is a realm of sorcerers, elves, monsters and dragons, though the latter have become scarce since tyrant King Galbatorix (Malkovich) betrayed the Jedi Knights, er, the dragon riders, humans who ride the flying beasts and maintain peace in the land.
Years ago, dragon rider Galbatorix managed to wipe out his brethren and their fire-breathing lizards -- or so he thought. A single dragon egg has eluded him, and through some hocus-pocus, it comes into the possession of innocent farm boy Luke Skywalker, oops, Eragon (teenage newcomer Ed Speleers), who lives a quiet life in a small village with his uncle and cousin.
Resembling a huge blue jelly bean, the egg hatches to reveal the cutest little dragon you've ever seen. The wee one immediately bonds with Eragon, who has been chosen to lead the rebirth of the dragon riders and battle Galbatorix.
The dragon reaches mammoth adulthood fast -- like, blink-of-an-eye fast, but that's the problem with dragons, they grow up so quickly. Suddenly, the beastie is able to communicate telepathically with Eragon in Weisz's classy voice (must be something about Oscar winners and dragons; Sean Connery was the reptile's mouthpiece in 1996's "Dragonheart").
The dragon notifies Eragon that her name is Saphira, and she's there to take him into the not-so-friendly skies. Tragedy at home sends Eragon and Saphira on the run with Sir Alec Guinness, make that Irons, as Brom, a former dragon rider who becomes the youth's Obi-Wan Kenobi mentor.
Brom instructs Eragon in the ways of dragon riders while racing to the rebel base, no, wait, the hideout of the freedom-fighting Varden, led by the noble Ajihad (Hounsou).
Meanwhile, back in Mordor, or rather, Galbatorix's castle, the king and his sorcerer lackey Durza (Carlyle) keep sending their inept monster henchmen after Eragon and friends. Durza has imprisoned the lovely Princess Leia, wait, we mean the warrior princess Arya (Sienna Guillory), who was on a mission to find the next dragon rider and now is being used by the wizard to hunt down Eragon.
Lest Han Solo fans feel their man's been left out, "Eragon" also includes the wily rogue Murtagh (Garrett Hedlund), who becomes an ally to the good guys despite his shady pedigree.
The story plays out by-the-numbers, with lots of magic, swordplay and some rather intense images for a PG-rated movie. Saphira's a cool digital creation, soaring eagle-like on wings both scaly and feathery, her expressive face a nice match for Weisz's stately voice.
Bland pretty boy Speleers is overshadowed by his dragon and human co-stars, with Irons especially impressive despite some very silly dialogue. With really bad teeth and wild auburn-red hair, Carlyle's Durza is a decently deranged madman. Malkovich is limited to a few scenes, though the movie sets up a clear sequel with a bigger role for the evil king.
Far more interesting than anything on screen in "Eragon" is the back-story of its creator. Author Paolini just turned 23 and was home-schooled by his parents, the family publishing the novel themselves before Alfred A. Knopf picked it up and turned it into a bestseller, along with part two of the trilogy, "Eldest."
That's a great fantasy tale, and one that happens to be true.
Posted: Sat Dec 16, 2006 6:30 am
by duchess of malfi
Star Wars with dragons would sum up the first book pretty well - as long as you throw in stuff heavily inspired by McCaffrey and Tolkien - and yes, he even named a beautiful warrior woman Arya -which is the name of a beautiful warrior girl in GRRM's ASOIAF.
Yeah, a whole lot of the plot could be pulled straight from
A New Hope.
The movie could have changed a lot of stuff from the book, though - they usually do, as things that work well on the page might not work well on film and vice versa.
I will avoid this movie like I would avoid exposure to the ebola virus.
Posted: Sat Dec 16, 2006 2:38 pm
by blackstar
Saw it last night. You have no idea how bad this movie is. They kept the basic plot of the book (which was the bad part) and took away all the charming character interactions (which was why I liked it). What is left is a piece of junk that isn't as good as most sci-fi channel adaptations. Everything seems fake, the dialogue is so bad its not even funny, and the pacing is awkward. I cannot believe a big budget movie like this can turn out so worthless. Avoid.
Posted: Mon Dec 18, 2006 1:12 am
by Fist and Faith
I've usually been much too lenient on movies. Apparently, this is yet another of those times.
I had a good time! I was not disappointed if it was not true to the book, because I never read it. And I'm not bothered by any visible influences from SW, LOTR, or any other damned thing, because all of those thing have visible influences too. There's only so many stories out there, and everything is a rehashing of them.
I was only concerned with the visuals, and they were great! The big dragon battle at the end was SO cool!! Most of the flying was just stunning.
Hey, what does anyone expect from a kids book about dragons??
Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2006 8:42 am
by matrixman
I'm sure Mr. Paolini is a wonderful kid with a loving family, and I'm betting that with all the moolah he's got, he's also developing a cure for cancer on the side and promoting world peace on behalf of the UN as we speak...but I just don't care for Eragon. Next!
Posted: Fri Dec 22, 2006 5:09 am
by Menolly
Beorn and I finally saw this yesterday...
I have to disagree with most here, it's not bad, per se. I feel it suffers the same fate the movie version of HP:GoF suffered. Basically, too much had to be cut from the story to make the movie.
Ah well. Still the special effects do bode well for a possible Pern series one day. I checked out Anne's site and there's absolutely no mention of a movie in the works.
Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2007 6:56 pm
by Menolly
Eragon will be released on DVD tomorrow. Does anyone think any of the extras will make it worth purchasing?
Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2007 9:27 pm
by [Syl]
Only if there's at least an hour of cut scenes.
Wait, purchasing? No. Renting?... eh.
Posted: Tue May 29, 2007 3:52 pm
by aTOMiC
Rented Eragon over the holiday. I hadn't read the book so I wasn't influenced by squat. If I had never been exposed to all of the plots, characters and concepts that the story rips off I would probably would have thought it was an "okay" fantasy film. However....
Posted: Tue May 29, 2007 6:26 pm
by The Leper Fairy
I think I've made it painfully clear how much I despised Eragon the book and will definitely not see the movie.
Posted: Tue May 29, 2007 6:41 pm
by A Gunslinger
the idea makes me wish to hurl as well.
Posted: Tue May 29, 2007 7:54 pm
by hierachy
Hahaha... yeah... when I saw this film... there really was nothing in it I had not seen before. The visuals were good though, so yeah it was worth seeing.