Eragon

A Movie Review by Magdalen Aithne Arkwright

This movie was a huge flop.  It came out in 2008 and did not do the book credit.  Whether you are a fan of the book or not, you have to admit it let down the great, big, blue tome.  The acting is often poor, the dramatic scenes are inadequate, and the music lacking.

Eragon the movie is about a farmer boy who loses all his nearest and dearest because of the cruelty of the king: his brother leaves home to find his life so he won't be forced into the king's army; his uncle is killed by the king's minion's minions; then his mentor is killed by the king's minion (because of Eragon's own stupidity).

The movie itself is acceptable if you ignore the fact that the staff and cast were evidently incompetent, inexperienced, or both.  While lacking in comparison to 'The Lord of the Rings', or even 'Star Wars', the movie is an epic drama.  Unfortunately, the quality of the the drama does not match the intense theme.  Furthermore, whenever the camera focuses on Ed Speleers, it's hard to imagine him as a rebellious, foolish, and downright immature seventeen-year-old.  The casting for Sapphira, Rachel Weisz, was also poor, not that there's anything wrong with Weisz herself, but the voice seemed too sharp and clear to be the thought-voice of a dragon.  Sienna Guillory fit Arya well and Jeremy Irons was usually good at delivering his lines as Brom.  (Don't you think it funny that Eragon's brother looks nothing like him but his cousin is nearly identical?)

I give it three points out of ten, not very complimentary sadly.  I also rate it teen since it is violent, dark, and gross at instances.

~Meggy

Note: according to IMDb, there are well over fifty differences between the book and the movie, and many visual inconsistencies.