Eragon

The movie talks about a young peasant named Eragon (Edward Speleers) living at homeland called Alagaesia , he's an orphan fostered by his uncle (Alun Armstrong) and he finds a mysterious stone like an egg , when suddenly awakening a baby dragon and is named Saphira (voiced by Rachel Weistz) . They communicate themselves by telepathic language . An older wanderer named Brom (Jeremy Irons) is the mentor of the farm boy , he suddenly encounters himself the only person can save the kingdom , battling against a horrible sorcerer named Durza (Robert Carlyle) , a nasty, evil-hearted magician . Eragon becomes the new Dragon rider fighting across the fantastic lands . He and the Dragon make for an entertaining pairing running , flying with the adventure . Eragon is helped by an archer young warrior (Garrett Hedlund) and a king of a remote tribe named Ajihad (Dijimon Honsou) . They team up and band together and free themselves to the beautiful princess (Sienna Gullory) confronting weird monsters and taking on king's tyranny (John Malkovich) .

This amazing story attempts at creating a real fantasy but is compromised by borrowing elements from ¨Dragonheart¨, ¨Dragon Slayer¨ and ¨Lord of the Rings¨ and other latter-day movies . Film blends witchcraft and wizardry , adventures , battles and is extremely fun and amusing . Stimulating action set pieces illuminate the full-blown adventures of Eragon and his Dragon . Casting is frankly well , giving enjoyable performances . Convincing special effects by Industrial Light Magic (George Lucas's owner) bring dragon to life with spectacular images . Work on Dragon took more a year and does seem authentic . Patrick Doyle's soaring musical score is wonderful and colorful cinematography by Hugh Johnson . Picture is beautifully made with phenomenal production values and rousing production design in charge of Wolf Kroeger. The motion picture was marvellously directed by Stephen Fangmeier . As of 2015, this remains the first and only film directed by Stefen , who's mostly known for doing visual effects work on Terminator 2 (1991) and Jurassic Park (1993), and as the second unit director on Galaxy Quest (1999) . It's a unqualified success accounting for one of the greatest dragons in picture story .

Let me start by saying I didn't read the books before seeing the movie but I am reading Eragon now. I enjoyed the movie. Not great but not bad. One of the most nagging problems with this movie has it was way to short and seemed like it was in fast forward most of the movie. If they would have increased this movie to 2 hours to 2 and a half hours I think it would have been a very good movie (hopefully the DVD will have more added in). The acting by Rachel Weisz was fantastic. Jeremy Irons did a very good for his part. But those are two experienced actors that will give good performances regardless. The CG on Saphira was very well done. The main problem with the acting in this movie was Edward Speleers, he had no presence in this movie, which is a bad thing for the main character. It was all most like he was just there to read his lines and go home. For which I hold the director responsible but it was also one of his first movies. I think Edward would have made a good side character, but someone with more experienced should have been casted as Eragon or a director with more proved talent. If you have never read the book and enjoy good CG you will like this movie. Just change the name of the movie to Saphira and it is OK. If you have read the book assume it is a coincidence that the movie and characters share names.

How to describe a movie based on a lovely book, that could have had a wonderful franchise, but was so hurriedly done, and so poorly directed as to become a horrible flop? First lets say that while the book has some flaws, this movie is really a disservice to it; a more or less complex plot is reduced to its bare elements making it a very predictable ordeal (as any other story would), the photography doesn't reach the standard set by LOTR or HP, becoming quite bland, the casting -while good on the stronger characters (Brom, Durza, Galbatorix)- is really lacking, particularly on critical characters like Murtagh and Arya, and the music -so critical to convey the emotions of the movie- is so corny and clumsily placed that rather than enhance takes away from the experience. So little works on this movie and so many details are ruined using the cheapest tricks, that any sequel would never make it to the big screen (more so when critical plot points were stripped from the movie).

Having read and enjoyed the books with my 11 year old son, we had high hopes and were both devastated with this ... thing promoted as a movie.

It is indeed a sad, sad adaptation, a proof that some movie execs in its eagerness to make a quick buck have indeed killed what could have been a geese of golden eggs.

Hopefully Mr. Fangmeier will go back to do special effects and never return as a movie director. At least I know that I will never see a movie made by him again.

Say what you will, but Eragon can be a compelling story regardless of what you think it ripped off. With that in mind, I give you Edward Speelers...who probably wouldn't know something compelling if it hit him in the face. In fact, I doubt he would even flinch if something hit him in the face. The biggest problem with Eragon is who plays Eragon himself.

There's an innocence-turned-hard required for this role, but Speelers has one facial gesture: solemnity. When he laughs or smiles or cries (tries to, anyway), it is not believable. He is as wooden a leading actor that I have ever seen in a mainstream film. The fact that the story and the movie is carried upon his shoulders is a problem.

The rest of the performances are at least a little better; John Malkovich chews up the scenery like no other, and it works here. Carlyle's Durza is truly a menace, even though his most prominent scenes are often shrouded in special effects.

That is another thing: the special effects. Some are absolutely stunning (Saphira, the journey through the mountains), yet some are so shoddy that they make you roll your eyes. It's almost as if the filmmakers spent far too much time on Saphira and the accompanying flying scenes to be bothered to put much effort into the rest of them.

In summary, it can be thrilling and visually stimulating at times, but Speelers falls so flat that it ultimately is forgettable. It's a shame that this is a such a mediocre film.

Just saw the premiere, here in Portugal, and after reading all the terrible reviews, I was ready for the worse case scenario. Fortunatly, it wasn't THAT bad, I actually enjoyed the movie, but one cannot stop wondering why the hell they trashed a lot more of the original tale then necessary. The CGI is great, the cast is actually quite decent, and it really looks like the team that brought us this, wanted the movie do be bad. The "catch phrases" are as awful and basic as any B-movie, and the interaction between characters should have been worked a lot better. But it's fair to say that who hasn't read the book, will overlook some of the flaws.

I'm giving it a 6. A 7 may also be adequate, but... I've read the book.