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In terms of similarities to other movies, Lord of the Rings immediately comes to mind, especially since Eragon bears a similar-sounding name of one famous Tolkien character. But it is Star Wars, particularly Episode 4 that Eragon borrows from the most, to the point where you start getting some serious déjà vu moments during certain scenes.. The only interesting original concept is that of the Dragons and their Riders, whose fates are bound to each other. Paolini used this story device to create some interesting dilemmas and pathos for some of his characters. I just hope the sequels (if there are going to be any) would use more ideas like this, and not continue to crib from Star Wars. Overall, a pretty average fantasy flick, only for the curious. - BMF

One part Rings, three parts Star Wars
Synopsis: In the fantastical land of Alagaesia, a farm boy named Eragon (Ed Speelers) discovers a large blue egg in the forest that hatches into a magical winged dragon called Saphira (Rachel Weisz). He learns from village hermit Brom (Jeremy Irons) that Saphira may be the last of her kind, and that he is destined to be a Dragon Rider, tasked to lead the Varden, a race of noble warriors, against the tyrannical ruler of Alagaesia, Galbatorix, who was also responsible for the extinction of the Dragon Riders and their flying companions. Eragon is an adaptation of the New York Times bestseller book of the same name, written by Christopher Paolini when he was only fifteen years old.

I also didn’t expect Jeremy Irons (Dungeons and Dragons) to be good here, probably the best thing about Eragon, playing the mentoring, humourous, and poignant Brom. Though, Djimon Hounsou was pretty wasted here (as in lost opportunity, not getting stoned) as the Varden Ajihad. Four Brother’s Garrett Hedlund plays a forgettable Murtagh with bad hair, although I suspect there's more in store for his character and Hounsou’s in future installments. Sienna Guillory (Jill Valentine from Resident Evil: Apocalypse) looks cute here as elf princess Arwen, oops, I mean Arya. Apparently, not cute enough for doozy sorceror Durza played by Robert Carlyle (The World Is Not Enough). He managed to capture her; got her all sweaty and strapped to a slab of rock, yet the naughtiest thing he ever did was literally laying one finger on her. Talk about a lack of realism, but that’s PG for you.

I haven’t read the book, so I can only comment about the movie itself. Let’s begin by addressing a few issues. One: the production values. The dragon effects are pretty good, Saphira looks majestic and life-like, and I like Eragon's costumes, but everything else looks so cheap and cheesy that I thought I was watching a lost episode of Xena Warrior Princess. I mean they just slapped some black face paint and red contact lenses on some WWE-like bald dudes, and wa-lah! Instant growling monster henchmen! Second: you can tell the direction's a little amateurish, in that the pacing's a little off, and the camera framing and angles are just bland. Third: John Malkovich as arch villain Galbatorix. With all due respect to Mr Malkovich’s impeccable acting talent, this is again a classic case of the actor being too big for the role. When Galbatorix struts on-screen, we don’t see Galbatorix, but Malkovich the actor instead, and it’s pretty distracting, made worse by a restrained but bored performance. If he went for a Con Air’s 'Cyrus the Virus' approach, at least it could have been campy fun.

Despite all that, the movie still manages to warm up to me, due to the camaraderie between Eragon, Saphira and Brom. Ed Speelers was a mild surprise. I'm not as deluded as some a-holes out there who were expecting DeNiro level of excellence in acting. Speelers is not going to win any Oscars with Eragon, but compared to the bland acting in Star Wars Episodes 1 and 2 by more experienced thespians, he’s far better with acting alongside a non-existent CG co-star despite being a newcomer. His relationship with Saphira is key to the story, and is also the toughest part to nail performance-wise, and I'm surprised he (and the ILM effects team) made it work. The dragon battle at the end is clearly the best part in the movie, both as an action and emotional piece.

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