Movie Review: Eragon
Movies Reviews
By Colin MacLean Dec 14, 2006, 10:24 GMT
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Older Talkback
i read the book, and if ur a person who often has dreams of leading a better life, being really popular in school, or running away to some grand adventure to get yourself away from the oppresive lifestyle your living now... GO SEE THIS MOVIE!!!! Or... GO READ THIS BOOK!!!
Im serious, this will be the best one you have ever seen. It will actually make you want eragon to succed and you will be delighted in every instance that brings him happiness or make him stronger. Yes i know this is what all supporter's of any book or movie say, but this one, it actually will.
okay, as a whole the movie Eragon is alright/good, mostly for people who haven't read the book...
*If you haven't read the book either read it befor seeing the movie or don't read the next paragraph/s (aka spoiler).
We (my friend and I) have read the first and second books, myself multiple times. And for us the Eragon movie turned out to be a big let down.
When comparing to the book it has multiple inacuresies, the time line it messed up with, they move the story-line along to quickly and miss out minor characters and events which turn into major characters and concequences in the second book. Some of these are;
1. Roran leaving - in the book he left for an apprenticeship so he could earn enough money to support a house and a woman/girl he was/is in love with. In Eldest this is the reason he convinces the whole village to eave their homes to go fight with the varden. Becuse he wanted to rescue Katrina who had been kidnapped by the ra'zac (no they are NOT killed) and he did not want to abandon the vllage.
2. To many ra'zac (their were only two and their parents who come in in the second book)and they did not get killed.
3. Arya was unconcious (self indueced coma to extend her life and because she was going to get taken to galbtorix).
4. Brom told him about the dragons when he went to ask , gave him the sword earlier on, died before they rescued Arya, was not insistant on Eraon going to the varden, gave eragon the chocie of what he wanted to do (which was to pursue the ra'zac to get revenge on his uncles death), they went to Terim to get help from one of broms friends Joed who helps Roran and the villagers make it to the varden in the second book, Joed also helps them find the ra'zac's lair, saphira new about brom being a rider befor eragon, eragon found out about brom being a rider just before he died. he told his story when the traders came to carverhall.
5. Saphira did not tell eragon her name, he gave her a list of names and she chose it. She did not grown up so quickly. She did not have feathers. Her scales were more saphire than the blue-white colour they are in the movie. she breaths fire to early. she waits untill night to catch up with eragon and brom.
6. Eragon met Angela in Terim. Angela did not talk about herself in thired person. They missed out solumbum's advice which will be major in the future, in fact they missed him out completely. Eragon does not tell brom about the fotune. angela only offered to tell his future using the dragon nuckle bones because solumbum talked to him (solumbum is a werecat btw) and angela talked about a woman with the same name as his mother whome solumbum also spoke to. solumbum knew about eragon being a rider. they missed out her being with the varden who plays is a major part in the battle in eldest. shes much more cheerful. they missed out the bit about the toads, wait sorry frogs.
7. The dwarves. enough said.
8. The twins don't exist in the movie.
9. Murtagh did not want to go to the varden. He reveals himself to eragon. they do free him for the battle. (also there were no humans in the battle against the varden, only urgals... wait kulls... hang on both)
10. Za'rocs gem in the hilt was ruby NOT saphire.
11. eragon was captred and imprisoned, then rescued by murtagh and saphira which lead him to saving arya from the same prison. Eragon's dreams were wrong. The battle between eragon and durza was different in th book (saphira wasn't there). arya left with eragon in eldest so he culd continue his training with the elves. he was 16 not 17, aka brom was correct.
12. galbatorix is only mentioned in eragon and eldest (the books) not seen. He wanted eragon and saphira alive, we find out in eldest that the reason is because saphira is the last female dragon know to be alive.
13. Durza had red eyes ALL the time. he never made a shadow beast.
14. the star saphire.
15. they were underground for the final battle, in the mountian.
16. they had days to prepare for the battle.
17. they missed out the politics (becomes important in eldest)
18. missed out the dwarf king and orik who becaome major characters as well in eldest.
19. Brom's trainng.
20. Du Vrangr Gata.
Okay thats enough i guess.
a; we're tired
b; thats all we can think of, pretty good considering its around midnight.
Congradulations if you've managed to read it all, if you really love the books we suggest waiting for it to come out on DVD.
Oh yeah. We would like to know, did the makers of the movie actually READ eldest or eragon?
oh an to add to our reasons to go....the other person(i'm not the above writer) is spelling worse an worse :P an no i wont leave your bad spelling an grammer alone....they dont need to know ok??
Wohoo!!! almost a thousand words! (other person now) we’re nuts aren’t we…..
Just to add on to what very very annoyed said.
*WARINING THERE ARE SPOILERS PAST HERE*
1.Brom didnt have to die in the movie, as in if they had done it right he should have been in a situation where there was not hope of him being saved, like in the book, but as I remember Arya was there when Brom was dying. So as an elf she can use magic, and she is over 1000, maybe more, times more powerful than Eragon at this point, so she could have easily saved broms life.
2.Saphira didnt have some of the cosmetic things the thought she would have, and had some extra things. Anyone who has seen the COVER of Eragon knows that she has spikes lining her spine, which also marks where Eragon sits on her back if memory serves me correctly. She didnt have hair coming off of her head nor did she have a beard of spikes, OR feathers, shes not a bird shes a dragon.
3.Angela wasnt supposed to look like a gypsy and she was supposed to be an herbalist not a fortune teller, i mean she was a witch but thats not how she made her living.
4.The Urgals had horns and were supposed to look as if they were trained for battle since, pretty much, birth. Not these fat guys, and all sweaty and stupid marks on their faces. Complete disappointment when there were no Kulls, considering they play a kind of big role in the second book.
5. I thought Elves had pointed ears, where as Arya didnt, also the elves werent supposed to be able to grow facial hair, or any hair not on top of thier head for that matter, and I beleive one of the elves in the beginning had facial hair.
6. The Varden didnt just steal the egg in the beginning, if they didnt in the movie, then the beginning was done really bad with the narration because thats what it seemed like, they had the egg for a long span of time before it ever reaches Eragon, and they were ambushed while transporting it from the Varden to Ellesmera.
7. Arya wasnt supposed to tell Eragon that she was a princess, he findout in the second book, and she wasnt supposed to be so nice to Eragon, nor show any sort of affection for anything, she was really cold in the books, at least until the go to Ellesmera.
8. what was up with the army recruiting, im sorry but you ruined anychance for a good sequal, when you had the army take away Horsts kids, and Sloan was all wrong, where was Katrina, he was supposed to hate Eragon.
9. I notice that Galbatorix didnt have a gem in the hilt of his sword like all Dragon riders, its there for a reason, they can store magical energy in the gem.
10. The sword training session, should have been sessions, had Eragon progress to quickly in swordsmanship, and he was supposed to break his wrist so he had to train with his left hand and become ambidexterious.
11. Saphira didnt have to learn how to fly she knew how inherantly, and Eragon found out about communicating with her with thought as soon as she hatched pretty much.
12.Im sorry but the soldiers in the beginning just ruined this movie for me, i think it deserves to be mentioned twice. Shouldnt have been there, no relevance to actual story, and probably ruined all chances for a good sequel.
13.Their journey from Carvahall to The Varden was all wrong, I saw no desert in this movie.
14. They didnt start their journey with horses, thy got them later, and the horses actually had a kind of big part in the books, at least snowfire does considering he ride snowfire from Gil'ead to the Varden, and then from the Varden to Ellesmera.
15. Eragon didnt know how to read, he learned how in Tierm.
Overall big disappointment, as every minute passed in this atrocity, it made me want to walkout more and more. At the end I wanted Saphira to die, it was that bad, just so I knew there would be no sequel, but no I know they are going to make a sequel, and try as I may to not go see it, I know I will just because I have to see how tey tried to save this movie, and make it into something decent. I thought I had seen all of the worst movies, and now I know I have. So please save your money and go buy the book instead, unless you already have it then just dont go, and read Eragon, its infinately better than this movie.
This movie was COMPLETELY and UTTERLY butchered! It was so obvious the movie had very little funding, because they skipped over everything, and what they did manage to include was done WRONG. The entire political battle was removed, so anyone who did not read the novels was completely lost in what was going on. It was so fast-paced that they may not have even done the movie. Almost all of the characters were done incorrectly. This movie was immoral; it failed to do the book and author justice. The creators of this film mocked, ridiculed, scorned, disrespected, tortured, and plain out DESTROYED the novel and the author. It is by far so plainly obvious that Christopher Paolini had practically nothing to do with the creation of this film. They took advantage of a young but talented author and ruined his books. I am enraged and disgusted by this film. It was a waste of time and money, as well as months of excitement. Paolini deserves much more than what was done; this film was an abomination.
The story of Eragon was butchered and mangled beyond recognition. One wonders whether the script writers have even read the original books, they definitely had no appreciation for the masterpieces they are. This movie was an atrocity and a shameful representation of the life’s work of Christopher Poalini. There was absolutely no character development, major pieces of the novel were skipped over, and important characters were left out or twisted into dull lifeless shadows of what they should have been. They got many many facts from the movie wrong, didn’t follow descriptions of the characters even in the slightest, and showed many things out of sequence. It was in one word TERRIBLE. A total waste of time and money …
i have probably read eldest and eragon both 5 times each so listen to me when i say this movie is a complete disgrace to such an amazing series. these books had the potential to make better movies then even LOTR itself. all i want to know is who the hell made this movie because i want to take a ninja star and cut off their ears.
All right people im hear to hate on this movie. There were many things wrong with it but i will name a couple that went allready mentioned.
1. Brom was nicer to Eragon in the book, sort of like Obi-Wan not like a Han Solo
2. The geography was screwy. Aglesia wasnt all mountians like in the movie.
3. Galbatorix didnt have the Bour mountians with the dwarf cities on them with his maps. Thats why the Urgals were there, to look for it.
4. Murtag lies to Eragon about his past when they first meet in the movie, which dosnt happen in the book.
5. The skiped Tierm enterly which puts the sequal and even this movie in deep trouble
6. The whole swamp village was a poor attempt to fit half the book into 15 min. And it fails miserably.
7. The dwarves, if the movie had any, didnt make saphirras armor in 2 hours but it was left over from the Dragon Riders Era.
8. The dragon riders had become corrupt, but the were not eduring multiple warlords vying for power.
8. Trojhiem volcano was so small compaired to the books description. It was more a small vally than a volcano
9. If not for me reading the book, i would have been lost half way through the movie. It jumps around and skips so many importiant parts that the movie is almost unrecognisable.
These things and many more led to a 1 1/2 star movie. I have no comment on the acting but the one part i will say was done decently was Shaphira, she looked almost, with a few minor details, like i expected her to. Hopefully the Author and the writters will realize they screwed up bad and not even thing about a second one. 'May your swords always stay sharp'-Brom
Ahhhhh... No No No... I've read the books and loved them, but this movie is inexcusable. I understand some cuts and mistakes but this is rediculous. Where is the werecat of Angelas, where is Isidar Mithrim. So much anger at this mockery of a great book. Sigh... And another major thing...the destruction of afore mentioned crystal and the death of Durza...
Okay some frustration out, but simply if they plan on a sequel they better remake this one first...
Personally I think whoever wrote this review could not possibly have seen the movie. Speelers and Malkovich delivered their lines in such a fashion as to put the plastic reindeer in my front yard to sleep. Saphira is acceptable in her graphic performance, however her voice is reminiscent of the credit card commercials where husky men speak like old british women. The battle scenes were unresolved, especially in Farthen Dur where the scene wasn't even introduced correctly. One of the most dissapointing parts of the movie was the final battle between Eragon and Durza, in the book the battle ends in a crescendoing crash of Isidar Mithrim's fate and Saphira breathes her first flame of the book at the very end, in the movie it ends in an anti-climactic stab through Durza's heart and a fall... All in all Stefen Fangmeier and the writer's vision of the movie contrasts so much with Christopher Paolini's that one could almost go as far as to say that it is a different story within itself. I admit I anticipated this movie with great zeal and expectancy, but having just returned from viewing it I must also admit that I wasted $10, and decidely question my viewing of the sequel upon it's release.
i posted diappointed and i just rememberd that when they showed Eragon her armor, its not the same armor she is wearing when the battle starts, just thought i would point that out
to all you disapointed, you have the right reasons, a lot of thigns were left out that took out the very essence of the story, the graphics were amazing yet that is about it, i am very disapointed in this movie, huge letdown, ive been waiting for over a year and a half and getting this made me so sad, so all i have to say is...just hope there is at least 2 hours of deleted scenes on the dvd
something is terribly wrong with this movie (we've read the books):
1. sapphira didn't grow up in two seconds people!!!!!!!!!!!
2. roran leaves in the first five minutes of the movie, that's wrong
3. brom doesn't burn the house down
4. the raa'zac aren't worm-covered-people, they're bird-people
5. where is Solumbum Angela's wercat?
6. how did their journey to the varden become 2 seconds long?!?
7. the varden city is supposed be inside the mountain, not on it
8. brom is nicer in the book
9. what happened to Dras-Leona, where the raa'zac confront Eragon
10. once again, how did the varden journey become 2 seconds?!?
11. Morzan isn't revealed enough, at least not enough to introduce Murtagh
12. you're supposed to learn Eragon's family background
13. Brom is supposed to meet Murtagh
14. Brom tells Eragon of Dragon Rider-ship
15. Arya is supposed to be an elf, no evidence of that in movie
16. Eragon was supposed to be captured by Durza
17. he was supposed to kill Durza beneath Isidar Mithrim
18. the twins weren't mentioned
19. so much for dwarfs
20. Arya had brown hair
21. Durza had red eyes
22. he's supposed to be at the varden for at least a week before the battle
23. once again the varden journey is not 2 seconds! arg!
24. he's supposed to go with Arya at the end
25. sapphira has no feathers, or hair for that matter
this movie was a total let down compared to the books
ps- the varden journey isn't 2 seconds long!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Whether you like the book or not, they did not put any work into this movie at all, and it showed. There were a lot of loop holes; Eragon gets his hand magically bandaged in the beginning of the movie, Arya automatically gets better once they reach Tronjheim, Saphira turns into a full-sized dragon in a matter of seconds without any real explanation besides the fact that they wanted to cut costs and time. (And I thought the book went fast.)
The actors were horrible, but I give the ones that played Murtagh (sp?) and Brom kudos. Sadly, Brom dies near the middle of the movie, and Murtagh doesn't have much of a part to play, so we're stuck with the hollow, stiff actors and that voice of Saphira that talks and talks about... nothing!
And don't you love how they screwed up the characters? I understand that movies can never be exactly like the books, but Angela turned into some half-blind, nose-ring fortune teller freak that hit on Eragon almost as soon as she saw him, Arya was a slut, and the rest of the characters are shells of what they used to be. Which surprised be, because I thought they couldn't get worse.
(Obviously I'm not a fan of the book.)
To make my point short, the movie was horrible. I'm not even really sure why they made it, if they didn't put any effort into it. It had such great potential, but it's obvious that the people who worked on it really didn't care.
Well... I'm not that surprised.
iam just about to go see the movie... but i mgiht reconsider and watch cxasino royale cause o what u guys said... meh ill still watch it to make my own hate speech here :D .
I have only walked out of a movie theatre this disgusted/disappointed one time before Eragon and that was when I went to see Lady in the Water.
If you haven't yet seen Eragon, don't waste your money on it. In fact, don't even bother to buy it on DVD.. if anything, wait for it to come out on TV. The only part that I enjoyed about going to see this film is the fact that my friends were there to heckle it with me.
First off - the only actor that I think did well was the man who played Brom. Although he was the same guy who did the voice for Scar in the Lion King. I just wanted to bust out into the, 'Be Prepared!' song everytime he appeared on the screen. Galbatorix wasnt shown in the book at all, so you think the least they could do was get a decent actor - but no, they get a guy who sounds as if he's reading his lines off of a cue card. It also didn't help that near the end, Durza looked like the Sith Lord off of StarWars.
Second - the movie didn't follow the book at all! They cut out main characters like katrina and the twins. Oh, and dont forget that girl that Eragon/Saphira bless in Tronjheim - she becomes a major plot point in the second book. They only really focused on Brom, Eragon, and Saphira for the part.. for the rest of the characters, like Murtagh and Nasuada, they just through in there and gave their name. Then, they killed off the two worm people who were supposed to be the Ra'zac! They were supposed to kill Brom, and then in the second book, were supposed to come back to kidnap Katrina, who wasn't even mentioned, and that would make Roran go chase after them to get her back..
I was going to list off more things.. but then I realized that this is just making me angry. So in short, the entire making of the movie was a total waste of good money and a complete disgrace to Paolini's book. Once again, I'll repeat myself: If you were thinking about seeing this movie - don't. I can guarantee you'll regret it as you walk out of the movie theater feeling even more ignorant than you were when you bought your ticket.
Just got back from this movie & had to vent. Arrghhh!!
There were numerous things that bothered me to near sickness about this movie. Overall, I understand that in the interest of time & making the movie more applicable to those who haven't read the book, some things have to be cut out.
Anyway, the 4 things that bugged me the most (there were hundreds of others):
- So... Saphira flies away as a tiny dragon & flies back 15 secs later as an adult w/ horns & can talk? Come on people!! Give your audience more credit! I can't even see a 7 yr old buying that one. I should've just walked out at that point (as I wanted), instead I 'booed' & stuck around for more pain.
- Arya - What kind of elf is she supposed to be? Where are the ears? Where's her magic? Where's the mystical factor? Horrible character development & physical appearance with her (drawves, urgals & razac too, but I digress). I can't help but wonder if they'll give Eragon his 'elf-like' transformation where he gains additional power in the next movie, considering Arya the elf looks like a regular human.
- Where was Orik??
- Where was the werecat? I even heard young kids complaining about him not being in the movie.
If you've read the book & watch this, unfortunately you WILL be disappointed, even if you try to have an open mind.
watchin eragon was like having bamboo stakes driven under the fingernails. The cast was awful, save one (brom), and the one thing it had that the book had was that Eragon found an egg. The rest was destroyed just to make it 'cute' and 'cuddly'. I for one am so disapointed, I wouldn't go see it again if someone paid me a large sum of money.
that was possibly one of the best movies i have ever seen! all the actors were soooooo hot, it just made my day! i would give my right arm just to see that SWEET battle scene again that so closely resembled the book. Angela was just like i imagined (i did read the book), and for all you who say brom was the only good actor, shame on you! I think he totally ruined the movie, because he wasn't very cool. Eragon was soooooo hot, it doesnt matter that he doesnt show emotion, because his rediculously good looks just make up for it! YAY!
The movie was appalling, but just one comment on someone's criticism:
'5. I thought Elves had pointed ears, where as Arya didnt, also the elves werent supposed to be able to grow facial hair, or any hair not on top of thier head for that matter, and I beleive one of the elves in the beginning had facial hair. '
If you've read the second book, you will know that elves in Paolini's fantasy world can take on any form they consider beautiful (even that of animals). Lack of facial hair is likely more of a Tolkien feature.
Another anomoly? Eragon didn't acquire the sight of dragons - he became ONE with Saphira in the book, to the point that he viewed his own body as if he WAS Saphira.
Christopher Poalini is only a teenage writer, but the movie is a totally disappointing rendition of its namesake. The movie completely annihilated many of the concepts and characters from the book. The casting was awful, the directing appalling, but most of all, the script writers should be hung by their toenails. We were so utterly disappointed. It felt like a warped version of Pokemon! I have never seen so many people spontaneously walk out of a movie theatre before the movie was even over. The only commendation I can give is to th CGI team, although more research into what they should have been creating would have been a good idea (eg what Saphira and the Ra'zac REALLY looked like).
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