Radio Lady Reviews: "Eragon" (Opens Friday, December 15, 2006)

My husband frequently co-hosts my Oregon Public Broadcasting audio program. He is always an interesting guest, providing his political outlook and opinions on a variety of topics. We’ve been doing husband-and-wife radio programs since the 1970s – and he is also available for reviewing in case I fall ill or have a schedule conflict. Hubby asked for “dibs” on this press screening, because he and my son-in-law are avid sci-fi fans. I said “sure” and I went off to continue my recovery from the loss of a loved one in our extended family. (See other threads for an explanation.) I hope you enjoy this review.

My husband says, “I like science fiction, but haven’t cared much for fantasy in the past. I read a lot of science fiction, and enjoy this genre at the movies, too. I’ve read some books by Orson Scott Card, who tends to cross over from one genre to another. Since I enjoy his writing, I have occasionally found myself reading Card’s fantasy. Similarly, I wandered into reading some fantasy by Piers Anthony. And, yes, I did read most of “Lord of the Rings” and managed to watch all three films. I fell off the wagon with “Harry Potter” and can’t get going again with these popular stories. By contrast, I have read all the “Dune” books and… Well, enough about me. I just wanted to give you some background. Suffice it to say that fantasy is not my “cup of tale”. I mention this because I’ve found myself drawn to see the latest fantasy production now in theaters. That film is the long awaited “Eragon”.

I loved it! I can’t wait for the sequel! There are dual aspects of this flick that drew me into wanting to see it. One was the simple basis of the story, which I’ll share with you, since I believe it will not spoil it for you – but will whet your appetite for the film, as it did mine.

In faraway place and a different time, the day of the dragon riders is over and a cruel king and his evil wizard rule the land. With the end of the flying dragons, there is only the hope that the day of the dragon riders will come once again. Eragon, a young farm boy, comes by an unusual rock, which fascinates him. The rock turns out to be an egg and when it hatches…well, you guessed it… It’s a cute little winged baby dragon.

That’s what attracted me, plus the advance information that the special effects here are terrific, and they are! What Jurassic Park did to bring realism to dinosaurs – is what the movie “Eragon” does to bring life to flying dragons.

The movie does not disappoint. It’s a delightful outing for you and the kids, and why not take the grandparents for good measure? This film will work for everyone except possibly the very young. In other words, the violence is kept in check and what we don’t need to see is not shown. However, tiny tykes may have a problem with the evil wizard, Durza, played well by Robert Carlyle. Edward Speleers is the handsome young farm boy, Eragon. Rachel Weisz provides the voice of the grown up dragon, Saphira, and the cast is further filled out with the talented duo of Jeremy Irons as Brom and John Malkovich as the mean king.

Plain and simple. “Eragon” is fun and I think I’ve finally find my kind of fantasy, and perhaps yours, too. See it and bring the family. I rate “Eragon” an A.

MPAA RATING: PG for fantasy violence, intense battle sequences and some frightening images
GENRE(S): Action | Adventure | Family/Kids | Fantasy
WRITTEN BY: Peter Buchman, Lawrence Konner, Mark Rosenthal, Jesse Wigutow
DIRECTED BY: Stefen Fangmeier
RELEASE DATE: Theatrical: December 15, 2006
RUNNING TIME: 104 minutes, Color
ORIGIN: USA

I have 3 kids under age 6...wondering if there is alot of bloodshed, etc.

him look scary. There is not a lot of blood, gore or obvious violence. In those respects, it's fairly tame.

It's hard to predict for any one child, but probably most children wouldn't have a problem with it.

Thanks so much for posting, Beausoir. Perhaps someone else will leave a comment or two here and give you another opinion.

Hey! Three kids under six! Wow! You must be one busy person!

I had two kids fourteen months apart, and then their father divorced me and married another lady two weeks later. I had an all night radio job 11 PM to 5 AM, with round the clock day care! I remember it well. Luckily, I met the guy I married, a widower with three older kids. Then, it was a little easier. Older kids watched the younger ones. All the kids got along, thank goodness!

Actually, I have 5 kids in all...but 3 of them are under 6. I also have an 8 year old and a 10 year old!

I used to work in the traffic department of two radio staions. Oy. It was like putting a jigsaw puzzle togther on a daily basis!

Please check these out if you can before you go.

http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/eragon?q=Eragon

NT!

I had read the book and was also looking forward to the film. Although the books are not "great literature" and follow a storyline that is a little too recognizable, it had some interesting elements that i thought would convert well to the screen. I was terribly disappointed. I cannot imagine how they will achieve a sequel even remotely similar to the second book as they left out large chunks of the plotline needed to continue. A infant with the blessing gone awry is not even introduced in the first film. The book's plotline was twisted in unnecessary ways that didn't quite make sense to me as it only served to make the film feel awkward and un-solid.

The twisting of the plot was done in such a way that the pacing was painfully slow and often incredibly dull IMO. It was almost as if they eliminated any intriguing plot element of the book to make room for a lot of unnecessary dialog.

I ADORED Robert Carlyle in the role of Durza but overall felt the character development was poorly done. There was none of the prophetic background done relating to Eragon's past. The development of the relationship between Eragon and the elf Arya suffers from plotline restructuring. Malkovich's Galbatorix was ineffectual and well...more pathetic than frightening.

The greatest disappointment was that the werecat character Solembum was left out of the film entirely.

I left the film a few minutes before it ended to go have a cigarette. I had about all i could stand of the overblown dialog.

The only positive note IMHO was the animation. The infant dragon was ADORABLE.

Perhaps this movie would have been more entertaining if i had not read the books first. i am usually very sensitive to the fact that translations to the screen are difficult to do and i usually make allowances for it. In this case...i was unable. Not worth the money.

Edited to add...

Although this film is contains no elements that might be disturbing for very young children it would also likely fail to capture their interest for very long.

My teen aged daughter, a fan of the books, "hated it".

Damned cute, too bad it was not on screen longer.

He said, "Maybe it was a benefit not to have read the book."

Thanks for your comments. Many seem to agree with you.

I have a really, really hard time with fake-sounding-hit-you-over-the-head-that-the-writer-is-struggling-to-create-'original-sounding' names - you know, the type of witless story construction that 13-year-old-teen-girl-fantasy writers like Mercedes Lackey engage in.

(Was the book that inspired this movie as bad as hers when it comes to italicizing every other word as if they're soooo important? That shit got OLD; I couldn't read more than a couple of her books just because of her mistaken belief that what she was saying was SO IMPORTANT REALLY IT IS!)

the movie was terrible ...the costumes were frequently anachronistic

that they seemed to eliminate every entertaining aspect out of the book. What was the deal with the plot changes? :shrug: They were so unnecessary and made the film drag.

also why was the guy in jeans..that was ridiculous

also i thought the main characters were too old and too calvinklein model looking

not to mention a bit of an issue if they make a sequel. The blessed infant, Angela and the cat play a rather significant role in book two. It was simply unnecessary to leave him out. It was not a time issue as Eragon did visit the shop in the movie. It would have taken a few minutes to introduce him.

When i saw the "jeans" i looked at my daughter and rolled my eyes.

Disappointing.

:evilgrin:

So, what period did they actually have dragons in?

blah blah

so jeans on a supposed farmboy looks anachronistic

She has seen the first 3 Harry Potter films, and loves Jurassic Park and Godzilla. She is really itching to see this film, but I had heard there were some issues regarding the ratings. Any thoughts?

Thanks
:)

but will likely bore her out of her mind. There just isn't enough going on to hold a young child's attention IMO.

Now I have something to do with her during the school break!

Don't break my heart by saying she likes that dreck that came out of Hollywood, with the female (WTF?) T-Rex Godzilla that RUNS AWAY, which of course G-zilla never would do!

I also suspect that a lot of the book's ideas were taken right from Ursula K Leguin....

Your write-up has me thinking I'll go as well. :D

Is that an issue?

Pity there aren't more zombies in it.

Didn't really get the point of it. . .

Here is the information at the Internet Movie Database as of Monday night, 12/18/06:

http://www.us.imdb.com/title/tt0449010/

read a positive review of the movie.

We'll check it out. Thanks, Radio Lady!

I haven't read either, but I believe that Ann McCaffrey's novels have a wide and loyal following. In terms of fantasy, I've only read Tolkien.