Eragon: Movie Analysis

The first words spoken in this movie were “I suffer.. Do not prolong my suffering” Unfortunately it ignores its own advice. 90 minutes later, I sat there, infuriated yet again at the failure to transform a book that I loved into even a half decent film.

Eragon is based off the book of the same name by Christopher Paolini and, for those unfamiliar with the novel, is the epic tale of a young farm boy, Eragon (Ed Speleers) who happens upon a dragon egg. When it hatches for him, releasing the magnificent dragon Saphira (voiced by Rachel Weisz), he joins the ranks of the ancient warriors, the Dragon Riders. Then alongside a mysterious old man, Brom (Jeremy Irons), he and his dragon begin an epic quest to overthrow the tyrannical king Galbatorix

(John Malkovich). This is an epic fantasy, filled with epic fight scenes and epic epic-ness.

At least the book was.

The film was horrible in every way.

This movie had a big budget. Really big. 100 million USD to be exact. And this money was, for the most part, wasted.

Ed Speleers was hired for the main part, which was Fangmeier’s first mistake. This film was Speleers’ big debut on the silver screen, and his inexperience is embarrassingly obvious through his lack of acting finesse. He fails to effectively convey the emotions necessary to engage to audience in the film. Any attempt at this gets lost in the haze of confusion that seems to surround this newbie. He clearly has no idea what he’s doing. Also, John Malkovich was hired for the role of deep, dark, tyrannical king, Galbatorix. But his high pitched, nasally voice killed that image, regardless of the darkness and violent imagery that surrounds him.

I could’ve gotten past these mistakes if the rest of the movie delivered on my high hopes.

But my expectations were too high.

Unfortunately, all plot was abandoned for special effects. And this led to several consistency errors. The movie strayed too far from the beautifully crafted work of the novel, missed out too many essential details, for it to really make any sense. Fangmeier appeared to realise his mistake near the end, where several important parts were messily added in, too little, too late.

Then there’s Arya (Sienna Guillory). I shudder at the thought of her. Possibly the most powerful, badass character in the books was reduced to a snivelling damsel-in-distress, for no reason other than to play to the Hollywood stereotype - all women need a man to save them.

But as much as it pains me to admit, there are some few high points hidden in this mess.

Jeremy Irons’s acting was flawless. His experience in acting is clear, and unlike his younger colleague, successfully portrays every emotion with effortless seeming grace.

And Saphira was a work of art. Fangmeier’s roots in visual effects are clear through Saphira’s shimmering scales and brilliant blue eyes. All of the other effects live up to this standard too. Visually, it is a beautiful

movie.

This film truly does fall below all expectations. Award winning book, enormous budget, horrendous movie. If you have any love the book, avoid this movie at all costs. Don’t taint your view of Alagaesia’s magic with this butchery.

Consider yourself warned.