The Dragon Stone

As it is the first day of the international release (or in my timezone, the very early hours of the next day) reviews for the ‘Eragon’ movie are now everywhere. It will be some days before I get to see it. Though I don’t have a personal opinion yet, I thought I’d sum up some of the review points with links to those reviews. Feel free to post your comments on the movie in response, but as always, keep it suitable for anyone to read.

Star Wars Plot
There are many reviews making fun of it being like Star Wars. After reading a few of these, the Star Wars jokes are already getting a bit old. The elements of the plot that are being highlighted are found in the book. Some reviews of the Eragon book have pointed out plot elements derived from elsewhere too, so it’s not a surprise that the film reviewers also commented. It does mean that if you’re a fan of the book, this is unlikely to bother you. I’d assume if you loved the book, you don’t mind if the plot has elements from elsewhere.

Dragon / Saphira
Even the most negative reviews liked the dragon, particularly at the baby dragon stage. Some reviewers found a soft female voice unsuitable for Saphira. Then again, these aren’t reviews by people who’ve read the book or are much into dragons. I suspect a dragon-lover will find the idea of a female dragon lead a lot easier to deal with. We’re not expecting all dragons to have harsh, violent male voices and a steely glint in their eyes.

Some that like the book have already criticised Saphira’s look. That started back when the trailers began. Her wings were membranous in the book (they’re feathery-looking in the film) and she was described as being more gem-like. Possibly this is an area where those without knowledge from the book may appreciate the dragon more, due to lack of expectations.

Actors and Acting
A lot of the reviewers didn’t like the acting, with some complaints that the telepathy scenes lacked entertainment. On the positive sides, they seem to agree that Edward Speleers (Eragon) is good looking. He does a lot of dark brooding in the trailers. I guess we’ll be seeing a lot of Eragon with Saphira posters being sold if nothing else.

Target Audience
The Eragon books are aimed more at the older child to teenaged market, which seems to be where the film is aiming too. Some reviews do admit it is likely to appeal to the target audience, even if it didn’t to the older reviewers.

Conclusions
The mainstream reviewers mainly didn’t like it. A number of these reviews also stated a dislike for films like ‘Dragonheart’ and the recent Narnia film, which casts into doubt how useful the reviews are if you’re into light-hearted fantasy films.

Reviews from those more into the Eragon books and similar fantasy films seem to be varied. There are people that like it, but also those that hate it. At this stage, it doesn’t look like this is a film with much depth. Whether that’s a problem depends on the viewer. If you’re hoping to see pretty scenery and a nice dragon, it doesn’t look like you’ll be disappointed. How well it follows the book is one of those things people will be debating for awhile.

Selected Review Links
This is a small selection of some of the reviews out there:

• Will ‘Eragon’ find its wings? - Some good quotes from other reviews (both positive and negative).
• Eragon movie review - A negative review from someone that liked the books.
• Rotten Tomatoes: Eragon - A summary of critical reviews, with a percentage of how good the movie is. Eragon has done badly, though has risen a few percent (to 15%) from the figures quoted in earlier reviews from the release day.
• ‘Eragon’ is a pale imitation - The reviewer isn’t too fond of the film, but likes the baby dragon.
• Reelnews: Eragon Review - I don’t think this reviewer liked anything about it, but explains why with a good level of detail.