Eragon

With a disappointing canon of films that include Dragonheart and Reign of Fire, dragon flicks have yet to hit their stride. Eragon can be chalked up on that list as well, forcing fans to continue their wait for the ultimate satisfying dragon adventure. Based on the best-selling book by Christopher Paolini (who was 16 when he wrote it), the film tells the story of Eragon, a young farm boy who comes across an ancient dragon egg on one of his many hunts. It just happens to hatch while in his possession, thereby “choosing” him to be the rider of the newly born creature. This is all surrounded by a confusing story that involves villains and sorcerers and rebellions, along with any other genre cliché you can imagine. After the success of The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia, it seems that December has become the desired month for yearly fantasy releases (it will continue next year with His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass). Alas, Eragon is no Lord of the Rings, and more specifically, director Stefen Fangmeier is no Peter Jackson, and newcomer Ed Speleers is no Elijah Wood (or Daniel Radcliffe for that matter). The editing is atrocious and the dialogue is unbelievably cheesy, albeit in a somewhat forgivable way. In the end, all you’re left to enjoy are the visual effects, which are admittedly quite good (particularly in regards to the dragon). Also, there’s just something cool about watching a grizzled Jeremy Irons wield a blood-red sword as he waxes lyrical about the bygone days of dragons and dragon riders.

Directed by Stefen Fangmeier.
Written by Peter Buchman.
Starring Ed Speleers, Jeremy Irons, Sienna Guillory, Robert Carlyle, Garrett Hedlund, Djimon Hounsou, Rachel Weisz and John Malkovich.

Rated PG for fantasy violence, intense battle sequences and some frightening images. 104 min.

**½ so says The Fish