Here is a review from December 23, 2006:
I read Eragon three years ago and saw the movie today. I remember
the book being just so-so and the movie matches the book quite nicely
in that assessment. It is a fairly typical by the numbers fantasy
story. Our unassuming hero starts as a farm boy/hunter, finds a
dragon egg, bonds with the newly hatched dragon – named Saphira,
meets a mentor, and sets out on his epic to save the lands from the
evil king, Galbatorix. Some have said it is Star Wars meets Lord of
the Rings and there is certainly some truth to that. Our farm boy
hero from the backwoods (Luke of Tatooine) learns magic (the force)
from the grizzled old dragon rider, Brom (Obi-Wan). On his quest to
aid the rebel Vardan (Rebel Alliance), he learns that Princess Arya
(Princess Leia) is held by the evil Durza (Darth Vader). He goes to
her rescue, receiving aid from a questionable rogue named Murtagh
(Han Solo). Though Arya is rescued, Brom (Obi-Wan) is killed by
Durza (Darth Vader). Though the band escapes to the Vardan fortress,
Durza follows with the King's Army (standing in for the Death Star).
However, Eragon and Saphira vanquish the enemy almost single-handedly
thanks to some fiery breath. Unlike Darth Vader, Durza will not
return for the sequel as he and his conjured smoke beast had to stand
in for the dramatically exploding Death Star. Also of note, the
Dragon Riders (Jedi Knights) used to keep peace in the lands until
one Dragon Rider betrayed the rest (a la Darth Vader) and killed
them. Thus ended the time of the Dragon Riders but there was a
prophecy that a new Dragon Rider (Luke Skywalker) would defeat the
empire.
Not to leave out Lord of the Rings, Durza is quite similar in both appearance and powers to the Wraiths (Peter Jackson's Ring Wraiths were scarier). We also have Urgals which are reminiscent of orcs. The similarity between the names Eragon and Aragorn is hard to miss. In the book, Aragorn falls in love with Arwen the Elf. Eragon falls in love with Arya the Elf (the movie has her as a human). Though there is talk of Dwarves and Elves, we don't see any in the movie. Even in filming, there are many long shots of our heroes riding through beautiful countryside with snow-capped mountains in the background, a shot clearly borrowed from Lord of the Rings.
The movie announces there will be (they hope) a sequel. The budding relationship between Eragon and Arya is put off until `tomorrow,' King Galbatorix is still on his throne, we are told that Eragon's mother abandoned him as a child for unexplained reasons and those reasons remain unexplained, and Eragon's plucky cousin Roran was elaborately introduced but failed to make a reappearance by the movie's conclusion. It is also of great concern that no one knows who Eragon's father is (a point not considered in either the film or the book but such an absence considering the parallels to Star Wars makes one wonder if King Galbatorix is Eragon's father). This is more or less how the book ended and a sequel has been written: Eldest. I believe it is to be a trilogy.
Of course, the book had much more time to develop certain aspects that the movie doesn't. The character of Murtagh is barely touched in the film, seeming an unnecessary add-on but was Eragon's travel companion after the death of Brom and possibly related to Eragon. Arya was an elf with magical powers well beyond Eragon's. The mountain hideout of the Vardan was a dwarf citadel but the movie has no dwarves (or if the bearded fellows are supposed to be dwarves, they are awfully tall). The Razac were described as decrepit bird-like creatures who hid themselves beneath voluminous robes but the movie has them as ninja mummies crawling with maggots (or some other creepy crawly). Saphira got rapidly bigger day by day as Brom and Eragon traveled but here she just becomes full-sized after flying through a lightning storm.
The best thing about the movie is Saphira the dragon. She is well-rendered and certainly the best dragon since Draco in Dragonheart. I liked that she was sort of odd-looking. There was more the bird than the bat about her wings, even sporting feathers of a sort. As for the rest of the movie, it is just okay. It isn't terrible like Dungeons & Dragons but it isn't good like Lord of the Rings.
Not to leave out Lord of the Rings, Durza is quite similar in both appearance and powers to the Wraiths (Peter Jackson's Ring Wraiths were scarier). We also have Urgals which are reminiscent of orcs. The similarity between the names Eragon and Aragorn is hard to miss. In the book, Aragorn falls in love with Arwen the Elf. Eragon falls in love with Arya the Elf (the movie has her as a human). Though there is talk of Dwarves and Elves, we don't see any in the movie. Even in filming, there are many long shots of our heroes riding through beautiful countryside with snow-capped mountains in the background, a shot clearly borrowed from Lord of the Rings.
The movie announces there will be (they hope) a sequel. The budding relationship between Eragon and Arya is put off until `tomorrow,' King Galbatorix is still on his throne, we are told that Eragon's mother abandoned him as a child for unexplained reasons and those reasons remain unexplained, and Eragon's plucky cousin Roran was elaborately introduced but failed to make a reappearance by the movie's conclusion. It is also of great concern that no one knows who Eragon's father is (a point not considered in either the film or the book but such an absence considering the parallels to Star Wars makes one wonder if King Galbatorix is Eragon's father). This is more or less how the book ended and a sequel has been written: Eldest. I believe it is to be a trilogy.
Of course, the book had much more time to develop certain aspects that the movie doesn't. The character of Murtagh is barely touched in the film, seeming an unnecessary add-on but was Eragon's travel companion after the death of Brom and possibly related to Eragon. Arya was an elf with magical powers well beyond Eragon's. The mountain hideout of the Vardan was a dwarf citadel but the movie has no dwarves (or if the bearded fellows are supposed to be dwarves, they are awfully tall). The Razac were described as decrepit bird-like creatures who hid themselves beneath voluminous robes but the movie has them as ninja mummies crawling with maggots (or some other creepy crawly). Saphira got rapidly bigger day by day as Brom and Eragon traveled but here she just becomes full-sized after flying through a lightning storm.
The best thing about the movie is Saphira the dragon. She is well-rendered and certainly the best dragon since Draco in Dragonheart. I liked that she was sort of odd-looking. There was more the bird than the bat about her wings, even sporting feathers of a sort. As for the rest of the movie, it is just okay. It isn't terrible like Dungeons & Dragons but it isn't good like Lord of the Rings.
Well, we know that the sequel never came to pass. There had been high hopes. The Galbatorix is never seen in the book, he makes a cameo in the movie, played by John Malkovich. This was Ed Speleers first role. After this, he found himself as a footman at Downton Abbey. Jeremy Irons hadn't learned to avoid fantasy films after the disaster that was Dungeons & Dragons and played the old mentor, Brom. Rachel Weisz provided the voice of Saphira.
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