Eragon

I wanted to take a quick moment to discuss the movie Eragon with you. This will be a shorter review than most, and it's really just an addendum to what was going to be an announcement that by the weekend I would be posting my 2006 Year End Review of movies, but I had to get this out.

Upon going over the films of 2006 I was stopped short by Eragon. Let me just start off by saying that the world created by Chris Paolini is fun and imaginative. Well, maybe not imaginative, dragon riders and elves are nothing new, but I give him credit for putting it together nicely. I've never read the book this film was based on, and after seeing the movie, I have even less interest now than I did before. The effects in the movie were stunning. I didn't think a dragon could be rendered so beautifully, but I was wrong. The acting, was so-so. Jeremy Irons did a great job, but that was never in question. Rachel Weisz was a fun Saphira. Edward Speleers was awkward. His facial expressions leave me convinced that he's just discovered his face and doesn't quite know what to do with it, making for some comical expressions.

But all that is just icing on the cake. As with any movie, it really comes down to the plot and the entertainment value. Was the movie fun? Was the movie original, or a least a good take on an old idea? Well, I admit it had a bit of sugary empty calorie goodness to it. But I just couldn't get over the plot. I'm sorry, it was just so glaring it was impossible to ignore, and it turned what should have been a serious fantasy movie into a comedy.

What's so funny, is the fact that the plot for this movie is lifted directly from Star Wars, with a smattering of Lord of the Rings thrown in. It's the story of a young farm hand who discovers something he maybe shouldn't have, his uncle who he was staying with is killed, and he is forced to flee into hiding with a wisened old drifter, who ends up being the last of a lost people. Sound familiar? It gets better. After learning that he's special, and can wield the Force, I mean dragons, Obi-Wan, I mean Brom, tells him that he's the last hope of a group of rebels. Luke, I mean Eragon, disregards this information at first and rushes off to the enemy castle to rescue Leia, I mean Arwen, I mean Arya. His chief opponent at this point is Saruman, I mean Durza, a shade who commands King Galbatorix's army in a very Saruman like fashion. Arya is rescued, but at the cost of Brom-wan Kenobi, who sacrifices himself to save Eragon. Eragon and Arya rush off to the rebels, and are followed by the Death Star, I mean Durza's army, and together they face off. Eragon comes off triumphant, defeating Durza and securing the Rebels for the moment. Darth Galbatorix however isn't foiled yet, and the movie ends with him plotting revenge from his TIE Fighter, I mean castle.

I mean, come on, at least try and disguise it a little! This wasn't so much original fantasy as it was Star Wars remade into a fantasy setting, and not even very well at that! For that reason I give this movie two thumbs so far down as to mash them into the ground. It was funny when it wasn't supposed to be, it was poorly acted where it shouldn't have been, and it was freaking Star Wars!

Save your self some time and money and just watch the original. Look foward this weekend to my year end review for movies in 2006, and a sneak peek at what I'm looking forward to in 2007.