Eragon

Compared to the book, it’s incredibly condensed. Such a short running time is brutal in terms of not satisfying the density of the story, but the pacing isn't dizzying and visually it's not groundbreaking either, so basically thank goodness for the gifts. The abrupt ending calls for another sequel, but it's not surprising, as the book is not the only one. Some facts are distorted, changed or not mentioned at all, but unlike Lord of The Rings, it is evident and it's not pretty. The visually well-executed dragon contrasts with sequences that are not very action-packed and rather cheaply evoked emotions through sterile and heavily clichéd “epic awe-inspiring scenes” in the form of panoramic shot of a rocky city, camera escapades in flying sequences, etc. The protagonist lacks charisma, and everything is sort of led by Jeremy Irons alone, whose character (similarly to everything else) is predictable to the point of pity. Just a routine genre film, and really not above The Lord of the Rings. (04/01/2007)

This is very bad. She is a bad book as well, boasting an incredibly stretched out plot where nothing significant happens, characters that are terribly schematic, and names that are impossible to remember. This also applies to the movie, moreover, the potential of interesting actors is not utilized. Jeremy Irons is the only one who shines. Even the dragon here is not captivating in any way. Jeans are then the last point. I didn't like it back then, and I still don't like it today. For me, one of the biggest fantasy disappointments. (23/12/2013)

A big surprise in the sense that instead of a poor burglary, I got a solid burglary. However, I cannot squeeze more than three stars out of myself because the duration is unbearably cut and many secondary storyline lines remain unresolved and significantly unnecessary. The fact that an average viewer can predict what will happen to each character, as well as predict mentor dialogues, does not help either. The biggest disappointment is probably the chaotic mess pretending to be a breathtaking final battle. But to highlight the positives anyway: the main one is Saphira (especially as a dragon, she is delicious), the divine Irons, and likeable Speleers. Considering how much potential the fans saw in the saga, it was handled quite cruelly. (06/01/2007)