Eragon (DVD)

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Liked it
Story	Good
Characters / Performances	Outstanding
Special Effects	Outstanding
How does it compare to similar films?	Good

Advantages:	Good plot, Nice characters, Great locations
Disadvantages:	Choppy in places, too short

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

~ You are stronger than you realize ~

A couple of days ago once again from my Lovefilm account I had through the Sci- Fi adventure film through- Eragon. I don’t watch a lot of these children’s film but some of them have turned out to be pretty goods thought I would try my luck on this. I had seen adverts on the TV when Eragon was in the cinema and thought it looked ok but never got round to seeing it. I had actually forgotten all about it until I received it the other day. My mum who also watched it with me likes these kinds of films such as The Chronicles of Narnia and so on so she joined me in watching this one. Not a lot attracted me to the film other than it looked quite good on the trailers and the Director of the film was interesting. I knew the director from his visual work on many successful films and thought it would be interesting seeing how he could direct a film as he has not done before. There are one or two recognisable actors although the main protagonist I have never heard of before but still did a good job.

~ INFO ~

Director- Stefen Fangmeier
This man is quite interesting. Although he directed Eragon this is the first movie he has directed. He is known for his brilliant works on visual effects of adventure Sci-Fi films which include classics such as- The Bourne Identity (2002), Dreamcatcher (2003) and Wanted (2008). He has been nominated for three Oscars and has won several awards for his work. I think he did a great job directing this and he is considered a man amongst one hundred people from Hollywood that you should know. I am quite impressed with his work so far.

Writers - Peter Buchman (Screenplay) and Christopher Paolini (Novel).
Release Date- 15 December 2006 (UK)
Runtime- 104 Mins
Certificate- PG
Company- Fox 2000 Pictures

~ CAST and CHARACTERS ~

* Main Characters *

Ed Speleers – Eragon
Eragon is the main protagonist as you can tell from the title of the film. His character grows a lot during the film. He starts as a small, farmers son who is young, immature and does his daily duties on his dad’s farm. Being sixteen he cannot do a lot but chores. His character grows into a man by the end of the film even though not much time as passed. I liked the way they showed his character develops over this time and Eragon was a really interesting character to watch.
Ed has not done a lot of acting work and his just starting off. Eragon is the first film he has done which I was surprised at. Since this film he has appeared in the series ‘Echo Beach’ which aired in 2008 and also stars actress Martine McCutcheon.

Sienna Guillory – Arya
Arya plays the main women character in the film and also the stereotypical damsel in distress part. Even though many fairytale children’s films have a happy ending Arya and Eragon don’t actually get together but have hints of attraction throughout. She was a good actress to pick, elegant, beautiful and even though she is very petite she is shown that she is powerful in magic and protection. I liked this character a lot..
Sienna even though I didn’t recognise her has featured in many well produced films including, ‘Resident Evil Apocalypse’ (2004), Love Actually (2003) and Inkheart (2008).

Jeremy Irons – Brom
Brom is basically Eragon’s mentor through the film and acts as a father figure to him. He is strong, a good fighter and protects Eragon when he is weak.
Jeremy is a well respected actor who has worked in film and television for over twenty years. Some of his work includes- ‘The Pink Panther Two’ (2009), Casanova (2005) and ‘Kingdom of Heaven (2005).

Robert Carlyle – Durza
Durza is a dark and evil character who is there to stop Eragon from becoming a strong warrior. He has the stereotypical bad guy look, with straggly hair, dark clothing and horrible facial features.
Robert is a very successful actor which I love watching. He is a brilliant actor and can play many different roles from bad guys to a comical father. For those who cannot recognise the name Robert has acted in some famous films such as- ’Flood’ (2007), ‘The 51st State’ (2001) and the English classic ‘The Full Monty’ (1997) as main protagonist Gaz.

Other Characters

John Malkovich – Galbatorix
Garrett Hedlund- Murtagh
Alun Armstrong – Uncle Garrow
Rachel Weisz – Voice of Saphira
Joss Stone- Angela

~ PLOT ~

In an imaginary place a boy named Eragon living with his uncle and cousin in a farm amongst a small community. One day while hunting he finds a blue egg which he hides in the barn. When it hatches suddenly he is left with a small dragon named Saphira. Eragon is bewildered but love the company. He also starts to have vivid dreams of a girl in trouble and about powers and evil which leads him to meet Brom who teaches him that he is in serious trouble for keeping the egg. Eragon faces a troubled future from evil king Galbatorix as he begins to realise that his prophecy lies with Saphira and overcoming the King to give his people back their freedom. This is not thought without disaster and devastation.

~ OPINIONS ~

Cast and Acting

I was very impressed with the acting and all of the characters in the film. Eragon was acted brilliantly for a young actor who has never done film before. Most of the characters were well presented and I think they were casted very well. Even though there was a lack of female characters it was surprisingly nice to find out that the dragon is female. It just gave it a different angle as many other films including dragons such as Drako in Dragon Heart are mainly male and have strong voices. Saphira was a lovely change to this and I think it worked really well. It gave a strong, important part for a female to play which I liked. As Arya is the typical Princess. Even though she has powers, she still needs to be rescued and is always protected.
Even though I didn’t know Eragon or Arya’s cast I knew Robert Carlyle and John Malkovich and liked the way they included well known actors like this in children’s films which may encourage adults to watch it too. They both always play brilliant bad guys and these two characters were not let down by the two successful actors. They were perfect for the parts and gave the film a dark edge which it needed.
I also really liked the close relationship between Saphira and Eragon and the bond they share is really nice to see. As they can read each others minds there are comical features they share that no one else can hear.
The story did follow typical characters for a children’s film, we have the main big bad guy The King, his right hand man Durza, the damsel in distress Princess Arya, the hero Eragon, the mentor Brom and the helper Saphira.

Narrative

The film is based on a book and I have heard comments to say it follows this well. I have not read the book so I cannot say this for sure but I am considering reading it to compare how good is was transferred to film. I liked the overall plot though. It was simple, included more than enough action and had interesting sub plots, like the romantic link, the past of Brom and other character’s developing. I think there was enough to keep you interested throughout both for children and adults. The general idea even though was simple, it had plenty of twists which I liked and it was clear to understand.
There are some bad comments from some people saying it wonders away from the plot but I will see when I read the book. The film did remind me a lot of Dragon heart but it does have its differences as it is aimed for children as well.

Filming and CGI

The filming and shots done were great. There are many superb establishing shots of the land when they are travelling. As I looked up where the film was shot, the amazing landscape was shown mostly in Hungary and Canada. I thought it was a perfect location but surprised as we were trying to guess where it was filmed and we thought it looked like the Black Woods in Germany and Austria. The mountain range and woods and filmed so nicely.
The film included all kinds of different camera angles to keep you watching, long shots of the locations, close ups for dramatic effect and crane shots swooping into the action.
The CGI used for the Dragon Saphira was nicely done, she looked believable and similar to Drako in Dragon heart the creature looked how I would imagine a dragon would if real. The effects were great and I really liked the way everything was put in place.
The magic effects although there were not a lot and could have been more, were well presented too. The lights and the filming added to make it look realistic.

Overall

Overall I quite liked the film. The only bad points I would say about it was that I think it was abit too short. Even though it is an hour and a half I think there could have been abit more included such as more of Eragon training with Saphira. It was slightly choppy and quick so you do have to concentrate if you have never read the book. Not everything is explained fully which is slightly annoying as there was more I wanted to know but overall it was a good film. It had a simple plot, good characters and plenty of action to keep you interested. The different locations were great and it did have similarities to other films such as the beginning of Lord of the Rings where Frodo has to run from dark forces coming to find him which happens in the beginning of this. Some of the fighting sequences reminded me of this too but it was not as good as the classic Lord of the Rings.
I properly won’t be buying the DVD but I will sit down again and watch it if it’s on at any point. I will be getting the book though as I would like to see the reasons for some of the bad reviews saying it is not the same as the novel.
The film is a PG rating which is properly right I think they should have made it a 12A and then included a few more elements. I wouldn’t recommend this film for young children and would say anyone below the age of 10 would properly get bored of it.

~ DVD ~

If you would like to know about the DVD anyway, you can purchase a one disc copy for only £3.99 or a two disc special edition for £5.99. The single disc version does not include any features, but the two disc special has loads.

Special Features on Two Disc Special

• Disc 1:
• Audio commentary by Stefen Fangmeier
• 7 extended/ deleted scenes
• Disc 2:
• Inside the Inheritance Trilogy: The Magic of Eragon featurette
• The Inhabitants of Alagaesia featurette
• Vision of Eragon featurette with optional commentary by Stefen Fangmeier
• Storyboards
• Edward Speleers' auditions
• Interview with Christopher Paolini
• The Secrets of Alagaesia featurette
• Saphira's Animation Guide
• Trailers

Website- www.eragonmovie.com/
The website includes more information about the film, pictures and cast info.

*Blackmagicstar4* April09* Thanks for reading x x
Published on Dooyoo and Ciao.co.uk