Eragon

Eragon, a 17-year old boy comes into possession of a dragon, the last of its kind. He journeys to become a dragon rider and fights with the Varden rebels to stand up to the evil king, Galbatorix.

1. I want a baby dragon. Baby Safira is adorable with her wide eyes and long eyelashes but definately a fully grown dragon would be such a chore to feed. I wonder how many rats it would take to keep a dragon full.
2. Jeremy Iron totally pwns in this movie. He did the best he could with the dialogue that was given to him and made me care about him. Both Pia and I were disappointed that he died 50 minutes in.
3. Robert Carlyle was in it! I saw a glimpse of his character, Durza, in the beginning of the film and thought to myself, “Is that Robert Carlyle?” 30 minutes later Pia leans in and says, “Doesn’t he look like Robert Carlyle?” And not 5 minutes later, Loi, Rabang’s sister turns to Pia and asks, “Is that Robert Carlyle?” A testimony to the make-up that he looked familiar but not obviously himself.
4. Special effects were great. The flying scenes with the dragon gave me a serious case of vertigo.

And now the not so good…

1. Damn! A lot Most of the dialogue was sooooooo cliched. Lots of eye-rolling and groaning at some of the things being said. Everything seemed so obvious and aimed at a way younger crowd which is a shame because the general plot and characterization are both decent.
2. Continuity Alert: In one part, Eragon decides that he’s going to save Arya, a rebel princess and goes to the Durza’s stronghold to rescue her. Where did he get cloak? How did he get into this evil guy’s lair without being seen? And on escaping, where did the horses come from? So many questions, so few answers.
3. John Malkovich is barely in the movie for 5 minutes! He’s just there to demand for Eragon to be caught and then at the end he slices through the map to reveal his own dragon. That’s it!!!
   And to add insult to injury, he’s playing an evil King called Galbatorix! What is he? A left over from the Asterix comics?
4. Julius kept turning to me and going “Lord of the Rings wannabe” which i half-agree. Some of the scenery evoked a sense of the Lord of the Rings but it need not have been the case.

[rate 2.5]

However, both Pia and I agreed that we enjoyed it more than Pirates of the Caribbean 2. Watch it at the cinema only if there’s nothing better showing.