Scan and Pan
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Eragon
If you put the ideas of George Lucas and J.R.R. Tolkien into a blender, the result would be a story about a young farm boy who discovers a dragon's egg, learns he's destined to become a Dragon Rider, finds his uncle murdered by the forces of an evil ruler (who happens to a Dragon Rider who went over to the dark side), meets a bearded older man (and former Dragon Rider) who trains him, rescues an elf princess, reaches a rebel stronghold, and fights against the minions of the ruler and his dark sorcerer.
Stefen Fangmeier, a former visual effects supervisor at Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic, makes his directorial debut with a film that demonstrates a good eye for the visual aspects of storytelling, but inexperience with directing actors combines with a derivative story to limit its appeal. I haven't read Christopher Paolini's novel, but an online summary shows that scriptwriter Peter Buchman (Jurassic Park III) greatly condensed the storyline for the film, resulting in not much really seeming to happen. That said, the blame for the derivative story has to go to Paolini. As one reviewer said, this was much better when it was called Star Wars.
Cinematographer Hugh Johnson (The Chronicles of Riddick) and production designer Wolf Kroeger (Ladyhawke, Reign of Fire) use the natural beauty of the Hungarian and Slovakian locations to great advantage. The visual effects by ILM and Weta Digital (The Lord of the Rings) are outstanding, and the CGI dragon is simply amazing. It's easy to forget that you're watching a visual effect rather than a real dragon, and it's this wondrous trick of magic that provides the entertainment value despite the film's flaws. Patrick Doyle (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) contributes a generic but competent score.
First time film actor Ed Speleers isn't as wooden as the title character as I feared, but he's miscast, lacking any charisma necessary to convincingly portray an epic hero. He's not even on the same level as Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker. I don't want to place the blame entirely on him because I think the inexperience of director Fangmeier was a factor, which can also be seen in the uninspired performances of usually excellent actors Jeremy Irons, Robert Carlyle, John Malkovich, and Djimon Hounsou. Rachel Weisz, though, fares well with her voice work for Saphira the dragon, working with the visual effects to bring her character to life very convincingly. Sienna Guillory makes an attractive elf princess, but her character doesn't have much to do. Caroline Chikezie (Lisa the Cyberwoman in Torchwood) has a small role as the daughter of a rebel leader.
I have mixed feelings about the film. Derivative plot, yes; uninspired acting performances, yes; but I enjoyed the film whenever the dragon was on screen. It's not a bad film as much as it is unoriginal. If you like dragons or great visual effects, it might be worth a video rental.
This is a lightweight and derivative fantasy film, but the visual effects and dragon provide some entertainment value.
If you put the ideas of George Lucas and J.R.R. Tolkien into a blender, the result would be a story about a young farm boy who discovers a dragon's egg, learns he's destined to become a Dragon Rider, finds his uncle murdered by the forces of an evil ruler (who happens to a Dragon Rider who went over to the dark side), meets a bearded older man (and former Dragon Rider) who trains him, rescues an elf princess, reaches a rebel stronghold, and fights against the minions of the ruler and his dark sorcerer.
Stefen Fangmeier, a former visual effects supervisor at Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic, makes his directorial debut with a film that demonstrates a good eye for the visual aspects of storytelling, but inexperience with directing actors combines with a derivative story to limit its appeal. I haven't read Christopher Paolini's novel, but an online summary shows that scriptwriter Peter Buchman (Jurassic Park III) greatly condensed the storyline for the film, resulting in not much really seeming to happen. That said, the blame for the derivative story has to go to Paolini. As one reviewer said, this was much better when it was called Star Wars.
Cinematographer Hugh Johnson (The Chronicles of Riddick) and production designer Wolf Kroeger (Ladyhawke, Reign of Fire) use the natural beauty of the Hungarian and Slovakian locations to great advantage. The visual effects by ILM and Weta Digital (The Lord of the Rings) are outstanding, and the CGI dragon is simply amazing. It's easy to forget that you're watching a visual effect rather than a real dragon, and it's this wondrous trick of magic that provides the entertainment value despite the film's flaws. Patrick Doyle (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) contributes a generic but competent score.
First time film actor Ed Speleers isn't as wooden as the title character as I feared, but he's miscast, lacking any charisma necessary to convincingly portray an epic hero. He's not even on the same level as Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker. I don't want to place the blame entirely on him because I think the inexperience of director Fangmeier was a factor, which can also be seen in the uninspired performances of usually excellent actors Jeremy Irons, Robert Carlyle, John Malkovich, and Djimon Hounsou. Rachel Weisz, though, fares well with her voice work for Saphira the dragon, working with the visual effects to bring her character to life very convincingly. Sienna Guillory makes an attractive elf princess, but her character doesn't have much to do. Caroline Chikezie (Lisa the Cyberwoman in Torchwood) has a small role as the daughter of a rebel leader.
I have mixed feelings about the film. Derivative plot, yes; uninspired acting performances, yes; but I enjoyed the film whenever the dragon was on screen. It's not a bad film as much as it is unoriginal. If you like dragons or great visual effects, it might be worth a video rental.
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