Movie Natters: December 15, 2006 Archive

The curse of "Eragon" (aka Peter Jackson)

Posted at 3:56 PM on December 15, 2006 by Euan Kerr (49 Comments)

"Eragon" is a curate's egg of a movie. It's also a few yolks short of an omlet.

The film adaptation of Christopher Paolini's dragon-rider novel was much anticipated in many circles. The story of Eragon, a young man who discovers he's fated to ride a dragon and become the leader of a rebellion against a vicious tyrant, was a best seller. The book was the first in a trilogy and it's clear the film makers hope to spin a couple of sequels too.

The good parts are the performances by the old hands: Jeremy Irons as the dissolute villager who knows a suspiciously large amount about dragons; John Malkovich as the dragon rider who betrayed and butchered his comrades to become king; and Robert Carlyle as the vicious warlock who leads the kings forces against the rebels.

Irons brings gravitas to the tale. Malkovich is only on the screen a few times, (he's obviously being kept for "Eragon II" and/or "III,") but he dominates the action every time he appears. Carlyle, who still evokes shudders at the thought of his role of the psychotic Begbie in "Trainspotting" has a great time just being plain evil.

The dragon is pretty cool too, especially when it is little.

But it's not enough.

Time was some special effects, a couple of good actors and a little bit of magic would make for a fine flick. I mean, look at all those Ray Harryhausen epics. But that was before that Harry Potter and Frodo blew onto the scene. Peter Jackson's LOTR films set the bar so high it's hard for those who follow to make the jump, no matter how good the dragon.

All the way through Eragon meets people who are surprised that he is the one fated to try to save their world. He says he knows they somehow expected more.

So do audience members, and they're left wanting.

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