Eragon

A big surprise in the sense that instead of a pathetic ripoff, I got a solid ripoff. Still, I cannot squeeze more than three stars out of myself because the running time is unbearably cut and many of the secondary storylines remain unresolved and truly unnecessary. The fact that an average viewer can predict what will happen to each character, as well as predict mentor dialogues, is no 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 Jeremy Irons, and likeable Ed Speleers. Considering how much potential the fans saw in the saga, it was handled quite cruelly. (2007.01.06)

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. (2007.01.04)

The book was very good (if only because Christopher Paolini was younger than me when he wrote it), but the film is one big mess. There's very little of the book in there, and it's "lightly" butchered. The actors don't really have anything to do because of the weak script – a real shame considering the cast. Those who haven't read the book probably won't have a clue, and those who have must be banging their heads against a wall. The running time is absolutely ridiculous compared to the extensive book. It doesn’t matter that the visual effects are decent when the rest is terrible - 45%. (2009.07.17)

This is really bad. It's a bad book that has an incredibly drawn-out plot where nothing significant happens, with characters that are very schematic and forgettable names. This applies to the film as well, and it doesn't even make use of the potential of interesting actors. Jeremy Irons is the only one who tries. Even the dragon is not very impressive. One of the biggest fantasy disappointments for me. (2013.12.23)