Eragon Provides Ample Thrills in Solid Sci-Fi Adventure

eragonConsidering the success films like Harry Potter and the Lord of the Rings have had over the past ten years, any Hollywood director would be out of their minds if they didn’t snatch up every screenplay based on any successful fantasy novel they could. With that being said, it was only a matter of time until Christopher Paolini’s Eragon was translated to the big screen. The only question was how well it would be adapted to the big screen.

Thankfully for fans of the novels, Eragon, while not being in the same league as the Harry Potter Series or Lord of the Rings, it’s a competent and enjoyable fantasy adventure that may remind many of the sleeper hit, Dragonheart.

Directed by Stefen Fangmeier [Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, Dream Catcher] Eragon combines an endearing story with a cast of vibrant young actors such as Ed Speleers [who makes his big screen debut in Eragon] and Sienna Guillory [Resident Evil Apocalypse, Helen of Troy] with talented veteran names like Jeremy Irons [Dungeons & Dragons, Kingdom of Heaven] and Djimon Hounsou [Gladiator, Blood Diamond] that light up the screen and create enough atmosphere to make up for some noticeable holes in the story.

Speaking of which, the script fails to provide enough background information for the movie-goer to get a firm grasp of the characters involved and really never takes the time to explain anything in great lengths [something that The Lord of the Rings did almost perfectly].

However, the performances of Irons and Guillory go to great lengths to provide drama and importance to a story that unfolds almost too quickly. At times, it almost feels like the characters have been thrust into situations and battles that haven’t been explained enough, making the viewer wonder why the battle is so important in the first place.

Despite this, the film’s star, Speleers and his dragon, Saphira, voiced by Rachel Weis [Constantine, The Mummy] form a charismatic and entertaining bond that manages to make up for some of the loose ends in the film and in the process make it an enjoyable fantasy adventure for all ages. Younger viewers will find themselves wanting to own their very own pet dragon, while older viewers will wonder how Irons managed to make himself into such an impressive hero after years of roles as the villain with the equally villainous voice, making it equally as memorable as it is satisfying.

It may not have the production values of some of the epic fantasy films that have appeared in theaters over the past decade, but if given a chance, Eragon can prove to be an entertaining film for both fans of the novel and newcomers alike.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14262 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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