Review: guess what movie I saw

Filed under Reviews on December 18, 2006
Keywords: Eragon, movies

A princess flees from an evil lord, having stolen a vital element of his plan for domination. She is overtaken by his minions, but is able to convey the prize away from harm at the last moment. The prize is discovered by a farm boy living with his uncle.

The farm boy is taken under wing by a “crazy” old man who once belonged to an order of honorable warriors. That order was betrayed and destroyed by one of its own, now the evil lord. The old man declares that the farm boy must take up the mantle of the order and travel with him to join a band of rebels fighting the evil lord. The farm boy refuses at first, but when minions of the evil lord kill his uncle, he decides to follow the old man.

As the pair journey to the rebels, the old man trains the farm boy in the ways of the order. When they near their destination, the farm boy learns the princess is being kept prisoner by the evil lord. He infiltrates the evil lord’s base and frees her, narrowly escaping after the old man sacrifices himself in battle. As the farm boy and the princess flee to the rebels, they inadvertently lead the evil lord’s army to the rebel base. Battle ensues, but the farm boy deals the killing blow and the rebels are victorious.

Need a hint? It was number two at the box office this weekend.

I’ll admit I might have been biased by some of the reviews I’ve read of Chris Paolini’s Inheritance Trilogy, but I think the above description makes it obvious that there is more than a passing similarity to Star Wars. I haven’t read the books, so my experience is based on reviews and the movie. From discussion I overheard after the movie, there are some differences between it and the book. A friend of mine bought Eragon after watching the movie; I’ll probably borrow it from her when she finishes it.

The movie was light entertainment, at best. The characters were one-dimensional, the plot tired, and too much was not explained. I’m not sure why they decided to cram it all in to one hour and 39 minutes. Another 20 minutes could have gone a long way to providing depth to the world and its inhabitants. This movie was all eye candy. I wish I had seen The Pursuit of Happyness instead.

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