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Eragon
Fox 2000 Pictures


3.3

based on 29 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 188 votes
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MPAA RATING: PG for fantasy violence, intense battle sequences and some frightening images

Starring Edward Speleers, Sienna Guillory, Garrett Hedlund, Djimon Hounsou, Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich, Robert Carlyle, Gary Lewis, Rachel Weisz, and Joss Stone

When Eragon finds a polished blue stone in the forest, he thinks it's the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy. But when the stone brings a dragon hatchling, Eragon soon realizes he has stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself. Can Eragon take up the mantle of the legendary Dragon Riders? The fate of the Empire may rest in his hands. (20th Century Fox)

GENRE(S):	Action \| Adventure \| Family/Kids \| Fantasy
WRITTEN BY:	Peter Buchman Lawrence Konner Mark Rosenthal Jesse Wigutow
DIRECTED BY:	Stefen Fangmeier
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: March 20, 2007 Theatrical: December 15, 2006
RUNNING TIME:	104 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

San Francisco Chronicle Peter Hartlaub

Eragon may not be a big Oscar contender, but in a movie season filled with blood diamonds, fascist soldiers and Idi Amin, it provides a much-needed afternoon of PG-rated family-friendly adventure.

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

I wish Eragon's cinematography were crisper, the music less Wagnerian, and the acting more consistent. But this movie isn't for me. It's for my 10-year-old, for whom the subtleties of narrative, photography and acting mean nothing.

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

Eragon is a bit cheesy, but I rather liked it. It's sincere cheese... The special effects -- which include glowing-eyed heroes and villains, and flights over the mythical land of Alagaesia depicted in "dragon vision" -- are refreshing in their slightly out-of-date air.

USA Today Claudia Puig

It's a pleasant enough fantastical adventure, but it does feel naggingly derivative.

TV Guide Ken Fox

This likable adventure is basically "Lassie" with scales and should appeal to the books' large audience of adolescent boys.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

The holiday movie season's only epic fantasy adventure, certainly gets no points for originality. It's such a clone of "The Lord of the Rings," it probably could lose a plagiarism suit. There's also a heavy dash of "Harry Potter." All bases are covered.

Premiere Laine Ewen

You're most likely find that Eragon is less a gem and more cubic zirconia -- nice to look at but not as preeeecioussss as its recent fantasy bretheren.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

The star of this fantasy adventure for young audiences is a charmer from the moment she is hatched (from a huge blue egg that starts to rock like a Mexican jumping bean). Her name is Saphira, she speaks with the voice of Rachel Weisz, and it doesn't matter that she's too young to breathe fire -- at first -- or that she waddles a bit on the ground, because she lives and breathes the joy of flight, which is exactly what was missing from most of Harry Potter's solos on a broom.

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

The mess that's been made with all this money is maddening. This isn't economical moviemaking. It's a deluxe trailer for "Eragon 2."

The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt

There is little complexity in the social, cultural or political shape of this world. So this film, directed by visual effects master Stefen Fangmeier and written by Peter Buchman in a straightforward manner, cannot escape the rote nature of such a fantasy.

Miami Herald Connie Ogle

It's not only the mythical, mind-reading creature at the story's center that prevents the film from taking flight. A worn-out plot and a novice actor also contribute to the disappointment.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen

An exercise in competence guaranteed neither to offend the initiated nor to charm anyone else.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Keith Phipps

If Eragon proves anything, it's that not all dragons produce magic.

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

A sword-and-sorcery saga that desperately wants to be another "Lord of the Rings," Eragon succeeds in being only the palest of imitations.

Portland Oregonian M. E. Russell

Director Stefen Fangmeier, a well-regarded special-effects man and second-unit director ("Master and Commander," "Galaxy Quest") does a superb job visualizing the CGI dragon. But Fangmeier is working with a script without a single memorable line and far too many characters and creatures with silly names.

Entertainment Weekly Gregory Kirshling

Though the movie, which was adapted from a book written by Christopher Paolini when he was a teenager, aims high by ripping off the classics (even down to Eragon’s murdered uncle), what it most recalls are the cheesy lost sword-and-sorcery epics from the '80s, awful movies in the vein of "Yor: The Hunter From the Future" and "The Blade Master."

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

With the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy completed and the next "Chronicles of Narnia" movie two years away, fantasy aficionados needing a Yuletide fix may have to settle for this dull sword-and-sorcery epic.

Los Angeles Times Alex Chun

Eragon is likely to center on its place among the likes of "Dragonheart," "Reign of Fire" and the rest of the mediocre dragon flicks.

Washington Post Stephen Hunter

Though I don't think giving it a cuddly human personality and the vocals of Rachel Weisz helps much, the thing itself, part dog, part fish, part weasel, part dinosaur, is a terrific illusion, and the technical team manages to really sell the idea of flight. Too bad the acting is so lame, the story so derivative and the thing so long.

Variety Justin Chang

Appropriating all the external trappings of big-budget fantasy but none of the requisite soul, this leaden epic never soars like the CG-rendered fire-breather at the core of its derivative mythology.

The New York Times Jeannette Catsoulis

If some of the characters won't be returning for the sequel, no matter. In all likelihood, neither will the audience.

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

Turns out to be as heavy and earthbound as an injured dragon.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

The only interesting character is the dragon, who grows from an adorably dependent baby to a protective, intelligent adult voiced by Rachel Weisz.

New York Post Kyle Smith

When the studio tells us that parental guidance is suggested, does it occur to them that they should have taken their own advice?

ReelViews James Berardinelli

It's hard to imagine anyone having the patience to sit through this movie except perhaps a handful of 11-year old boys seeking vicarious wish fulfillment.

LA Weekly Luke Y. Thompson

In a time of darkness, under the evil reign of John Malkovich -- who sits upon a throne in a different sound stage from the rest of the cast -- a hero shall rise. But lo, there will be little rejoicing, for this dragon rider (newcomer Edward Speleers) is but a nancy boy, about as imposing as Lance Bass, and somehow in possession of the only soap and clean clothes in all the land.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

Dear George Lucas: What gives with this Eragon jazz? I mean, gee whiz, did you seriously think that we wouldn't recognize you, the Great Man, as the guiding, um, FORCE behind this dull retelling of "Star Wars"?

Empire Chris Hewitt

Technically competent, but essentially a fantasy movie that mistakes industrial light for magic. As dragon movies go, Dragonslayer, Reign Of Fire and even Dragonheart can rest easy.

Film Threat Pete Vonder Haar

Eragon is laughably bad, mind-bogglingly derivative, and easily one of the worst movies of the year.

The average user rating for this movie is 3.3 (out of 10) based on 188 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Michael U. gave it a3:
To me, Eragon is one of the best books i ever read, so when i heard they were making a movie, I was extremely excited. But after i saw it, I nearly puked at how bad it was. What happened to the dwarves? Why do the urgals look like that? The Ra'zac turned from powerful hunters into mindless monsters which at one point, Eragon killed one with a tree branch. I bet the director ripped random pages out of the book, and threw them off an apartment. Whatever he found was in the movie. This movie was a terrible disapointment, especially to fans. It still gets a 3 because of the special effects, the locations, and Jeremy irons was pretty good. Its not often that the best book ever turns into the worst movie ever, but this one rises to the challenge.

[Anonymous] gave it a6:
THIS MOVIE DID NOT SUCK. This movie was actually okay. I'm a fan of the book so I was disappointed that they cut some stuff from the film. But two words: Jeremy Irons. He is by far my favorite actor. 6/10

Kevin G. gave it a1:
As most of the reviews state: Do NOT watch this movie if you have read the book. Period. However, if you have never heard of the tale of Eragon, or just like dragons its worth a single watch. No replay value whatsoever, an extremely unsatisfying ending, and (butchered) boring story.

Cole A. gave it a1:
I really hated this movie. i really did. i read the book and it was awesome, but then the director and the terrible acting and fight scenes destroyed it. seriously, they took out at least ten to fifteen chapters out of the whole book to make to movie. lame acting, lame dialogue, the only good thing was the special effects. please, for your own sake don't see it. Please.

Alan N. gave it an8:
I'm really surprised this movie has been panned by both critics and viewers alike. I went into it with low expectations, thought the name was a bit silly for a start. I was very pleasantly surprised. The movie was pure fantasy escapism and thoroughly entertained me. Irons, Carlyle and Malkovich provided much needed acting mettle to counter the younger actors learning their trade but people need to remember this is at heart a kids / teen movie. I'm much older than many that have commented here (in my mid 30's) but having enjoyed it myself I'm pretty confident families with children over 10 would enjoy it too.

B G. gave it a0:
I gotta tell ya. I read this book and i can find hardly any likeness to the book at all. The book was great, the movie was horrible. They replaced the urgals with fat bald men. The replaced the dwarves with black people. They skipped at least twenty or so chapters. In fact, the only thing I can actually say that the movie adapted from the book was the names of people and places. When I saw this movie I wasn't expecting Lord of the Rings quality, but for god's sake man at least try to keep to the original. It seems like they took the pages of the book, ripped them out, let them soak in water for a while, then threw them at a pile of glue. Whatever stuck and whatever they could read is what went into the movie, and they blatantly made up the rest.

Mo K. gave it a2:
This movie was trash. the acting was horrible, especially from the main 'hero.' it didn't help that he was totally unlikable to boot. the only reason this doesn't get a zero is that the dragon had character and Jeremy Irons didn't suck too bad.

Eragon Fox 2000 Pictures

Eragon
Fox 2000 Pictures