EragonMovie Reviews

Poster art for "Eragon."

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Avg. Critic Score: 38 out of 100 Generally unfavorable reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
9 OK for kids 9+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 75
    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. Read full review

  • 63
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

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

  • 50
    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." Read full review

  • 50
    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. Read full review

  • 50
    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. Read full review

  • 42
    Entertainment Weekly |

    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." Read full review

  • 40
    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. Read full review

  • 40
    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. Read full review

  • 40
    Los Angeles Times |

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

  • 40
    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. Read full review


Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says OK for kids 9+ Dragon fantasy falls flat, but kids won't care.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that the movie's content is just right for the target 'tweener audience. It has its scary moments, with several scenes featuring dark woods, eerie wind, abrupt violence, big battles and a frightening evil wizard with red and black makeup. Swords, arrows, and spears produce some bloody wounds and several dead bodies, and one-on-one fight scenes include kicking, punching, swordplay, and falling. Eragon confronts and feels guilty about a family member's death (the corpse is visible, with a bloody face).
  • Families can talk about how the movie differs from the book. What worked better in the book and what in the movie? Why? 
  • Those who didn't read the story might talk about Eragon's response to being "chosen" by the dragon.
  • Why are dragons such fascinating creatures in fiction and legends?
  • Families can also talk about the movie's similarities to (and differences from) other fantasy and sci-fi classics, like Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. What elements of Eragon's story are unique? Which ones have you seen before?
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: Bad king and wizard want to stomp out all independent thought; dragon rider and his friends want their land to be prosperous and free.
  • rolemodels true3 Positive role models: Not an issue
What to watch for
  • violence false3 Violence: Violence pushes the PG edge, with bloody injuries and faces, brief sadness following a character's murder, and wraithy figures who swoop around in darkness; battle scenes include huge armies wielding multiple weapons (spears, arrows, flames, swords, knives); battle between two flying creatures (good dragon and bad smoky dark beastie) has them biting at each other, resulting in bloody wounds; riders fall from horses; magic spell leaves victim with black spidery veins and debilitating "illness."
  • sex false0 Sex: Mutual attraction between Arya and Eragon is established -- without much spark but with some sensual glances; Eragon's relationship with the dragon is "romantic," though it stops short of being sensual (some lines are comic, whether intentionally or not, as each declares their mutually interdependent "power").
  • language false0 Language: Not an issue
  • consumerism false0 Consumerism: Not an issue
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false0 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Not an issue

Looking for more reviews? Movies.com Critics Say:

Dave White

2.5

Dave White Profile See Dave White's Profile

… totally dull … Read full review See Dave White's on MOVIENAME on Movies.com

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