Eragon Review

Eragon

Release Date: 14th December 2006 - Australia

Production Companies

Fox 2000 Pictures (presents)

Davis Entertainment

Dune Entertainment (made in association with)

Ingenious Film Partners (in association with)

Major Studio Partners (made in association with)

Mid Atlantic Films

Distribution

20th Century Fox Australia

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: M

Runtime: 99 minutes

Budget: $100,000,000

Box Office Gross: $249,488,115 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary

When poor farm boy

Eragon finds a smooth

blue stone in the forest,

he believes it will help

him buy food for his

family over the winter.

However, Eragon realises

that he has stumbled upon

a legacy as old as the

Empire itself when he

discovers that the stone

is an egg from which a

baby dragon is hatching.

From one night to the next,

his simple life shatters,

thrusting him into a

dangerous new world of

destiny, magic, and power.

Eragon and the young

dragon must navigate the

treacherous landscape and

malevolent forces of an

empire ruled by a king

whose evil extends far and

wide, guided only by an

ancient blade and the

wisdom of a storyteller.

Will Eragon rise to the

challenge of becoming

a Dragon Rider, a role that

has existed for generations?

His actions may determine

the Empire's fate.

Cast

Ed Speleers - Eragon

Jeremy Irons - Brom

Sienna Guillory - Arya

Robert Carlyle - Durza

John Malkovich - Galbatorix

Garrett Hedlund - Murtagh

Alun Armstrong - Uncle

Garrow

Christopher Egan - Roran

Gary Lewis - Hrothgar

Djimon Hounsou - Ajihad

Rachel Weisz - Saphira (Voice)

Richard Rifkin - Horst

Steven Spiers - Sloan

Joss Stone - Angela

Michael Mehlmann - Villager #1

Tamas Deak - Villager #2

Matt Devere - Tall Soldier

Mate Haumann - Sergeant

Andrea Fazekas - Horst's Wife 

Caroline Chikezie - Nasuada

Agnes Banfalvy - Varden Woman

Pal Makrai - Varden Guard

Spencer Wilding - Razac #1

Gabor Hortobagyi - Razac #2 

Crew

Director - Stefen Fangmeier

Based Upon the Novel "Eragon" -

Christopher Paolini

Screenplay - Peter Buchman
Executive Producers - Gil Netter and

Chris Symes

Producers - John Davis and Wyck Godfrey

Co-Producer/Film Editor - Roger Barton

Co-Producer - Adam Goodman 

U.K. Casting Director - Priscilla John

U.S. Casting Director - Mindy Marin 

Production Designer - Wolf Kroeger

Concept Artist - Derek Thompson

Supervising Art Director - Jonathan McKinstry

Supervising Art Director: Additional

Photography, Vancouver - Helen Jarvis
Art Directors - Jonathan Hely-Hutchinson,

Stuart Kearns, Stuart Rose, John King

and Tibor Lazar

Art Director: Additional Photography,

Vancouver - Michael Diner
Set Decorators - Elli Griff, Sandy Walker,
Istvan Toth and Simon Wakefield (Uncredited)

Property Master - Paul Hedges

Property Master: Additional Photography,

Vancouver - James H. Chow 

Supervising Prop Maker - Roland Stevenson 

Costume Designer - Kym Barrett

Chief Makeup Artist - Trefor Proud

Chief Hair Stylist - Tracey Wells

Director of Photography - Hugh Johnson

Directors of Photography: Second Unit -

Harvey Harrison and Mike Brewster
Director of Photography: Motion Rig Unit/

Additional Photography, Vancouver - Shaun O'Dell

Aerial Directors of Photography - John Marzano

and Adam Dale 

"A" Camera Operators - Peter Taylor

and Des Whelan

Supervising Location Manager - Terry Blyther

Unit Production Manager: Second Unit - Richard Sharkey

First Assistant Director - Christopher Newman
Second Unit Directors - Andy Armstrong

and E.J. Foerster
Second Unit Director/Unit Director: Motion

Rig Unit - Peter MacDonald

Stunt Coordinators - Steve M. Davison and
Gabor Piroch

Assistant Stunt Coordinator - Melissa R. Stubbs 

Motion Rig Stunt Coordinator - Mark Southworth

Vancouver Stunt Coordinator - J.J. Makaro 

Sword Master - C.C. Smiff

Pilot/Aerial Coordinators - David Paris

and Marc Wolff
Special Effects Supervisor - Gerd Nefzer

Special Effects Coordinator - Gabor Kiszelly
Special Effects Supervisor: Second Unit - Uli Nefzer

Special Effects Coordinator: Additional

Photography, Vancouver - Cameron Waldbauer

Creature Effects Supervisor/Visual Effects
Modeller - Brian Best

Visual Effects Supervisors - Samir Hoon and

Michael J. McAlister

Visual Effects Supervisor: Weta Digital - George Murphy

Co-Visual Effects Supervisor: Weta Digital - Guy Williams
Additional Visual Effects Supervisor - John T. Van Vilet
Visual Effects Producers - Denise Davis

and Arthur Windus

Visual Effects Producers: ILM - Gretchen Libby

and Jeff Olson 

Visual Effects Producer: Weta Digital - Eileen Moran

Art Directors: Weta Digital - Michael Pangrazio

and Gus Hunter

Animation Supervisor: ILM - Glen McIntosh
Animation Supervisor: Weta Digital - David Clayton

Animation Technical Supervisor: Weta Digital -

Shawn Dunn 

Digital Production Manager: ILM - Michael DiComo

Visual Effects Production Manager: ILM -

Wayne Billheimer
Creature Supervisor: ILM - Aaron Ferguson

Creature Supervisor: Weta Digital - Dana Peters

VFX Dragon Build Supervisor - Craig Narramore
CG Supervisor: ILM - John Helms

Digital Compositing Supervisor: ILM - Dorne Huebler

Sequence Supervisors: ILM - Kevin Barnhill,

Jeff Doran, Kevin Reuter, Steve Braggs,

Raul Essig, Jason Rosson, Jay Cooper,

Michael Kennedy and R. Jay Williams

Concept Artists: ILM - Christian Alzmann

and Carlos Haunte

Digital Model Supervisors: ILM - Ken Bryan

and Paul Giacoppo

Lead Digital Matte Artists: ILM - Brett Northcutt

and Joshua Ong

Digital Paint and Roto Supervisor: ILM - Patrick Jarvis

Massive Supervisor: Weta Digital - Jon Allitt 

Film Editors - Masahiro Hirakubo and
Chris Lebenzon
Sound Designer/Supervising Sound Editor/

Sound Re-Recording Mixer/ - Randy Thom

Supervising Sound Editor - Dennis Leonard

Assistant Sound Designer - Will Files

Saphira's Voice Designer - Bruce Botnick 

Sound Re-Recording Mixer - Gary A. Rizzo 

Production Sound Mixer - Mac Ruth

Dialogue Editor - Michael Silvers

ADR Editor - Daniel Laurie

Sound Effects Editors - Al Nelson

and Douglas Murray

Foley Artists - Jana Vance,

Denise Thorpe and Ellen Heuer 

Foley Mixer - Frank Rinella 

Music - Patrick Doyle

Review
ERAGON isn't bad for a fantasy movie, but it feels like Star Wars. The film follows the plot of Christopher Paolini's novel of the same name, part of the best-selling Inheritance Cycle series, which I haven't read. It felt unoriginal and inconsistent, with several odd narrative choices, but I was lucky to notice them all. Inheritance fans deemed every deviation from the original novel unacceptable. Additionally, the dialogue was clunky.

The film boasts weird but impressive CGI visuals and a few solid acting performances, except for John Malkovich, who fails to convince as the evil King Galbatorix. He was ultimately miscast and wooden for a menacing role that didn't suit him. I was beginning to like the English actor Jeremy Irons, who delivered an exceptional portrayal of Brom, and I didn't even realise that Garrett Hedlund from Tron: Legacy was in the film.

If audiences had accepted the movie, they would have made its sequel, Eldest. Overall, ERAGON was a less-than-incredible adaptation and an inoffensive fantasy adventure I'd rather forget.

Star rating: (3/5) Average

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