# I went and saw Eragon. Read this before you do. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 16, 2006, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-and-saw-eragon-read-this-before-you-do/384377 "2006-12-16T05:42:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![shamrock227](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@shamrock227](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shamrock227)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-and-saw-eragon-read-this-before-you-do/384377/41 "2006-12-17T20:06:47Z")
The [review](http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061215/ENTERTAIN/612150307/-1/ENTERTAIN05) in my local paper was very funny. I especially like this > [@Record Review](#): > > Hayden Christensen should send a thank-you note to Speleers, because the former young Darth Vader will no longer have to endure the full brunt of fanboy-message-board ire. and the summary > [@](#): > > And as a movie, “Eragon” is a good reason to stay home and watch TV. I was on the fence about going to see it because I never got around to reading the book. I think I’ll wait and rent the DVD. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-and-saw-eragon-read-this-before-you-do/384377/42 "2006-12-17T20:47:37Z")
[QUOTE=ITR champion] It’s not fun camp like _Dungeons and Dragons_ . [/QUOTE] Wait…_Dungeons and Dragons_ was fun? ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-and-saw-eragon-read-this-before-you-do/384377/43 "2006-12-17T20:58:01Z")
[QUOTE=jayjay] Wait…_Dungeons and Dragons_ was fun? [/QUOTE] Well, I thought it was. It probably helped that we rented it specifically for the badness, though. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-and-saw-eragon-read-this-before-you-do/384377/44 "2006-12-17T20:59:57Z")
[QUOTE=dangermom] Well, I thought it was. It probably helped that we rented it specifically for the badness, though. [/QUOTE] And it probably doesn’t help that I’m a gamer geek (the rpg equivalent of the raging fanboys posting bitter jeremiads against the Lord of the Rings movies, etc.). 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-and-saw-eragon-read-this-before-you-do/384377/45 "2006-12-17T21:11:08Z")
[QUOTE=Rysdad] I’m going to go see it this afternoon with my son. If nothing else, it’ll give us something to make fun of. [/QUOTE] Update: We didn’t see it. When getting ready to go, my son told me that he had heard from several of his friends that the film “sucked monkeys.” This from a kid that lives for dragons, elves, and many other upronouncable beastie-things. But, like **Bites When Provoked** says, I’m now developing a morbid interest in seeing it. Maybe with some other folks for an evening of MST3K-ing it to death. ---
**Author:** ![AThingWithFeathers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@AThingWithFeathers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AThingWithFeathers)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-and-saw-eragon-read-this-before-you-do/384377/46 "2006-12-17T21:22:05Z")
[QUOTE=Snooooopy] How is a book “chalky”? I obviously can’t agree or disagree, but I’ve just never heard a book described that way. [/QUOTE] Well, I use chalky to mean dry, hard to get through, and/or immemorable. It’s possible that I’m unusual for using it this way, but [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com) cites it as meaning “without resonance…warmth,” which I think is as good a definition as any. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-and-saw-eragon-read-this-before-you-do/384377/47 "2006-12-17T21:35:15Z")
[QUOTE=jayjay] Wait…_Dungeons and Dragons_ was fun? [/QUOTE] The parts of _Dungeons and Dragons_ where the actors were aware of how silly their dialogue sounded and hammed it up anyway just for fun were fun. In _Eragon_ the actors were never so self-aware and no one has any fun. Jeremy Irons in particular played the same role in both movies. He clearly had a wonderfully good time in _Dungeons and Dragons_, but here he’s like a bored eight-grader acting out a skit in English class. That’s my opinion, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Talon\_Karrde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Talon\_Karrde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Talon_Karrde)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-and-saw-eragon-read-this-before-you-do/384377/48 "2006-12-17T21:40:37Z")
[QUOTE=Cisco] I’ve heard that the kid who wrote it is basically a non-talent and it was glossed up a lot and partially ghost-written by his publisher so they could build hype around their 15 year old “author”. Does anyone know how true, if at all, that is? [/QUOTE] I haven’t read the book, but I have enjoyed reading the bad reviews and anti-Inheritance (the name of the trilogy is Inheritance) sites, like [this one](http://www.anti-shurtugal.com/). I haven’t seen any accusations of ghost-writing before though. I just might rent the movie so I can mock it. John Malkovich’s performance sounds fun. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-and-saw-eragon-read-this-before-you-do/384377/49 "2006-12-17T23:08:12Z")
[QUOTE=Surbey] OMG. I have never seen such a poorly constructed movie in my life… [/QUOTE] I take it you’ve never seen _The Core_ then? ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-and-saw-eragon-read-this-before-you-do/384377/50 "2006-12-18T01:43:57Z")
> [@](#): > > Remember all the horrible “SF” movies which came out in the wake of Star Wars? > We might be in for another batch of more of the same, except in terms of fantasy. I remember that happening in the early 1980s, following the success of _Conan the Barbarian_ – a string of sword-and-sorcery flicks, of varying quality. Mostly pretty awful, but a few good ones. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-and-saw-eragon-read-this-before-you-do/384377/51 "2006-12-18T01:46:53Z")
Likewise, there was a rash of post-apocalypse movies in the wake of Mad Max. ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-and-saw-eragon-read-this-before-you-do/384377/52 "2006-12-18T03:17:09Z")
[QUOTE=Shoshana] Kenneth Paolini, Talita Paolini. 400 Years of Imaginary Friends: A Journey Into the World of Adepts, Masters, Ascended Masters, and Their Messengers. Pray, MT: Paolini International, LLC. Check Amazon on the latter, see scathing reviews that make me think more highly of the Paolinis. [/QUOTE] Got a link? I wanted to read the scathing reviews, but I don’t find the book on Amazon. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-and-saw-eragon-read-this-before-you-do/384377/53 "2006-12-18T03:36:54Z")
Sorry; it’s on Amazon dot ca, not Amazon dot com, ey? [Amazon.ca](http://www.amazon.ca/400-Years-Imaginary-Friends-Messengers/dp/0966621301) See also: > **[The Farce Revealed : Church Universal and Triumphant in Scholarly Perspective...](https://www.apologeticsindex.org/a106a.html)** > > The Farce Revealed : Church Universal and Triumphant in Scholarly Perspectiv [http://www.theosophy.com/theos-talk/199912/tt00033.html](http://www.theosophy.com/theos-talk/199912/tt00033.html) [http://cultinfobooks.com/pub\_affnb/affnbsubscribers/Conference\_2002\_Report.htm](http://cultinfobooks.com/pub_affnb/affnbsubscribers/Conference_2002_Report.htm) ---
**Author:** ![flickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7bcc69/32.png) [@flickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flickster)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-and-saw-eragon-read-this-before-you-do/384377/54 "2006-12-18T04:07:22Z")
Saw it this afternoon. Definitely not great, but not run out of the theatre bad either. I would rate it batter than _Dead Man’s Chest_, but that’s sure not saying much. I would call it LOTR lite. One of the things that put me off and I never got over it by the end of the movie was the Saphira’s voice. I’ll be honest, I’m not familiar enough with Rachel Weisz’s voice to know if this is her normal voice but it just seemed an odd match. I agree with others regarding the story jumping around and not much effort being placed on character development. ---
**Author:** ![Surbey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@Surbey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surbey)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-and-saw-eragon-read-this-before-you-do/384377/55 "2006-12-18T07:37:48Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] I take it you’ve never seen _The Core_ then? [/QUOTE] IMHO, they are about the same. I guess I just hate this more than alot of people because of the plot development and the 2d characters it presents. Those two things are really a deal breaker on a movie for me. ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-and-saw-eragon-read-this-before-you-do/384377/56 "2006-12-18T13:10:39Z")
I’m so glad this thread is here and already populated as it saves me the time of having to create one. I’ve read the first book and it was bad. Very bad. So bad that I’m still having to go and visit my fond memories of LOTR because they’re currently in a rape shelter screaming “make it stop, I’ll do anything just make the pain stop!”. I blame myself as I was determined to finish the book to see if it in any way redeemed itself but, of course, it didn’t. I’ve been seeing the ads for the second book everywhere and each time I have to force down the urge to heave. Like most people there is a part of me that wants to see this film to see just how bad it really could be, but then it’s the same part that likes being tied up and having red hot needles slowly pushed through my eyes and as such lost its right to vote in any decision making process I make a long time ago. I’m not prone to exageration, I really do feel this strongly about how bad the whole Eragon franchise is as, if nothing else, it reduces fantasy (yet again) to the status of literature’s dysentry-infected, leprosy-suffering cousin. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-and-saw-eragon-read-this-before-you-do/384377/57 "2006-12-18T15:21:06Z")
Uh-oh. I read the Daily Mail’s review. I hated Dead Man’s Chest or whatever PC2 was called. Do I really have to go to this movie now with my 8 year old son (he’s dying to go)? Maybe if I took drugs prior to…anyone have any? See, there’s bad, and then there’s excruciatingly, embarassing to watch bad. I have a feeling that Eragon is the latter. Yikes. ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-and-saw-eragon-read-this-before-you-do/384377/58 "2006-12-18T15:28:31Z")
[QUOTE=eleanorigby] Uh-oh. I read the Daily Mail’s review. I hated Dead Man’s Chest or whatever PC2 was called. Do I really have to go to this movie now with my 8 year old son (he’s dying to go)? Maybe if I took drugs prior to…anyone have any? See, there’s bad, and then there’s excruciatingly, embarassing to watch bad. I have a feeling that Eragon is the latter. Yikes. [/QUOTE] Go see it with your son. Take a book and some headphones. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-and-saw-eragon-read-this-before-you-do/384377/59 "2006-12-18T16:06:28Z")
[QUOTE=Quartz] The [review](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/showbiz/reviews.html?in_article_id=422856&in_page_id=1924) in yesterday’s Daily Mail was hilarious. [/QUOTE] ] " dialogue so flat it could be by George Lucas " Oh, snap! ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-and-saw-eragon-read-this-before-you-do/384377/60 "2006-12-18T16:09:52Z")
I saw it on Saturday and I enjoyed it. No accounting for taste, huh? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-and-saw-eragon-read-this-before-you-do/384377.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-went-and-saw-eragon-read-this-before-you-do/384377.md?page=4)