Dear Geeks and Fanboys & Fangirls,I'm begging you, please do not go support Eragon in the movie theatres. It looked like a piece of crap when it was featured at Comic Con this past summer and its 11% rating on Rotten Tomatoes only confirms this.
First, why do you insist of reading the same material over and over again? I have never read the book by Christopher Paolini that the movie is based on but from the synopsis alone, I would say that the story has been done: ordinary peasant boy turns out to be destined for greatness and to become the saviour of his people against an evil leader. Didn't you already see Star Wars? Haven't you read David Eddings's Belgariad series? Perhaps you've heard of a small movie called Lord of the Rings? How about the New Testament of the Bible?
And speaking of LOTR, doesn't 'Eragon' sound suspiciously similar to 'Aragon'? Was Paolini incapable of coming up with a more original name for his protagonist? An online fantasy name generator could have helped mask the creative void.
Even if you do find comfort in the familiar, you must have some sort of pride left; 20th Century Fox is insulting your intelligence. The studio thinks that if it enlists the two biggest FX studios, Industrial Light & Magic and Weta, to essentially recreate LOTR, you will lap it up. The Eragon trailer could have simply cut and pasted battle and evil horde scenes from the LOTR and there would have been no discernable difference.
Please prove to the studios that fantasy enthusiasts are not undiscriminating drones who will pay to see anything with magic and dragons.
On Monday, when box office numbers come out, I will find out if I should be gnashing my teeth and tearing out my hair.
2 comments:
I read the book, and yeah, you pretty much summed it up. It's LOTR and the Belgariad slapped together. I can see where it appeals to a younger generation who hasn't picked up any fantasy classics, but it's not great. My young cousin put it more succintly: it's a stupid story written by a teenager.
I was nominally interested in seeing how the story would turn out, but frankly, I've read more interesting fanfiction.
Eragon came in second in the box office. The new Will Smith sap fest, The Pursuit of Happyness, came in #1.
My hair and teeth remain in tact but I feel nauseous.
I sure do miss the LOTR Christmas release tradition.
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