Eragon
I should know better. I really should.
The film ALWAYS ruins the book. Or at least disappoints.
I was really looking forward to this film, as evidenced by the fact that I went to see it opening day. I rarely do that anymore. Eragon is one of my favorite books in recent memory, and it's follow-up, Eldest, is even better.
I even bought Eragon for my mother as a birthday gift.
So imagine my disappointment when I discovered that the movie is a cheap bastardization of the book. I was concerned when I learned the running time was only 90 minutes for a book about the size of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" and I was right to be. Characters are missing. Plot points are skipped over. Major character arcs are eliminated in an effort to speed things along. And what are all these scenes with the King? He's not actually IN the book at all!
The most upsetting part for me is what they did to Brom (Jeremy Irons). He should be a complex character who is torn over his duty to Eragon, and teaches him to make decisions and the consequences of those decisions. Instead, we get a rah-rah cheerleader for the "rebel cause" who basically teaches Eragon that he is destined to be a hero and must embrace that destiny. It's just a shame they couldn't raise Alec Guinness from the dead to play the part, really. Talk about reducing a harrowing coming-of-age tale, fraught with with danger and difficult choices into a melodramatic good-vs-evil, black-vs-white tale of, well, bullshit.
Who adapted this film? Did they READ the second book? Cause if they want to make that one into a film, they are gonna have to do some serious re-writing. You can't KILL the Ra'zac. You're going to need them. And what's all this crap about dragons dying when their rider dies? And why did they never mention that Arya is an ELF, for fuck's sake? I mean, you've gone this far out of your way to get an actress that looked just like Liv Tyler already. You might as well go the whole nine.
And when did John Malkovich start to suck?
One redeeming quality - I thought Robert Carlyle was really good. I've always loved him, ever since the British TV show "Cracker." The way they changed the final fight between him and Eragon was a tragedy, and really kinda cheapened the character, but his portrayal was subtle and fun, given what he had to work with, and the absolute absence of any actual storytelling (in the book, you learn his entire backstory - and it's a whopper).
I wonder how the author feels about the film. I think Peter Buckman, the adaptor, owes him a beer. Or a nice dinner and a movie, given the way he raped his brilliant story. Of course, what should you expect from the guy who wrote "Jurassic Park III?"
If you've read the book and love it, really try to resist the temptation to see the film. If you haven't read the book - skip the film and check out some pages. Amazing book. Crappy film.
The film ALWAYS ruins the book. Or at least disappoints.
I was really looking forward to this film, as evidenced by the fact that I went to see it opening day. I rarely do that anymore. Eragon is one of my favorite books in recent memory, and it's follow-up, Eldest, is even better.
I even bought Eragon for my mother as a birthday gift.
So imagine my disappointment when I discovered that the movie is a cheap bastardization of the book. I was concerned when I learned the running time was only 90 minutes for a book about the size of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" and I was right to be. Characters are missing. Plot points are skipped over. Major character arcs are eliminated in an effort to speed things along. And what are all these scenes with the King? He's not actually IN the book at all!
The most upsetting part for me is what they did to Brom (Jeremy Irons). He should be a complex character who is torn over his duty to Eragon, and teaches him to make decisions and the consequences of those decisions. Instead, we get a rah-rah cheerleader for the "rebel cause" who basically teaches Eragon that he is destined to be a hero and must embrace that destiny. It's just a shame they couldn't raise Alec Guinness from the dead to play the part, really. Talk about reducing a harrowing coming-of-age tale, fraught with with danger and difficult choices into a melodramatic good-vs-evil, black-vs-white tale of, well, bullshit.
Who adapted this film? Did they READ the second book? Cause if they want to make that one into a film, they are gonna have to do some serious re-writing. You can't KILL the Ra'zac. You're going to need them. And what's all this crap about dragons dying when their rider dies? And why did they never mention that Arya is an ELF, for fuck's sake? I mean, you've gone this far out of your way to get an actress that looked just like Liv Tyler already. You might as well go the whole nine.
And when did John Malkovich start to suck?
One redeeming quality - I thought Robert Carlyle was really good. I've always loved him, ever since the British TV show "Cracker." The way they changed the final fight between him and Eragon was a tragedy, and really kinda cheapened the character, but his portrayal was subtle and fun, given what he had to work with, and the absolute absence of any actual storytelling (in the book, you learn his entire backstory - and it's a whopper).
I wonder how the author feels about the film. I think Peter Buckman, the adaptor, owes him a beer. Or a nice dinner and a movie, given the way he raped his brilliant story. Of course, what should you expect from the guy who wrote "Jurassic Park III?"
If you've read the book and love it, really try to resist the temptation to see the film. If you haven't read the book - skip the film and check out some pages. Amazing book. Crappy film.
posted by Brian at 11:42 AM
1 Comments:
Meh--that's what always happens. I finished the book last week, I think, and really enjoyed it. I'm waiting for Eldest to be in paperback, but I'll definitely pick it up. But the movie? Well, I don't see them in theaters, and I have high expectations for them these days, so it'll be no trouble to avoid this one. :)
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