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Eragon
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray A - America - Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Pat Pilon (1st October 2007). |
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The Film
 The movie is not a horrible one, but it's not a good good either. It's merely there and that's all there is to it. It's utterly forgettable, but before you forget it, you realise that there is something good that could have emerged had it not been so rushed. Instead, you get a 600-odd-page book (written by a 15-year-old!) cut into a 100-minute film. It ends up compromising character, logic and any epic feel that might have made the movie better than it was. In its running time, many things happen, but the string of logic is somewhat thin, and characters are zipped from one place to the next without much thought. Any development these people may have seems to have been dropped and replaced with dragon flights. Indeed, when the characters start dying in the second half, it seems like you haven't spent any time with them, because the movie has gone by so fast. With acting powerhouses like Robert Carlyle, John Malkovich and Jeremy Irons, the lack of emotion is very telling of the director. With a fairly big budget (some $100 million or so) and being a fantasy movie, asking about the effects is an appropriate query. The CGI looks okay. I've seen better, but these serve the movie very well. They never overwhelm the viewer, they only add to the movie. Some of the effects (like some dragon effects) look amateurishly done, but for the most part, they hold up okay. The music also adds an epic feel to the movie. On the other hand, the cinematography boasts some impressive vistas, but they never seem to take in the epic feel the movie needs. With the quick pace, the movie can't breathe, and you always feel you're being dragged along with the plot. If you haven't guessed already, the movie's pacing and lack of character development are its biggest flaws. There's probably nothing original about the book, but I'm sure there's a decent story to be told. It just needs to be written in the right way, giving emphasis in the right spots. In this case, the movie is enjoyable if you want to pass the time, but for no other reason.
Video
2.35:1 widescreen. I may have noticed slight edge enhancement a couple of times, but that may have been my imagination. In any case, the picture is very strong. The colours are bright, vivid and accurate. The many darker scenes are very nicely rendered and don't suffer from pixelation or noise. This is quite impressive because in addition to the many shadows, some of these shots include fire, and the flames are sharp, natural-looking and pixel-free. The contrast is very nice, giving way to a very faithful transfer. The only real problem is that the picture suffers from a varying levels of grain, with some scenes looking a bit soft, while others looking very clear. It's an overall very strong transfer, however.
Audio
As with all other Fox releases, this has a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, in English (as well as two dubs, on in French, the other in Spanish, both in Dolby Digital 5.1. The Master Audio track is very nice, showing a very nice range and a good deal of dynamism. To be honest, the rears, in my opinion, could have been used a bit more, but otherwise the track is very good. The dialogue is always clear and sharp. The music uses up all the speakers, swelling up in the right spots. The action and crowd scenes gather up all the speakers, booming out some nice sounds. The bass goes down very low and shakes your walls. The action is pretty intense, but the sound somehow doesn't seem to be as accurate as it should be. The track is, however, a very nice one and should please anybody watching the movie. Cantonese, English, Korean and Spanish subtitles are provided.
Extras
> While the standard DVD release had a luxurious 2-disc set, this release is pretty bare. There is, however, an audio commentary by director Stefen Fangmeier, which isn't indicated anywhere on the box.. Mr. Fangmeier's track is probably more interesting than the movie. It's not a horrible track, and he's a fairly lively fellow. He never stops talking and what he says is pretty interesting. He, for example, talks about he reasoning behind the actions, like why Eragon opens doors with magic rather than busting through it. Being from a visual effects background, the director talks a lot about the effects and how they were conceived. He gives his praise for the various film departments, including the actors. He never really spends time narrating the film, but he does explain things are either obvious or unnecessary to the viewer, making this track a bit long at times. It is, overall, a very good listen and an enjoyable track. A couple of Theatrical Trailers are here (2:26 and 2:27) also. These are typical fantasy movie trailers, focusing more on the action than the characters. This is not necessary a bad thing given the movie has no real characters. To finish things of, there's a Fox on Blu-ray gallery, with 'Fantastic Four' (2:26), 'Ice Age: The Meltdown' (2:10), 'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' (1:06), 'Night at the Museum' (2:26) and 'X-Men: The Last Stand' (2:25).
Overall
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