Metacritic Movie Ratings
Eragon Reviews

A sample of reviews from critics across the country.

• 63

  out of 100

  USA TodayClaudia Puig

  It's a pleasant enough fantastical adventure, but it does feel naggingly derivative.

  Read full review

• 50

  out of 100

  Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern

  The star of this fantasy adventure for young audiences is a charmer from the moment she is hatched (from a huge blue egg that starts to rock like a Mexican jumping bean). Her name is Saphira, she speaks with the voice of Rachel Weisz, and it doesn't matter that she's too young to breathe fire -- at first -- or that she waddles a bit on the ground, because she lives and breathes the joy of flight, which is exactly what was missing from most of Harry Potter's solos on a broom.

  Read full review

• 50

  out of 100

  The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt

  There is little complexity in the social, cultural or political shape of this world. So this film, directed by visual effects master Stefen Fangmeier and written by Peter Buchman in a straightforward manner, cannot escape the rote nature of such a fantasy.

  Read full review

• 42

  out of 100

  Entertainment Weekly

  Though the movie, which was adapted from a book written by Christopher Paolini when he was a teenager, aims high by ripping off the classics (even down to Eragon's murdered uncle), what it most recalls are the cheesy lost sword-and-sorcery epics from the '80s, awful movies in the vein of "Yor: The Hunter From the Future" and "The Blade Master."

  Read full review

• 40

  out of 100

  VarietyJustin Chang

  Appropriating all the external trappings of big-budget fantasy but none of the requisite soul, this leaden epic never soars like the CG-rendered fire-breather at the core of its derivative mythology.

  Read full review

• 40

  out of 100

  Los Angeles Times

  Eragon is likely to center on its place among the likes of "Dragonheart," "Reign of Fire" and the rest of the mediocre dragon flicks.

  Read full review

• 40

  out of 100

  The New York TimesJeannette Catsoulis

  If some of the characters won't be returning for the sequel, no matter. In all likelihood, neither will the audience.

  Read full review

See all Eragon movie reviews at Metacritic.com