The Eragon movie (may contain spoilers)

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

I told a friend about it: the name like Aragorn; fate of the world rests on the unlikely hero's shoulders; off questing to bring down the tyrant whose evil knows no bounds; Ra'zac Ringwraiths; random apostrophes inserted into names to make them sound more exotic and fantastical; place-names taken from Middle-earth; falling in love with a beautiful Elf-maiden; Elves coming from over the Sea; perfunctory Elves and Dwarves; and all with the help of a wise mentor.

His reaction: "If I met this Paolini boy I'd ask him Have you ever heard of a book called 'The Lord of the Rings'?"

The blurb alone has about six clichés. But in spite of all this, I enjoyed the first two books. They're enjoyable stories told by a guy who clearly adores Tolkien.

Film is bad, although there are some decent elements to it.

One criticism I can't really understand (in general - not just with Eragon) is about lack of character development; 'paper-thin' characters. Not every character needs depth. That's a whole new topic, though.