Even with a sterling cast headed by Jeremy rons, John Malkovich, Robert Carlyle and Rachel Weisz (who provides the voice for Saphira the Dragon), "Eragon" is probably going to be the year's biggest bomb at the box office.

Flying straight into a barrage of angry reviews and skewered as a poor rendition of "Dragonheart", "Star Wars" and "Lord of the Rings", "Eragon" is easily this year's poison apple at cinemas.

But perhaps it won't falter too badly in Thailand, where pretty blond boys are still a big draw with local lasses, many of whom would pay anything to watch the film's teen hero, Edward Speleers, regardless of how ridiculous his delivery. Speleers plays Eragon, the last dragon rider, who must save the world from an evil power.

While it's true that girls often don't really care about how bad a film is as long as the male lead is cute - like the recent "Superman Returns" - they don't represent the majority of moviegoers.

The majority of serious sci-fi and fantasy film fans have voiced extreme displeasure at how director Stefen Fangmeier has handled this one. And their criticism is valid.

Fans of the Christopher Paolini novel, on which it's based, are outraged at the changes made. Worse, they were livid when they found out how much was cut to shorten the movie.

Fearing teenage girls with short attention spans would find the saga too saga-ish, "Eragon" runs a little over 100 minutes, which is a third the time of the "Lord of the Rings" and "Star Wars" movies.

The end result is a demonstration of greed and stupidity at work, a combination commonly found at Hollywood studios that are headed by accountants and statisticians, not people who appreciate artistry.

As "Eragon" sinks, the saddest part of this undertaking is its waste of great players, such as Malkovich, who plays the evil oppressor, and Irons, who plays Eragon's mentor Brom.

Ten years ago "Dragonheart" stole the thunder by introducing a noble dragon with Sean Connery's voice, blending humour, action and special effects. Many copycats followed and failed.

"Eragon" has also blundered by paying too much attention to special effects, which are first-rate, while the plot and editing are horrendous.

This Christmas season is perhaps the worst for Bangkok cinemas in decades, with lowbrow releases and nothing at all of interest. While cinemas in neighbouring countries show great fare, like Bill Condon's "Dreamgirls" and Zhang Yimou's "Curse of the Golden Flower", we're stuck with flaky stuff like "Eragon".

by hanuman