The movie Eragon, based on the book of the same name by teenager Christopher Paolini, has gotten terrible reviews from critics who complain about everything from the crappy, campy acting to the character and place names that sound like prescription medications. Most of all though, they take issue with how unoriginal the plot is. In his review for the Associated Press, David St. Germain describes the movie as "essentially Star Wars—with dragons. Or maybe The Lord of the Rings—with dragons."

No less than five separate reviewers describe Eragon as "Lord of the Rings Lite." The San Francisco Chronicle declares it to be "Lord of the Wings" while About.com goes with "Lord of the Dragon."

Other derivative slights:

"Think Star Wars set in Middle-earth"
Kansas City Star

"A less-funny Willow."
The Oregonian

"A weirdly Teutonic mix of Tolkien, Star Wars and The Wizard of Oz."
Boston Herald

"A combination of Lord of the Rings, Dragonheart, and an unfortunate mix of Dungeons and Dragons."
Firstshowing.net

"Kind of Vulcan mindmeld of classics ersatz and authentic—that is, from Lord of the Rings to King Arthur."
Washington Post

Or, as the Kalamazoo Gazette puts it, "A version of this story already has been told—long ago, in a galaxy far, far away."

No review of a derivative clunker starring a scaly flying beast would be complete without a ridiculous headline to match, and New York's lowbrow dailies competed to come up with the silliest:

"Dragon us down"
New York Post

"Stop dragon us through such messes"
New York Daily News

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