In his homeland of Alagaesia, a farm boy happens upon a dragon's egg -- a discovery that leads him on a predestined journey where he realized he's the one person who can defend his home against an evil king.
While it owes much of its appeal and appearance to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Eragon can stand on its own as an enjoyable fantasy for younger viewers. Faithfully adapted from the bestselling novel by teenage author Christopher Paolini, this boy-and-his-dragon tale offers clean, fast-paced family entertainment without compromising the darker qualities of Paolini's novel (the first in what is known as the "Inheritance" trilogy). The plot centers on 17-year-old peasant farmboy Eragon (played by appealing newcomer Ed Speleers) who discovers a mysterious blue object that turns out to be an egg that eventually hatches to reveal Saphira, a blue-scaled dragon that quickly grows to full-size. According to prophecy, Eragon is destined to be a dragon-rider like those who once protected a benevolent kingdom, thus reviving an ancient conflict against the army of King Galbatorix (John Malkovich), a former dragon rider who turned to evil, now in alliance with a dark-magic "Shade" sorcerer named Durza (Robert Carlyle). While the movie serves up familiar fantasy elements and offers little if anything new to fans of the genre (or anyone who's read the books of Anne McCaffrey and Ursula K. Le Guin), it's visually impressive (especially the dragon scenes, with Rachel Weisz providing the telepathic "voice" of Saphira) and full of timeless wisdom, much of it delivered by Eragon's heroic mentor Brom (Jeremy Irons), himself a former dragon rider with memories of past battles and hope for Eragon's future. Add a fair warrior-maiden named Arya (Sienna Guillory) and you've got all the ingredients for a worthwhile (if not particularly original) fantasy that points directly to a sequel. Whether that's a good or a bad thing is up to individual viewers to decide. --Jeff Shannon
 Eragon (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Eragon (Widescreen Edition)
Eragon (Full Screen Edition)
Eragon [Blu-ray]
Customer Reviews
C'mon - it's entertainment
OK, the movie cut out A LOT of the plot, characters, and time from the book. But, every book to movie I've ever seen has done the same...Lord of the Rings, The Harry Potter Movies, The Chronicles of Narnia, on and on. If you've read the book before you saw the movie - you're going to be disappointed. BUT, if you go to the movie for the purpose of sheer entertainment...it's wonderful. The special effects are good, the scenery is beautiful, and the relationship between Eragon and Sathira leaves you wanting more....the perfect way to transition into a sequel. AND, my kids LOVED it and can't wait to have the DVD, I'm pretty sure that's what they were hoping for when they made it.
Good fantasy and adventure
It is always hard to take a best selling book and turn it into a movie. Example, the Harry Potter movies. For those who have read the book, the movie will lack some of its depth and color. However, as a movie, it has done a really good job of taking the best of the book and turning it into a terrific fantasy adventure. My daughter and I, who had not yet read the book when we saw the movie, loved it. My son, who had read the books three or four times, found that the movie lacked. The screen will never have the depth, texture and back story of a epic book, but this movie certainly did a good job of trying. I will look forward to seeing it again and will certainly buy it on DVD.
Good Movie
I saw the movie before I read the book and liked it alot and now I've read the book and still like the movie, I would say this certainly deserves Five stars.
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