1 of 3

Eragon Our rating: Your rating:   MPAA rating: PG (for battle sequences and frightening moments) Genre: Adventure, Fantasy Theater release: December 15, 2006 by 20th Century Fox Directed by: Stefen Fangmeier Runtime: 1 hour 44 minutes Cast: Edward Speleers (Eragon), Jeremy Irons (Brom), John Malkovich (King Galbatorix), Rachel Weisz (Saphira, voice), Robert Carlyle (Durza) Related: Talk About It/Family Corner

When I was a teen, I decided to write a novel. Recently, I found some of that book. To my surprise, my book was practically a chapter-by-chapter rewrite of Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy. Impressionable and naïve, I had no idea how much I had absorbed from it and merely spit back onto the page.

I'm afraid that happened to author Christopher Paolini. I've never read his novel Eragon, which he wrote at 17. However, if the film version is any indication, Paolini's tale shows his age—and that he must really like the original Star Wars film. Perhaps the book has more unique elements and compelling plot. But stripped down in this lifeless and forced screenplay by Jurassic Park III scribe Peter Buchman, all we get is the tale of Luke Skywalker—with a dragon instead of a lightsaber. And while the plot is Star Wars, the feel is of a poor man's Lord of the Rings. Really, this is the story of a galaxy far far away … in Mordor.

Eragon (Ed Speleers) and his mentor, Brom (Jeremy Irons)

Eragon (newcomer Edward Speleers) is a poor farm boy (no, not on a moisture farm) who's been raised by his uncle (no, there's no Aunt Beru) in a remote area of a land called Alagaesia (no, there aren't two suns). When a beautiful rebel fighter Arya (no, she's not a princess) gets captured by an evil emperor's henchman (no, he's not voiced by James Earl Jones), something Arya has stolen (no, it's not Death Star plans) lands in Eragon's hands (no, it's not via droid). With the mentoring of a cantankerous aged warrior named Brom (no, he's not played by Alec Guinness, but by Jeremy Irons), Eragon discovers he has a great destiny and ancient powers (no, they're not Jedi mind tricks—oh wait, they kinda are). Along with a mysterious anti-hero who lends his fighting abilities (no, there's no Wookiee), Eragon ventures to rescue the princess (I mean, Arya) and help her hidden rebel fighters bring peace back to the galaxy (I mean, to Alagaesia).

The elf warrior Arya (Sienna Guillory)

What sets Eragon apart from films like Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Willow and Dragonheart (OK, not Dragonheart) is that Eragon's destiny involves a mighty dragon. This farm boy is the last in the line of legendary Dragon Riders—honorable protectors of the peace (ya, that sounds like the Jedi). The Dragon Riders are now all but extinct because a bad seed hunted down his brethren (no, it's not Eragon's dad—I don't think). Now, destiny has chosen Eragon as the new hope to strike back at the empire.

Destiny comes in the form of a young dragon who has waited in her egg until her Rider was ready. Now is the time. Saphira the dragon, voiced by Rachel Weisz, is a pretty impressive beast of computer wizardry. Her majestic presence and emotional blue eyes are wonderfully brought to life. Saphira, along with Irons' Brom, give the film its few glimpse of true life. But you can't help but feeling they are both underused. For instance, the playfulness of Saphira as an adorable dragon pup and the thrill of her in flight (and battle) are neat but rushed. And while the idea of a mystical bond between a rider and his dragon is intriguing, you are told about it more than you really see it.

King Galbatorix (John Malkovich) and his minion, the sorcerer Durza (Robert Carlyle)

Instead of being pulled into this world, we just observe characters with alphabet-soup names (that tend to use outcast letters like X and Z) walk around pretty places with long names while giving long, dry and unintentionally funny speeches about destiny, magic and grotesque demon-things coming to get them. Being kept at an arm's length leaves a lot of questions. How exactly does this magic work? Why do the travelers walk and ride horseback everywhere when they have a big flying dragon? Why do only ugly creatures work for the evil guy? Why does the evil Galbatorix (a completely wasted John Malkovich) spend all his time brooding in a big decorative chair staring at a map of his kingdom? And where do evil rulers get their impressive chairs and big maps?

Sure, maybe these are just silly questions, but if I'm thinking about maps and chairs instead of Eragon's seemingly epic story, something's wrong. And it's more than the film's Star Wars similarities. After all, fantasies are rarely very unique. Star Wars was certainly not very original—or all that dynamically written. But truly captivating fantasies take classic archetypes and legends and add new dimensions to create worlds we've never seen before. They make us fall in love with characters. They invite us in. The create a sense of wonder.

next page... |  1 of 3 | last page