Eragon

Directed by: Stefen Fangmeier

With:Jeremy Irons, Edward Speleers

”Our beautiful lands have been ravaged by a ruthless king. And our people live under the shadow of tyranny. It wasn't always like that. There was a time when our people lived in peace. Protected by warriors astride mighty dragons”. That’s the way in which Brom, the old storyteller, tells us about the suffering of his dear land, Alagaesia, once a prosperous place, but now under the oppression of King Galbatorix. Alagaesians’ hope lies on a young dragon rider, named Eragon, to lead them to freedom.

We’re talking about “Eragon”, the new major motion picture based on the first chapter of the “Inheritance” trilogy, written by Christopher Paolini. Let’s start by saying that most of which can be criticized about the novel can also be about the film: the tribute (or, as others might call it “piracy”) of some elements from Star Wars, Earthsea or The Lord of the Rings; the lack of deepness of the plot, that sometimes, appears to have been taken from an uninspired Tolkien, etc.

Despite all those elements, and a poor script, Eragon is an interesting “pop corn”  film that, as long as approaches the final 30 minutes, becomes more and more appealing, concluding with some scenes (I’m not going to tell the end of the picture, if you want to know go to your favorite Theater or buy the book) that leaves us sincerely hoping for the movie to be successful, so the other 2 parts of the story may be also put into film.

The plot begins when Eragon (Edward Spellers), a young hunter that lives with his uncle and cousin, ¿casually? finds a blue gem that turns to be nothing but a dragon’s egg, stolen by the Princess Arya (A beautiful Sienna Guillory) from King Galbatorix himself. Realizing the loss, Galbatorix sends Durza, his best serf, to find and kill Eragon, and, by consequence, destroy the dragon and the threat it represents.

In the middle of this complicated situation, our hero will count with the help of the village’s storyteller, Brom (Jeremy Irons) and a mysterious character whose past lays a shadow of suspicion behind him.

The film is not as magnificent as “The Lord of The Rings” ones, but has great special effects, standing out the huge realism of Saphira’s character, that becomes a vital part on the plot 

In short, it’s an interesting story (even when it’s not the most original in town), averagely well told, with good acting, great special effects and an excellent soundtrack composed by Patrick Doyle (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), which also includes Avril Lavigne’s new single: “Keep holding on”.