DVD Release Date:  March 20, 2007
Theatrical Release Date:  December 15, 2006
Rating:  PG
Genre:  Science fiction
Run Time:  104 min.
Director:  Stefan Fangmeier
Actors:  Edward Speleers, Jeremy Irons, Sienna Guillory, Robert Carlyle, John Malkovich, Garrett Hedlund, Alun Armstrong, Christopher Egan, Gary Lewis, Djimon Hounsou, and Rachel Weisz

Ah, don’t we miss the days of the dragons!  Remember the stories of when valiant men rode fierce dragons to conquer evil and keep the empire safe? 

Well, 20th Century Fox’s “Eragon” now brings such a tale to the big screen in living color.  It's a “Star Wars” meets “The Lord of the Rings” science fiction flick that’s terrific family entertainment for the holidays.

The story begins with some background on why there are no more dragons in the land.  It turns out that, in years past, one of the dragon riders, Galbatorix (John Malkovich), betrayed the others, killing the dragons and riders alike and making himself king.  Now he is bent on finding what remain of the resistance, the Varden, or freedom fighters he crushed, who are rumored to live in the mountains.  Legend has it that this secluded remnant is waiting and hoping for a leader who will come and deliver them from Galbatorix’s reign of terror.

Meanwhile, a young farm boy, Eragon (Edward Speleers) ventures out to the woods to hunt, and he comes upon a strange blue object which he brings back to the village.  Galbatorix sees, through his head “shade,” or sorcerer, Durza (Robert Carlyle), that a boy has found this prize – the fertile egg of a dragon that escaped his slaughter.  The king vows to find the boy and kill him before he becomes a man and can lead the resistance to triumph.

The boy shows the dragon egg to the butcher, who is terrified and tells Eragon to hide it and tell no one else of its existence.  Soon the egg hatches, and a little dragon emerges, whom Eragon feeds and hides and teaches to fly in a secluded field.  Eventually the dragon flies away.

The boy investigates further and overhears one of the men in town, Brom (Jeremy Irons) talking some nonsense about the days of dragons, dragon riders, and the hope for a deliverer.  “The time of the dragon riders will come again,” he cries.  The others pay him no attention, but Eragon persists, finally working his way into the old man’s life. 
 
Eragon tells the old man about the egg and the dragon, and Brom eventually tells the boy that he is the promised deliverer and that he must walk in wisdom for the sake of the very existence of the Varden.  He scolds Eragon for being “one part brave, three parts stupid,” and he vows to train his young protégée in the ways of the fighters.  As they travel together to the secret dwelling of the Varden, Eragon discovers a shocking secret about his mentor.  The men are joined by the returning dragon, now fully grown and speaking.  She tells them her name is Saphira (voice of Rachel Weisz), that she can hear his thoughts, that her destiny is to come alongside and help him on his mission, and that she will die for him, if necessary.  She tells him that she chose him, and she warns him that if a rider dies, so does his dragon.