The Inheritance Trilogy Begins

Moviegoers will relish this fanciful tale as it is brought to life on the movie screen. Christopher Paolini wrote the story of "Eragon", the first book of the Inheritance Trilogy. ("Eldest", the second part of the series, just became available in paperback, for those who are interested.)

Eragon (Ed Speelers) is a young farm boy, raised by his kind uncle after his mother abandoned him. One night, out hunting in the woods, he discovers a strange blue stone. Unbeknownst to him, the stone was sent to him by Arya (Sienna Guillory). She is among a small group of surviving warriors who hope to someday defeat the evil ruler Galbatorix (John Malkovich).

When this odd "stone" hatches, Eragon finds himself the caretaker of a baby dragon, Saphira. He quickly learns from an old villager named Brom (Jeremy Irons) that the furtively whispered legends of dragons and their brave riders are true after all and that he, Eragon, has been chosen as Saphira's rider. The only other known dragon to have survived belongs to the evil king, Galbatorix. Suddenly this naive peasant teenager finds himself as the hope of his people!

When we chose to watch this film, my husband and I mainly felt it would be something the kids would enjoy, but that we probably wouldn't get much out of it. To our pleasant surprise, we were engaged in the film from the start. This is no childish, watered-down fairy tale. On the contrary, this film presents an exciting story reminiscent of the "Lord of the Rings" films. The settings, the language and background music, the types of mythological creatures taking part in the tale, all invite the viewer to open their imagination and forget the real world for awhile.

Character development is handled very well here. Eragon's relationship with his uncle and cousin are first delved into, and later his reactions of first mistrust and later sincere caring for Brom and Murtagh (Garrett Hedlund), another warrior battling against Galbatorix and his minions. And of course there is the developing, possible romance between Arya and the new dragon rider.
Considering this is a trilogy, it will be fascinating to see how these new relationships play out in subsequent films!

The computer animation used to present Saphira as a realistic dragon was excellent. She uses a gentle voice most of the time when speaking with Eragon, with whom she has a special and unique bond. But she also has wisdom, despite the fact that she is a rather young dragon at this point in the story. And this is one creature who isn't afraid to speak her mind! One of the points brought across in the story is that while both Saphira and Eragon have some strength on their own, it is when they work together that they are truly powerful and able to defeat their enemies. I think this is a wonderful lesson for children to see and hear!

This film went above and beyond my expectations, and I look forward to watching it again. I also have added this book trilogy to my list of books I'd like to read. Now I'm sorry I didn't pick up the "Eragon" novel at my kids' recent school book fair!