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 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 fantasy that points directly to a sequel.
| CleanFlicks Parental Advice |
| General |
- Contains some frightening scenes that may be too intense for younger viewers (Evil characters with demonic looks may be frightening. Many battle scenes with close calls and characters seeming to die, but are not. A couple characters do die.)
- Contains some jump scenes (Brom suddenly surprises Eragon in his place, yelling, "Get out!" A character is suddenly grabbed by the throat.)
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| Language |
- some imitative phrases ("You fight like an old goat," "Fool" and "You stupid boy.")
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| Sex/Non-Graphic Nudity |
- some non-explicit nudity (A boy is seen shirtless, and a woman has a molded top that shows the shape of her breasts.)
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| Violence |
- some non-graphic violence (Many battle scenes. Sword/dagger fighting, Fantasy creatures, etc. Some characaters die, nothing gory, some bloody cuts or small blood on shirt or head. An evil wizard causes spells and things to happen to different characters.)
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| Drugs/Alcohol |
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