Enter your search terms Web curledupdvd Submit search form	ERAGON Actors: Edward Speleers, Jeremy Irons, Sienna Guillory, Robert Carlyle Director: Stefen Fangmeier   Studio: 20th Century Fox DVD release: 20 March 2007   Runtime: 103 minutes (2 discs) Format: AC-3, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC DVD features: Audio tracks (English, Dolby Digital 5.1; English, DTS 5.1; French, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; Spanish, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), Subtitles (English, Spanish), Director's commentary, GIL'EAD pronunciation/background, Extended & deleted scenes, CARVAHALL pronunciation/background, INSIDE THE INHERITANCE TRILOGY featurette, DARET, Vision of Eragon w/ opt. commentary by Fangmeier & conceptual art gallery, Arya's Ambush original animatic sequence, TEIRM pronunciation/background, Original storyboards If you experience a little déjà vu while watching the movie Eragon, it probably isn't because you've read the book. Put Star Wars and Lord of the Rings in a blender, take out the X-wing fighters and add a dragon - you'll have Eragon. It's a quite predictable as a hero epic, complete with young boy, old mentor, dark overlord, evil henchman, and beautiful girl. Based on the incredibly popular book of the same name by young author Christopher Paolini, the movie tells a pared-down version of the story. While out hunting in the woods, Eragon, a young farm boy played by Edward Speleers, comes upon a blue "stone" that has been magically sent for him to find. It turns out to be a dragon egg that soon hatches, and Eragon's life and the lives of those around him change. Jeremy Irons plays the mentor, Brom, who aids Eragon in his journey to save the world. The book is part of the "Inheritance Trilogy" by Paolini, with the second book Eldest equally as, if not more than, popular as the first. Eragon the movie doesn't really end, and it's quite obvious a sequel is on the way. The real audience of this movie is the same target age group as the book, young adults between 11 and 15, and handsome Speleers is this decade's version of Mark Hamill. It's a very family-friendly PG, although the violence in the fighting scenes and the dark evil of King Galbatorix (John Malkovich) and his henchman, Durza (Robert Carlyle), may be too scary for younger children. The technical effects are very good, and Saphira the dragon is well-done and quite plausible, although the contrast between her soothing voice (Rachel Weisz) and her scaly, fire-breathing exterior seems a bit much. The movie's saving grace is that it isn't as long and dragged out as the Lord of the Rings movies. However, Eragon moves so fast at only 103 minutes in length that there isn't much time for character development or the emotional richness that the book provides. But maybe that's what sequels are for. The two-disc special edition set includes director's commentary, extended and deleted scenes, and a featurette called "Inside the Inheritance Trilogy."
		reviewed by Nancy Atkinson
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