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There are only so many fantasy adventure movies you can make. With Eragon, there was easily the chance that this was one too many. As it turns out, though, we still have at least another to go before the proverbial turkey shows up; that's not to say Eragon doesn't have its flaws, however...

The story is fairly simple; a young farm boy is chosen by destiny to take up the mantle of "Dragon Rider" and fight against the tyrannical king who holds the whole world in his thrall. The predictable resistance movement is in place beyond the foothills and there's a the obligatory family tragedy; all coming along with the lacklustre Elven love interest that (as is often the case) causes more problems than solutions.

But the clich'e story doesn't actually alter the fact that this is a decent little film.

It's well paced, with Saphira, the dragon (voiced by the lovely Rachel Weisz), coming into a more relevant position as things move on. Jeremy Irons is the perfect sage for teaching young Eragon, but could easily have done with a few more lines in place of the weaker acting of the lead. Speaking of roles, the rather meagre amount of screen time given to the evil king, Galbatorix, is baffling, not even explicable considering the dastardly behaviour of his shade, Durza, in taking the main bad guy role.

Which is why this is, ultimately, a children's film.

As is usual with these movies, there is no thought to be done. The dark colours, decoloured teeth, limited vocabulary, unflinching pointless cruelty and nasty moods easily point out the enemy, while the clean cut efforts of the good guys make sure you're rooting for Eragon and the resistance (unless, of course, you're like me). But it doesn't allow for any character development that would give the film any depth beyond the lovely animation of Saphira and the fight scenes. While most of the acting is good and the plot is fairly strong, it most definitely had the feel of a movie that was only really just starting.

Which is supposedly what this film is at the moment. And while it's not wonderful, there is certainly enough to make you think the next instalment has many places to go.

Learn more about this author, Christopher Cranmer.
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