A long time ago, in the land of Alagaesia, there was an order called the Dragon Riders. Its purpose was to bring peace to all nations.

Unfortunately, that changed once a former Dragon Rider called Galbatorix went bad. Not only did he betray those who were on his side, but he also killed all the other Dragon Riders. From that point on, Alagaesia began to suffer. Galbatorix even took over and made life tough. But a bunch of people, known as the Varden, started rebelling against him.

The scene switches to a young woman named Arya, who is the princess of the elf kingdom. She has an enchanted stone with her—only for a wicked sorcerer, Durza, to capture her.

Then there is the main character, Eragon, who is a 17-year-old farm boy living with his uncle, Garrow, and cousin, Roran. They all have nice relationships with each other.

While the 3 are hunting, they come across a peculiar stone. Eragon takes it, hoping he and his family can trade it for food.

However, the “stone” turns out to be an egg. It even hatches and reveals a baby dragon. Eragon begins to bond with her. He also gets a special mark after touching her.

He spends time caring for the dragon as she grows. She quickly reaches her full size and calls herself Saphira. Her thoughts can be heard by others, and that’s how she communicates with Eragon.

Shortly after, Roran has to go to war. He gives Eragon a hug goodbye.

But danger erupts when Durza’s monstrous army, the Ra’zac, invade the village and kill people. Saphira takes Eragon away as she tries to protect him. But Eragon attempts to resist because he wants to warn his uncle.

Sadly, it’s too late. Once Eragon gets a chance to see him, he has already met his demise. Yet Eragon blames Saphira and asks her to leave.

Then this strange man, Brom, demands that Eragon climbs on his other horse and flee the area. After hesitating, he does so.

Brom introduces himself to Eragon. Then he suggests to him to get Saphira back because he will need her.

Although he has some trouble trusting him, Eragon listens to Brom and calls back Saphira. She returns and forgives Eragon. She also has a saddle on her back. That way, when Eragon rides her, he can feel safer.

Brom takes both of them to the Varden. Along the way, he informs them about the Dragon Riders who are in charge. At some point, he trains Eragon how to fight.

Eragon also meets Angela, who is a fortune-telling sorceress. She tells him about Arya and the danger lying ahead.

Later, these perilous beings called the Urgals, attack the main group. Eragon tries to do the magic Brom has done. But it doesn’t work. Brom tells him that he needs to learn to control it first.

Sometime later, the 3 defeat the Ra’zac. Brom then reveals that he used to be a Dragon Rider. However, his dragon got killed by a villain, Morzan.

That night, Eragon has a dream, where Arya asks him to save her. Feeling that it was real and necessary, Eragon goes to her. But she tells him that he shouldn’t have come.

Eventually, though, she does escape with him. She also meets Brom—but then he gets wounded.

Saphira flies him somewhere safe. Sadly, he has died. Eragon tries to use magic to bring him back. But it doesn’t work because he is not skilled enough.

Stakes also begin to rise. What will happen next?

I was quite surprised with how much this movie kept me engaged. I haven’t seen it since I was 13. Not only that, but the reviews online are pretty poor.

Yet I found a lot of strengths. One is the worldbuilding. I admire a lot that was put into it.

One aspect that I appreciated was how anyone could learn magic, and that they needed practice. This differs from the Harry Potter series, where only those who were born magicians could learn wizardry.

This film was based off a novel, which was written by a 19-year-old. Even though changes were made, I still enjoyed the concept and fantasy world.

The characters were likable, too. Eragon was brave and kind, although he did make the wrong choices at times. But I adored his relationship with his uncle and cousin. It was sad when his uncle passed away.

Brom was also easy to like, even with his no-nonsense attitude. He was played by Jeremy Irons, who also did the voice of Scar in the 1994 movie, The Lion King. I could hear that Scar in him, despite how he wasn’t evil.

And Saphira was very well-developed. I loved how she used her thoughts to communicate with people. They even sounded like they came from an intelligent woman. I consider that creative because some consider animals actually talking childish and overdone.

The pacing was quick. I couldn’t believe how much time had passed from scene to scene. There was also a lot of action, which also kept the movie fun.

It never got too scary or violent. Some parts, however, were a little too slow or neutral. But that is a minor flaw.

Overall, I enjoyed Eragon. It was a fantastic, adventurous, and action-packed tale that people of all ages can watch.

I give this film 4 out of 5 stars.