Eragon by Christopher Paolini

Eragon tells the fantasy story of Eragon, a teen farmboy who discovers he is destined to become a dragon rider when he finds a rare dragon egg while searching for food in the forest. Dragon riders in this story are much like Jedi knights in Star Wars- using magic, they are supposed to uphold good against evil and make sure justice prevails. Eragon raises the dragon and develops a tight bond with her. When his uncle is killed and his farm destroyed, Eragon and his dragon go to avenge them.

The movie is good, though not great. However, that may be because it is difficult to not compare it to other fantasy epics like Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings. The special effects are realistic and enjoyable in themselves (they had some help from Industrial Light and Magic). On the other hand, if you are a major fan of the book, you may have trouble with the movie. The book is epic, but the movie does not have enough time to cover all of the story's twists and details. For lovers of the book, Eragon will seem watered down and will notice that much of the original story is missing or changed. However, it is still fun and satisfying to see Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, is action. The parts of the movie that do stay true to the story manage to breath life into the book as well. Hopefully, the next installment, assuming they are making a movie of it, will have a larger budget that might allow for more time to portray the whole story.

Directed by Stefen Fangmeier; Starring Michael A. Mehlmann, Ed Speleers, Tamas Deak, and and Jeremy Irons

Movie; 10+; 20th Century Fox, 2006