Arya (Sienna Guillory), the Elf Princess of Ellesméra, runs through the forest with a strange object, pursued by Durza (Robert Carlyle), the dark sorcerer of King Galbatorix (John Malcovich). When she is cornered, she teleports the object far away. Eragon (Ed Speleers), a farm boy in Alagaesia, living with his Uncle Garrow (Alun Armstrong) and his cousin Roran (Chris Egan), is hunting for deer when the stone appears before him. He takes it to his village to trade it for meat, but the local butcher is terrified and tells him to get rid of it before the King finds out about it. He brings it home and it hatches out a cute blue dragon.
He raises the dragon and teaches her how to fly as she grows. They are telepathically linked and she says her name is Saphira (voice of Rachel Weisz). Durza’s orc-like minions, the Ra’zac, attack Eragon’s village and kill his uncle. Eragon blames Saphira because he was out riding her at the time and sends her away. Brom (Jeremy Irons), a cynical traveller, appears and takes Eragon away from the village, urging him to take Saphira back. He knows a lot about dragons and magic and is obviously the Mentor of the story.
Brom leads them toward the rebel fighters, the Varden, in the mountains. On the way, he tutors the lad in swordplay and dragon lore and basic magic. Eragon is warned by a fortune-telling girl (Joss Stone) that a girl is waiting for his help, and he has a vision of Arya in distress. Brom and Aragon are attacked by King Galbatorix’s Urgal warriors and Aragon slays them with magic, nearly killing himself in the process. He is saved by Saphira, and Brom tries to teach him to control his powers. Brom admits that he was a dragon-rider as a callow youth and the death of his dragon nearly destroyed him.
Durza sets a trap for them using Arya as bait. Aragon hears her voice in his mind and falls into Durza’s trap. Brom is mortally wounded helping him. Eragon thinks he has killed Durza because he disappears when Aragon puts an arrow into his forehead. Brom dies happy, riding a dragon again, and Eragon takes his sacred sword. They are followed by Murtagh (Garret Hedlund), who guides them to the Varden. But he was the son of a turncoat and is imprisoned. Durza and his unholy army attack the Varden camp. Murtagh escapes his cell and aids the Varden. Eragon and Saphira battle Durza riding his creature in the skies. Durza is killed but Saphira gravely injured. Eragon tries to save her with magic but passes out. But the next day, she is recovered and they fly off. They meet up with Arya, off to recruit the Elves. In his castle, the king reveals his own black dragon.
The film was directed by Stefan Fangmeier and written by Peter Buchman, loosely based on Christopher Paolini’s 2002 novel, the first of a planned series. The special effects were by ILM and Weta Digital and they were first-rate, but the reviews were bad, and though it made some money, it was the tenth worst reviewed film on Rotten Tomatoes, at 16% positive. Thus, the rest of Paolini’s Inheritance Cycle books were never filmed, and some characters were introduced and then vanished. The score was penned by Patrick Doyle, who did the music for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. It was nominated for a Saturn.
Critics were particularly harsh. It was said to lack magic, it was lifeless, without depth, derivative and generic. Was it as bad as all that? Well, the Dragon was pretty damn good and that’s what I’m there for. Jeremy Irons was watchable, Malcovich was wasted, and Robert Carlyle was not terribly convincing as a great and powerful wizard. No cliché was left unturned, but fantasy films, like Westerns, are all cliché anyway. I was not thrilled with Rachel Weisz as the voice (or thoughts) of the dragon; I couldn’t help comparing it to Sean Connery’s Draco. Saphira did not seem craggy and spiky enough for my taste in dragons. I’m getting picky, now. As a female dragon I guess she was supposed to be smooth and pretty, but I’m sure there are voice-actresses who could have put a bit of animalistic menace in her voice. But the flying sequences were beautiful, based on the movements of eagles