The Plot:
In the far away country of Alagaësia, darkness rules. Former dragon rider and tyrannical ruler Galbatorix has wiped out the rest of his mythic race, and continues to pursue the rebel Varden, a people bent on bringing peace and prosperity back to their homeland. There has been a prophecy foretold, that a new dragon rider will rise up and challenge the king, delivering the populace from the warring influence of the power hungry madman's supernatural Ra'zac forces and his army of angry Urgals. One night, young Eragon is out hunting, when a magic blue stone appears before him. It's not long before the item identifies itself – it's the last remaining dragon egg. It hatches, and soon, Eragon is anointed a dragon rider, with his noble beast Saphira by his side. With the help of a local man named Brom (who hides a mysterious past) and an elf Princess named Arya, Eragon heads for the Varden city, there to lead all of Alagaësia out of bondage. Of course, Galbatorix will stop at nothing to see both dragon and rider dead. He even sends his sinister sorcerer Durza, an evil black magic casting Shade, to make sure the deed is done.

The DVD:
Eragon is not awful, it's just not very necessary. Adolescent author Christopher Paolini even admits as much. When interviewed for the copious bonus features offered as part of this brand new DVD, he states very clearly that the reason he wrote the first of his Inheritance Trilogy books was because he had run out of things to read in his local library. Perhaps this is why his saga of a naïve young farmboy, a grizzled ex-dragon rider, and a merciless and despotic king feels like an amalgamation of every other sci-fi, fantasy and speculative work of fiction already on the shelf. Add in the obvious influence of Star Wars, a dozen derivative big screen epics – films with names like Krull, Willow, Dragonheart and Dragonslayer – and the truly underdeveloped imagination of a literary neophyte who lacks the inherent experience to draft anything longer than a pamphlet, and you have a recipe for something routine and derivative. Now, place all this in the hands of a German director making his feature film debut (after years handling special effects for the likes of Signs and The Perfect Storm) and the reasons behind this wannabe blockbusters ultimate failings are fairly obvious. Instead of going out and creating something new, Eragon just wants to borrow from better efforts. Of course, this means it must live or die by the eventual comparisons.

And boy does this movie roll over and start pushing up the 'been there, done that' daisies right from the start. Actually, a fairly involved drinking game could be developed in connection with naming the numerous riffs Eragon nips from. Every time George Lucas gets copied, do a shot. For each instance when Lord of the Rings is more or less mimicked, chug a brewski. By the time you get down to the segments stolen from He-Man, The Legend of Zelda, and numerous games of Magic: The Gathering, you'll be well on your way to a case of acute alcohol poisoning. In fact, it's hard to find a single unique element in this entire cockeyed coming of age morality play. As a hero, Eragon is as hollow as a tree filled with cookie-making elves. As essayed by newcomer Edward Speleers, he makes Mark Hamill look like Marlon 'friggin' Brando. In the role of our expositional Obi-Wan, Jeremy Irons proves he learned nothing from his previous work in the god-awful geekfest Dungeons and Dragons. His Brom is a mere plot catalyst waiting for an act of self-sacrifice to come along and rescue him from this ridiculousness. Most of the other characters are ancillary and unfocused, with cameo contributions from John Malkovich (as the evil overlord) and Djimon Honsou (as the leader of the oddly named Varden rebels). Only Robert Carlyle stands out as Durza, a Shade (read: wizard) who looks like Ozzy Osbourne after a particularly rough divorce from Sharon and an ill-advised quickie nuptials with Heather Mills McCartney.

Part of the problem is the story's simplistic plotting. Basically, Eragon must accept his fate, learn life lessons from Brom, put them into play during a valiant rescue mission, and finally come to grips with his potential during one of those overblown battles that seem to define life in many parts of Middle Earth. The whole dragon element is inconsequential to what happens. Indeed, the beast known as Saphira is just a 'go to' device, a 'thing' that sits out on the edge of the narrative, called in when something (rescue, escape, magic) is needed to pull the plot out of another fine morass. And since it's rendered in such a cloying, cutesy manner, we don't even respond to its supposed majesty. It looks like a refugee from Disney's My Little Mythical Beast. Toss in bad guys that are so non-descript as to be instantly forgettable, a peculiar mid-movie moment that seems culled directly out of the Anakin Skywalker book of betrayal, and loads of ludicrous spell casting incantations (and you thought Paul Atreides cornered the market on queer catchphrases) and the results are totally transparent. Eragon may find favor with those who've not lived long enough to understand how archetypical and formulaic it all is. On the other hand, it's so patently plebian that underdeveloped zygotes should be able to see through its Renaissance Fair level of retardation.

The Video:
Visually speaking, Eragon looks like any other post-millennial motion picture. There is an overreliance on subpar CGI, a decidedly soft appearance to the matte painting backdrops, and a professional amount of color correction and contrast control. Still, when all is said and done, the 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen image is not all that impressive. Now, this could be because Fox refused to send final product versions of the title to critics (what is being reviewed here is a well-labeled "SCREENER" with floating corporate logos occasionally appearing within the frame), but it could also be a case of midlevel movie making. Whatever the reason, don't expect to be blown away by the transfer here. It's merely acceptable, not reference quality or praise worthy.

The Audio:
As part of the aural tech specs, Fox provides both a standard Dolby Digital 5.1 mix and a slightly improved DTS version of the same track. Neither is particularly powerful, except when the battle scenes and flight sequences are on screen. There is limited directional usage, some nice spatial ambience, and an occasional background effect or two. Still, the dialogue is easily discernible, and the musical score by Patrick Doyle (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) is clear and crisp. Again, there is not the attention to sonic detail that you'll find in other big budget spectacles, but the audio elements provided will not disappoint.

The Extras:
Released in one of three different variations (Single Disc Widescreen, Single Disc Full Screen, or Two Disc Special Edition Widescreen – which is what is being discussed here), the amount of added content will vary depending on which version you decide to purchase. All three contain the primary movie complement – a full length audio commentary from director Stefen Fangmeier. Proud as punch over his first big time opportunity behind the camera, our filmmaker discusses his obvious influences (Steven Spielberg) and how he approached the narrative gaps in the screenplay (basically – throw dragon footage at them). He also discusses character design, casting, and the difficulties of filming in Eastern Europe. Overall, it's an interesting track, though one obviously hampered by the film being supplemented.

As part of the Special Edition, there is a wealth of material on Disc 2. Set up like a map of Alagaësia, each area has a separate purpose. We will approach a discussion of these bonus features in a similar manner, starting with:

Carvahall - Inside the Inheritance Trilogy – The Magic of Eragon: Here's our chance to hear author Christopher Paolini defend his book, and he does a decent job of making it sound like a brilliantly rendered original idea. He does drop hints about future installments in the series, so those who are curious where this storyline is going will want to listen up.

Daret - The Inhabitants of Alagaësia: Director Fangmeier walks us through a discussion on each of the major characters, and native tribes, that appear in Eragon. It's interesting, but not crucial to our understanding of the film.

The Spine - Vision of Eragon: A look at director Fangmeier's visualized storyboards for the movie, complete with added commentary by the filmmaker. There is also a concept art gallery. Both show that the picture was planned out pretty well right from the beginning. Why that didn't translate into onscreen excitement is anyone's guess.

Gil'ead - Extended and Deleted Sequences: A collection of cut sequences, as well as moments in the movie trimmed for time. None of the material here is really necessary to the overall storyline, since it mostly deals with elements that are explained visually, or merely left to the viewer's imagination.

Teirm - A Pronunciation Guide, Storyboard Gallery, Lost Storyboard Gallery: Though it's hard to imagine Paolini's language becoming the next Klingon, or Elvish, you can still practice your magic incantations thanks to this articulation chart. The galleries are nice, but very repetitive.

Hadarac Desert - Saphira's Animation Guide with Director Commentary – Instead of dealing with the CGI (which is left for a later piece) Fangmeier deals with the initial design of the dragon. Wanting to make it cute, not creepy, he talks about the different approaches to the character (which we then see illustrated through artist's concept sketches) and how specific details were added (mismatched scales) to take away the computer's inherent tendency toward perfection.

Urú'Baen - An Interview with author Christopher Paolini regarding Eldest: Paolini again, this time talking exclusively about the second book in his trilogy, and how certain elements from Eragon will fit into its narrative. It's an odd piece, since Eldest is already out, and anyone who is a fan of the series will have already read the book. Still, he does give away a few Part 3 particulars, so Inheritance series fans, listen up!

Beor Mountains - Trailers and Video Game Ads: Standard stuff, nothing interesting.

Farthen Dûr - The Secrets of Alagaësia – A Look at the Special Effects: With a couple of the crew on hand to walk us through the process, we learn how difficult sequences like the opening dragon war and closing Varden battle were created. It's your standard special effects tour, with lots of greenscreen and CGI mentions.

Final Thoughts:
It's perhaps a safe bet that, unless this DVD release makes scads of extra moolah, we won't be seeing a second film from the Inheritance Trilogy. Just like the highly vaunted Lemony Snicket series, one mediocre turn at the box office can undermine a planned mulit-picture franchise. In this case, however, the lack of a follow up is fully warranted. Eragon is a big, dumb unoriginal retread, a greatest hits package of previous genre efforts that actually forgets to include the mandatory killer tracks as part of the package. Instead, it provides nothing more than ancillary album filler and uninspired b-sides. For anyone who is a serious fan of the fantasy film, or those devoted to real speculative fiction ala Tolkein, there is nothing here that won't make your retch in recognition of a brazen bottom feeder effort. This is one underdone extravaganza that easily earns a Skip It. Unless you've got wee ones who require a digital babysitter to keep them quiet while you have your 19th nervous breakdown, there is no reason to give this film your hard earned cash. It will just encourage Christopher Paolini - and we really don't want that now, do we?

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