Eragon: book to movie flop

Eragon, Christopher Paolini‘s first novel, became an instant bestselling fantasy novel when it was published professionally in 2003. The story is very reminiscent of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. Eragon takes place in the mythical land of Alagaësia. It follows the adventures of a teenager named Eragon and his dragon Saphira. In Alagaësia, there used to be a number of dragons and dragon riders; this elite group kept peace in the land. However, one dragon rider, Galbatorix, went mad after his dragon was killed. He led a group called the Forsworn, a group of thirteen riders that betrayed and killed the other riders. Galbatorix then made himself king of Alagaësia.

For years the inhabitants of the land lived in oppression, believing that dragons were extinct. One day, a teenager found a peculiar blue stone in the forest. He brought it home with him, thinking it could be worth some money. No one seemed to want the stone, so he kept it. One day the “stone” hatched, expelling a baby dragon and making Eragon a dragon rider. This event bought hope to the resistance movement. The novel tells the story of Eragon and Saphira’s adventures in trying to reach the resistance movement and climaxes in a large battle between the resistance and the king’s men.

As most of you probably know, the novel was adapted into a film that was released in December of 2006. Being great admirers of both Eragon and its sequel, Eldest, my brother and I set off to see the film. The movie proved to be disappointing to fans of the novel. Granted, the novel was quite lengthy, but nearly half of it was left out of the film. Also, the characters did not look as they should. Dwarves and elves were indiscernible from humans. So many characters and events were omitted that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to make the sequel.

As most people are when they see the film adaptation of a treasured novel, I was disappointed overall. The film may be decent enough for those who are not familiar with Paolini’s work, but I believe that those who have read the book will have share my feelings. The director and screenwriters simply chose to cut out too much of the storyline.