FOR some reason movies about dragons haven't done well at the box-office. Eragon might just buck the trend not because it's a brilliant movie but because the book on which this fantasy adventure is based was a publishing phenomenon - a bestseller written by a teenager about a teenage hero.

Eragon (newcomer Speleers) is a lad who finds a big sapphire egg and sees it hatch a cute little dragon which he names Saphira and which rapidly grows into a very large, fire-breathing beast.

The two communicate by reading each other's thoughts, which saves the animators having to bother about dragon lip movements. This is where it all goes very Lord Of The Rings with lots of silly names like Alagaesia (the land where he lives), King Galbatori (nasty ruler) and Durze (even nastier evil sorcerer) that just make you want to giggle, although the actors deserve a medal for keeping a straight face.

Despite director Stefan Fangmeier harnessing the latest special effects to conjure up the dragon, this all looks and feels old-fashioned as if it's borrowed bits and pieces from half-a-dozen other fantasy films rather than created anything startlingly original. Speleers - despite looking disconcertingly like another young actor, Alex Pettyfer, from this summer's junior James Bond adventure Stormbreaker - makes a posh hero, more public schoolboy than peasant as he becomes a dragon rider and generally saves the day.

Irons is hardly taxed playing mentor to Eragon, starting out speaking with a cockney accent only to abandon it in favour of his usual voice. Guillory gets to be an action girl as a warrior named Arya, Hounsou barely gets a look in as rebel leader Varden, and leaves Carlyle to have a ball as the unpleasant magic man Durza. Like the novel, its appeal I suspect will lie with younger cinemagoers who can imagine themselves in the hero's shoes.

Stars: Ed Speleers, Jeremy Irons, Sienna Guilory, Robert Carlyle, Djimon Hounsou and Rachel Weisz (as the voice of Saphira)
Running time: 104 mins
Rating: Three stars