Movie Review: Reign of Fire

Reign of Fire

I have a guilty secret to share: I love dragons. I collect dragon figures and I read dragon books. Needless to say, dragon movies are very high on my list of "must see" films! Perhaps it's because I had such high expectations of Reign of Fire that I found it so disappointing. On the other hand, it could be because of a medicore script.

In Reign of Fire, dragons plague the earth in the near future. Scorching everything to ash, they prove impervious to the best efforts of mankind to stop the deadly progress of their takeover. In England, a human enclave barely survives. Children are drilled for action in the event of a dragon-sighting; men and women are haggard and filthy as they try to eke out a subsistence living. This group, led by a man named Quinn (Christian Bale), has its share of internal strife, and some doubt the group will live much longer. But then an American soldier arrives with claims that he has killed dragons in the past, and promises that he will kill more. Despite doubts of his prowess and bare tolerance for his grating personality, Van Zan (Matthew McConaughey) and his followers are admitted behind the protective stone walls. Quinn finds himself attracted to a pretty but tough helicopter pilot named Alex (Izabella Scorupco), but that attraction isn't enough to control his growing antipathy for Van Zan.

The set decoration and cinematography for Reign of Fire is excellent. The future inhabited by the remnants of humanity is rough, dirty, dark, and dangerous, and you'll never forget it as the camera pans across the landscape. The vestiges of civilization are heartrending and yet all but inconsequential as the battle for survival is waged. Matthew McConaughey, who has played everything from the minister (Contact) to the leading man (The Wedding Planner), offers up yet another aspect of his wide-ranging talents by breathing irrascible life into Van Zan. You won't like him much either, but in a fight, you'll want him at your back. Christian Bale admirably exemplifies a man tortured by guilt and burdened by responsibility, but yet still in possession of an undying spark of hope. And Izabella Scorupco is a beautiful woman who looks like she actually enjoys being among the toughest of the guys.

The special effects, as produced by DreamQuest, are superlative. The dragons live and breathe fire before your eyes, and the sight of one in flight is inspiring; an attacking dragon is truly awesome. The detail, even for a dead dragon, is extensive and wholly believable, and the convergence of sound with the visual effects is flawless.

The script, however, is another story. Reign of Fire is a short movie - only an hour and a half. It seems to me that the extra time could have been used to flesh out some details that were sorely lacking. The archangels, a truly compelling special forces unit, are barely touched upon. The background of Van Zan and his crew is all but non-existent. And the years from the discovery of the first dragon to the near-annihalation of humanity are glossed over so quickly that you're never quite sure how it all happened. I liked the movie none-the-less, but as I told you from the start: I love dragons.

FAMILY SUITABILITY: Reign of Fire is rated PG-13, which is probably just about right. The movie is violent and, at times, graphically gruesome. Small children will be terrified, especially since there is a point in the film where small children are in mortal peril. Even older children will likely be more frightened than thrilled; those special effects are GOOD!