With the advance of CG special effects within the past few years, Hollywood has been able to bring more and more creatures to life on the big screen. One of the most legendary creatures Hollywood has tried to bring back is the dragon. Past attempts, like “Dragon Heart” and “Godzilla” were movie making atrocities. The most recent attempt at the subject matter is “Reign of Fire.” Surprisingly, “Reign of Fire” burns away doubts to create a fully enjoyable movie. While it is destined to B movie mediocrity, it is entertaining with a decent story line, interesting visuals, and solid performances from its male leads, Christian Bale (“American Psycho”) and Matthew McCounaughey (“Frailty”).
The movie is set in a post-apocalyptic world where dragons, ancient evil creatures that had long been sleeping, have awoken and destroyed most of humanity. Christian Bale plays Quinn, a young leader of a small group of humans struggling to survive the holocaust created by the dragons. Quinn and his people are trying to stay hidden and outlive the beasts. Quinn and the other survivors struggle with the constant threat of dragon attacks as well as the difficulty of feeding themselves in a burnt up world. However, his world is shaken when Van Zan (McConaughey), shows up leading his train of tanks, helicopters, and dragon slayers.
McConaughey’s character is a combination between Mad Max and Sergeant Slaughter, and he pulls him off with total B movie bravado. Cigar chewing and tattooed, Van Zan tries to eliminate the dragon threat and free humanity from their tyranny. Conflict between Van Zan and Quinn quickly grows as the two men butt heads over their two very different philosophies on how to deal with the dragons. Quinn wants to keep his people safe while Van Zan wants to risk it all and destroy the dragons forever. In the end the two team up to fight the only male dragon in its home in London.
“Reign of Fire” is directed by “X-Files” veteran Rob Bowman, who does a great job with the visual aspects of the movie. The setting is dark and medieval, much of it taking place within an old castle. The world that Bowman creates is very much what one would expect if everything were destroyed by dragons. One especially amazing shot shows the burned out city of London, now populated with a horde of dragons. The special effects are the standard CG fair, but look good and work with the feel of the movie. “Reign of Fire” has a few especially high-quality action sequences that keep the movie exciting and fun to watch.
Overall I was very surprised with “Reign of Fire.” I had expected to see your typical creature feature complete with a totally ridiculous story line, a boring love story, and cliché action sequences. While the movie did have some of these aspects, the visuals combined with a better than average story line and made the movie an enjoyable watch. While Bale and McConaughey’s performances are not stunning, they fit well with the overall feel of the movie. “Reign of Fire” is what it’s supposed to be — a B Hollywood film about dragons. It does not try to be more than it is and stays true to its own conventions.
Grade B.
