Reign of Fire
From AwardAnnals
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| Director(s) | Rob Bowman |
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| Distributor | Touchstone / Disney |
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| The Road Warrior meets Dragonslayer in the briskly entertaining post-apocalyptic action thriller Reign of Fire. Reign of Fire exists primarily to give us a bigger and better dragon than the Vermithrax Pejorative of 1981’s classic Dragonslayer, and in that regard, the special effects are mightily impressive; the reptilian fire-breathers are stupendously convincing. While the earlier film offers a richer, more whimsical medieval adventure, Reign of Fire is a fast-moving tale of man versus dragon that takes place in the… | |
Honors
Reviews
Amazon.com
The Road Warrior meets Dragonslayer in the briskly entertaining post-apocalyptic action thriller Reign of Fire. Reign of Fire exists primarily to give us a bigger and better dragon than the Vermithrax Pejorative of 1981’s classic Dragonslayer, and in that regard, the special effects are mightily impressive; the reptilian fire-breathers are stupendously convincing. While the earlier film offers a richer, more whimsical medieval adventure, Reign of Fire is a fast-moving tale of man versus dragon that takes place in the charred England of 2020, after Earth has been scorched by rapidly multiplying dragons and the aftermath of a futile nuclear counterstrike. Mixing high-tech gadgetry with primitive survivalism, X-Files alumnus Rob Bowman makes the most of his midlevel budget, establishing a lavish castle base for the rugged, adversarial teaming of Christian Bale and Matthew McConaughey as dragonslayers on the brink of extinction. With a steady supply of crowd-pleasing highlights, Reign of Fire is a pyrotechnical treat. —Jeff Shannon
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Not quite the large-scale epic it promised to be, Reign of Fire is still an enjoyable entry in the post-catastrophe genre. It opens in present-day London with a boy witnessing the rebirth of the race of dragons, who are supposed to have wiped out the dinosaurs and now devastate the world again. Skipping the collapse of society with a montage of magazine articles about the world in flames, we jump into the future where the remnants of humanity cower in enclaves and fire-breathing raggedy-winged bat-lizards prowl the land. Christian Bale commands a castle in Northumberland, trying to preserve humanity, while Matthew McConaughey is an iron man warrior intent on tracking down and destroying the dragon king, making for a hero-against-hero clash of values which, for a change, finds the British preserver of life, rather than the Yankee animal-killer, getting the girl and the glory.
The film consists mostly of scrabbling about in the ruins, and it rather skimps on the big dragon battles the script seems to demand. There’s little here that hasn’t been done before in The Day of the Triffids on television or that slew of Italian Mad Max imitations of the early 1980s. But director Rob Bowman (The X-Files) and a good cast handle themselves well, and the few times that the dragons do show up they deliver an acceptable burst of fiery horror. —Kim Newman
Barnes and Noble
Yet another sci-fi movie presenting a bleak vision of post-apocalyptic civilization, Reign of Fire breaks from tradition by introducing a menace more suitable to sword-and-sorcery fantasies than futuristic thrillers. The film is set in 2020, some years after a horde of fire-breathing dragons have emerged from the earth’s bowels. Having all but obliterated mankind, these flying foes have established their dominance over the world—but they’re about to get their first serious challenge from English survivor Quinn (Christian Bale) and rugged American soldier Van Zan (Matthew McConaughey). Thanks to the expertise of computer-graphics experts, Reign’s dragons are the most hideously realistic that have ever graced the screen, and director Rob Bowman (The X Files) shows commendable restraint in keeping them off screen whenever possible, which maximizes the effect of scenes in which they do appear. Bale’s character is not your typical sci-fi hero: He doesn’t have all the answers, he can be downright surly, and he’s only effective when being goaded into action by McConaughey’s character. Izabella Scorupco registers solidly as one of Van Zan’s warriors, and unlike most genre heroines, her contribution to the film is more than decorative. Ingenious art direction sustains the illusion of mass destruction and desolate landscapes, and the fine cinematography combined with clever lighting effects helps establish mood. Extremely well paced and studded with truly spectacular action sequences, Reign of Fire is one of 2002’s best genre films. Ed Hulse
