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Reign Of Fire - A Review 08/03/2002
I suppose you could call me a contrarian. It seems I like movies that others don't. A case in point is Reign Of Fire. I took my 17-year-old son to see this film this weekend and we both enjoyed it. It's a fun romp about mankind being pushed to the edge of extinction after a tunnel-drilling project in London uncovers a race of dormant dragons. Small groups of people around the world are scrabbling desperately to survive and at the same time not be noticed by the roving, and now starving, dragons.
Directed by Rob Bowman, this is only his second foray onto the big screen (Airborne) after years of work on The X-Files TV series. It stars Christian Bale (Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Shaft (2000), American Psycho, Empire Of The Sun) as Quinn, the sole survivor of the initial encounter with the dragons and the leader of one of the small pockets, Matthew McConaughey (The Wedding Planner, U-571, Contact, A Time To Kill) as Van Zan, the leader of a group of American warriors come to England to kill the alpha dragon, and Izabella Scorupco (Vertical Limit, Golden Eye) as Alex, Van Zan's chopper pilot and executive officer.
I thought the explanations of where the dragons originated, how they breath fire, and evidence of past risings of the species were quite clever, and actually added a "hmmmm, could be" moment or two. The plot didn't feel contrived or forced and Bale, McConaughey, and Scorupco all turned in good believable performances. McConaughey who obviously and impressively bulked up for the role, does go over the top once or twice, but it fits with the - no pun intended - "burning zealot" persona he portrays. Several thoughtful touches are in evidence, like the works in the childrens' bedtime prayer. Also, there's one small scene that movie and sci-fi buffs especially, will get a kick out of
Celebrated cinematographer Adrian Biddle (The Mummy, The World Is Not Enough, Event Horizon, Thelma & Louise, Willow, The Princess Bride, Aliens) gives us scenes alternating from dark underground, poorly lit warrens to dragons' flames in the dark to dank drizzly days to a couple of fleeting bright sunshine shots. Colors vary accordingly from blacks, grays and blues to a normal palette with the majority being the darker and more somber hues. This succeeds in imparting a very appropriate sense of gloom and forboding to most of the film. Special effects are tremendous - especially the dragons. They are reminiscent of the adult dragon from Dragonslayer, a cross between a lizard and a bat with a really foul temper. Long shots of a ravaged London are well done without the feeling of looking at a painted backdrop or CGI.
The soundtrack is about what you'd expect from a sci-fi action film, lots of activity in all channels with good strong LFE when appropriate - such as tanks rumbling, dragons flaming, helicopters zooming by. The dialog is well rendered and "hearable" in all scenes, although I do have to admit the accents of Mr. Bale and other English actors to a few scenes to get the hang of.
Overall, this is one of the better monsters vs. humans films I've seen in years. Grab your popcorn and soda. Sit back and enjoy the ride.
I give Reign Of Fire :35: out of :5:.
David - HTGuide flunky
Our "Theater"
Our DVDs on DVD Tracker
I suppose you could call me a contrarian. It seems I like movies that others don't. A case in point is Reign Of Fire. I took my 17-year-old son to see this film this weekend and we both enjoyed it. It's a fun romp about mankind being pushed to the edge of extinction after a tunnel-drilling project in London uncovers a race of dormant dragons. Small groups of people around the world are scrabbling desperately to survive and at the same time not be noticed by the roving, and now starving, dragons.
Directed by Rob Bowman, this is only his second foray onto the big screen (Airborne) after years of work on The X-Files TV series. It stars Christian Bale (Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Shaft (2000), American Psycho, Empire Of The Sun) as Quinn, the sole survivor of the initial encounter with the dragons and the leader of one of the small pockets, Matthew McConaughey (The Wedding Planner, U-571, Contact, A Time To Kill) as Van Zan, the leader of a group of American warriors come to England to kill the alpha dragon, and Izabella Scorupco (Vertical Limit, Golden Eye) as Alex, Van Zan's chopper pilot and executive officer.
I thought the explanations of where the dragons originated, how they breath fire, and evidence of past risings of the species were quite clever, and actually added a "hmmmm, could be" moment or two. The plot didn't feel contrived or forced and Bale, McConaughey, and Scorupco all turned in good believable performances. McConaughey who obviously and impressively bulked up for the role, does go over the top once or twice, but it fits with the - no pun intended - "burning zealot" persona he portrays. Several thoughtful touches are in evidence, like the works in the childrens' bedtime prayer. Also, there's one small scene that movie and sci-fi buffs especially, will get a kick out of
Celebrated cinematographer Adrian Biddle (The Mummy, The World Is Not Enough, Event Horizon, Thelma & Louise, Willow, The Princess Bride, Aliens) gives us scenes alternating from dark underground, poorly lit warrens to dragons' flames in the dark to dank drizzly days to a couple of fleeting bright sunshine shots. Colors vary accordingly from blacks, grays and blues to a normal palette with the majority being the darker and more somber hues. This succeeds in imparting a very appropriate sense of gloom and forboding to most of the film. Special effects are tremendous - especially the dragons. They are reminiscent of the adult dragon from Dragonslayer, a cross between a lizard and a bat with a really foul temper. Long shots of a ravaged London are well done without the feeling of looking at a painted backdrop or CGI.
The soundtrack is about what you'd expect from a sci-fi action film, lots of activity in all channels with good strong LFE when appropriate - such as tanks rumbling, dragons flaming, helicopters zooming by. The dialog is well rendered and "hearable" in all scenes, although I do have to admit the accents of Mr. Bale and other English actors to a few scenes to get the hang of.
Overall, this is one of the better monsters vs. humans films I've seen in years. Grab your popcorn and soda. Sit back and enjoy the ride.
I give Reign Of Fire :35: out of :5:.
David - HTGuide flunky
Our "Theater"
Our DVDs on DVD Tracker
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