Aptly described as `Mad Max with dragons', this movie is set in a post-Apocalyptic world, circa 2020, where the earth has been decimated by dragons, unleashed from a cave. Now small bands of people eke out a living in remote areas, hoping for the dragons to die out (as they are unable to find a sustainable food supply for their huge numbers). One of these bands is led by Quinn (Christian Bale). Food is running low and he's only barely managing to keep it together. when along comes a group of American fighters, led by Van Zan (a very beefed up Matthew McConaughey). He wants to take out the dragons. but is this a great plan or the ideas of a mad man?
You don't expect much from a movie like this so I was not really that disappointed. The script here. is passable. The reason for the dragon's existence is never revealed nor does it need to be - I was happy to accept the scenario. There've been some complaints about the pacing of the movie, with a leaden middle section. This is somewhat true - the movie contained less action than I might have expected and the characters are not quite strong enough, nor the dialogue, to push it along. It's all a bit contrived but, as I did not expect intelligence. I did not feel let down when I did not get it (although a pleasant surprise would have been good). The climatic ending. is a decent action piece. Most of the action pieces are fairly accomplished, with enough tension to get you involved (even if the outcome, and the `who loves, who dies' is quite predictable).
Acting. is nothing amazing. I did not find Bale's accent quite as jarring as other reviewers seem to have but I did not feel it was especially brilliant either. He's not got much of a character to work with here, like he did in `American Psycho' and instead it's the more cardboard cut-out action guy (trying to add dimension via a few moments of brooding). McConaughey seems to have more fun in his role as swaggering, beefy hardcore-military man - you just know he wants to have a cigar clasped between his lips. All the rest are too dimensionless to register with you (including the love interest, Alex, via Izabella Scorupco) but hey - I never expected any more.
The SFX generally hold up well and the fire breathing scenes do not appear to be the stream of computer bytes that they actually are. Director Rob Bowman directs these action sequences well, with enough edginess (from his work on `The X-Files') to make you sit up on your seat. He doesn't attempt anything outside of his skill, but perhaps should have attempted some more judicious editing in certain areas (such as pointless `character building' moments). Still I've no complaints with him otherwise, and he makes nice use of the Irish location and the tools he's presented with.
`Reign of Fire' should be taken with a pinch of salt and a laid-back attitude. It's a bit dumb but a bit fun. It's certainly the best dragon movie ever. but that's not saying much. Brainless entertainment that lacks repeat value. 5.8/10.
You don't expect much from a movie like this so I was not really that disappointed. The script here. is passable. The reason for the dragon's existence is never revealed nor does it need to be - I was happy to accept the scenario. There've been some complaints about the pacing of the movie, with a leaden middle section. This is somewhat true - the movie contained less action than I might have expected and the characters are not quite strong enough, nor the dialogue, to push it along. It's all a bit contrived but, as I did not expect intelligence. I did not feel let down when I did not get it (although a pleasant surprise would have been good). The climatic ending. is a decent action piece. Most of the action pieces are fairly accomplished, with enough tension to get you involved (even if the outcome, and the `who loves, who dies' is quite predictable).
Acting. is nothing amazing. I did not find Bale's accent quite as jarring as other reviewers seem to have but I did not feel it was especially brilliant either. He's not got much of a character to work with here, like he did in `American Psycho' and instead it's the more cardboard cut-out action guy (trying to add dimension via a few moments of brooding). McConaughey seems to have more fun in his role as swaggering, beefy hardcore-military man - you just know he wants to have a cigar clasped between his lips. All the rest are too dimensionless to register with you (including the love interest, Alex, via Izabella Scorupco) but hey - I never expected any more.
The SFX generally hold up well and the fire breathing scenes do not appear to be the stream of computer bytes that they actually are. Director Rob Bowman directs these action sequences well, with enough edginess (from his work on `The X-Files') to make you sit up on your seat. He doesn't attempt anything outside of his skill, but perhaps should have attempted some more judicious editing in certain areas (such as pointless `character building' moments). Still I've no complaints with him otherwise, and he makes nice use of the Irish location and the tools he's presented with.
`Reign of Fire' should be taken with a pinch of salt and a laid-back attitude. It's a bit dumb but a bit fun. It's certainly the best dragon movie ever. but that's not saying much. Brainless entertainment that lacks repeat value. 5.8/10.