Reign of Fire Cinema

Paul Greenwood reviews

Reign of Fire

• Cert:
• Running time: 100 minutes
• Year: 2002
• Released: 23rd August 2002
• Widescreen Ratio: 2.35:1
• Rating: 7/10

Director:

Rob Bowman

Cast:

Quinn : Christian Bale
Van Zan : Matthew McConaughey
Alex Jensen : Izabella Scorupco
Dave Creedy : Gerard Butler
Jared Wilke : Scott Moutter
Eddie Stax : David Kennedy
Ajay : Alexander Siddig
Barlow : Ned Dennehy
Devon : Rory Keenan
Gideon : Terence Maynard
Young Quinn : Ben Thornton
Karen Abercromby : Alice Krige

I’d been looking forward to this for months,but as the release grew nearerI began to get more apprehensive as I started reading some underwhelmingreports, mostly criticising the fact that the film didn’t live up to theposter’s promise of mass destruction. Basically, people were disappointedthat it didn’t turn out to beIndependence Daywith dragons. Thank God forthat! The last thing we needed was another preposterous special effectsextravaganza. What we get instead is a grim, mournful vision of apost-apocalyptic society with the odd dragon attack thrown in.

So, it’s Mad Max with dragons then? Well, partly. But to use such a cheapHollywood pitch is to do it a disservice. This is a thoughtful, sorrowfulfilm that conveys the true despair among the few survivors of a near futureEarth that has been practically destroyed by dragons. A small band of themlive together in a castle in the north of England and, led by Quinn, theydo what they can just to survive day to day. When some American soldiersarrive at their camp there is conflict between Quinn and Van Zan, leader ofthe soldiers. Van Zan wants to take the fight to the dragons, believingthem to be merely flesh and blood creatures that can be killed if you havebig enough weapons and know how to use them. Quinn just wants to evadethem.

Bale is outstanding in a role that demands more than a typical action man.As the leader of the rag-tag group of survivors, he is part teacher, partpriest and part protector. Quinn is a haunted man struggling with theburden of the responsibility placed upon, and Bale portrays this admirably.McConaughey also does well in the flashier role, turning up the eye rollingand cigar chomping, while staying just the right side of juicy ham. A lotof credit must also be given to director Bowman both for raising this abovethe average mindless blockbuster, and for getting the tone absolutelyright. Some action films that take themselves as seriously as this end uppo-faced and plodding (the Jack Ryan films come to mind), but Reign ofFire’s earnestness is one of its biggest assets, and lends it a gravitassorely lacking in most movies of its type.

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Another huge asset is the dragons themselves. Not only are they superblyrealised by the special effects team, but they are in fact genuinelyfrightening, highly menacing, and their very presence casts a giant shadowover the whole film. There aren’t many modern movie monsters about whichthat can be said. One set-piece involving sky divers jumping out of ahelicopter with dragon sized nets is particularly well done, as they hurtlethrough the clouds trying to snare the beasts, knowing one could appearfrom the clouds and barbecue them at any second.

It’s not without flaws of course : how can there be only one male dragon?how do they know there’s only one? where does all the helicopter fuel comefrom? And if it loses momentum and slips into predictability towards theend it’s to be expected, as genre conventions are adhered to and the bigshowdown looms. Admittedly, whether you enjoy this or not will depend verymuch on what you’re looking for from a dragon movie. Grim or fantastical?Solemn or fun? It’s up to you.

Review copyright © Paul Greenwood, 2002.E-mail Paul Greenwood

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