I finally got to see a film that I have been wanting to see for quite some time today, I have always been a fan of horror type flicks and I admit to being a special effects freak as well. So if a film includes, monsters, ghoulies, dinosaurs and mythical creatures of any kind, this is usually enough to entice me along to see it, be it at the cinema or from the local video store. When I found out that ‘Reign of fire’ was all about huge dragons invading London, I simply had to see it, unfortunately when it hit the cinemas I was a little low on funds and as a result, I have had to wait for the DVD release.
REIGN OF FIRE:
////// THE PLOT \\\\\\
Reign of fire begins with an ordinary little boy walking through the London streets, he is heading to see his mother who is working under the London underground as a construction worker. The little boy then investigates a small hole that has been bored through into a sealed off cave and to his total horror, he accidentally wakes up a huge sleeping dragon. The boy escapes and runs to his mother frantically trying to tell her what he has seen, it is too late though, the awoken dragon is now hungry and has only one thing in mind, to reach the surface and feed.
The boy and his mother try to escape to the surface in the lift while the other construction workers are being
engulfed in ball of flames. It is too little, too late and the dragon beats them to it. As it climbs past the lift the boy lies on the floor and closes his eyes, when he opens them, the dragon has disappeared and his mother is dead.
We then shoot forward almost 20 years, the year is 2020, the place is Northumberland and we find that this dragon has bred thousands more and the earth is now totally ruled by the fierce creatures. Only a handful of human survivors remain despite a huge global war against the seemingly unstoppable dragons.
The little boy is now a leather clad gunge pirate called Quinn (Christian Bale – American Psycho) and he is the leader of a small group of people who have taken refuge in and tried to make a home of an old castle. They fear that they are the only people left on the planet and they try to protect their small castle residence from the fire breathing beasts as best they can. Just when things are starting to get desperate, a dragon hunter called Van Zaan (Matthew McConaughey – Contact, A time to kill) and his small band of sky diving beastie slayers turn up at the castle gates, armed to the teeth with weapons and army vehicles.
They seek a place to get some rest and to fuel up, Van Zaan has knowledge that these hoards of dragons are all female with the exception of just one gigantic male, he plans to kill it and end the dragons reign of fire. Together, Van Zaan and Quinn must try with the help of their small clans to make sure that mankind survive by defeating the dragons once and for all.
////// SPECIAL EFFECTS \\\\\\
What can I say about the special effect in Reign of fire? Simple, absolutely wonderful, the dragons are so realistic it’s untrue, they genuinely look like real animals and not like the cheap nasty special effects seen in such films as, Harry Potter and the Philosophers stone and Spiderman. Now before I get bawled at by loads of Harry Potter fans and Spiderman addicts, I’m only using them as an example because I loathe special effects that you can clearly see are done on a computer and don’t mix right with the real life film footage.
Special effects done with a computer have got to be done right or they look really cheap and tacky, the computer effects here are truly spot on. The make up effects are pretty good too, the people in the film look ragged, scruffy and worn out, they also have normal coloured teeth instead of that Hollywood pearly white glow.
////// My Thoughts \\\\\\
Reign of fire is a superb action movie, the cast do a great job with a rather clunky script, by this I mean that apart from the main two characters (McConaughey and Bale), the rest of the cast have very limited dialogue. They still have a lot of significance and running around to do though, and for this part they do a believable enough job. McConaughey, taking a break from his usual Hollywood pretty boy image, is first class as the ragged dragon hunter Van Zaan and he looks like he belongs in the next Mad Max film. Bale looks similarly barbaric and also plays his part with a great deal of believability.
The real stars of this movie though are the dragons, they are simply fantastic and make this movie worth watching on their own. The movie did get mixed reviews when it was released last year and was unfairly panned by some of the critics but these are the same people that seem to give foreign subtitled films 5 stars.
Okay, the script is a little bland for a film such as this but it does not mask what a great film this is. It was directed by Rob Bowman of the X-files Movie fame and he uses some great camera skills to capture a truly apocalyptic feel to the film.
The music is quite surreal as well but I think this simply adds to the films oddness appeal.
If you like dragons, if you like a good all round action flick, hell if you simply like to be entertained then go out and rent this film, it is simply class. However, if period drama’s and subtitled slush is more to your taste, then I would advise you to give it a miss.
I fall into the first category and recommend this film wholeheartedly, It is out on DVD and video now rated 12.
Thanks for the read.
DEANO!
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 2007 - Science Fiction - Director: Francis Lawrence - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Dash Mihok, Will Smith, Salli Richardson, Willow Smith
My favorite horrormovies is definately the Nightmare on Elm Street serie... Freddy Krueger is the horror king :)
glitterprincess 27.01.2003 11:13
I really liked this film, v. gung ho action stuff - and who cares about the tired script - there's the gorgeous Chrisian Bale and Matt McConaughey to look at instead!!! Jami xx
GentleGiant 25.01.2003 17:51
Excellent op! Haven't seen it, but will make an effort to. Matthew
Not quite the large-scale epic it promised to be,Reign of Fireis still an enjoyable entry ... more
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 din...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Matthew McConaughey (U-571) and Christian Bale (SHAFT) star in an explosive action-packed ... more
adventure with bone-charring special effects that will have you glued to your seat!When a London tunnelling project uncovers an unearthly fire-breathing beast fro...
Not quite the large-scale epic it promised to be,Reign of Fireis still an enjoyable entry ... more
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 din...
Postage & Packaging: free Super Saver Delivery Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
In present-day London twelve-year-old Quinn watches as his mother a construction ... more
engineer inadvertently wakes an enormous fire-breathing beast from its centuries-long slumber. Twenty years later much of the world has been scarred by the beast and i...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
![Reign Of Fire [DVD] [2002]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78534616.jpg "Reign Of Fire [DVD] [2002]")
Jan 21st, 2003
very helpful by (99%):
helpful by (1%):
