Reign of Fire (2002)

Director:

Rob Bowman

Writers (WGA):

Gregg Chabot (story) &
Kevin Peterka (story) ...

Release Date:

12 July 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Fantasy | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Fight Fire With Fire

Plot:

A brood of fire-breathing dragons emerges from the earth and begins setting fire to everything, establishing dominance over the planet.

Plot Keywords:

London | Box Office Flop | Dragon | Helicopter | Explosion

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Christian Bale	...	Quinn Abercromby
Matthew McConaughey	...	Denton Van Zan
Izabella Scorupco	...	Alex Jensen
Gerard Butler	...	Creedy
Scott Moutter	...	Jared Wilke (as Scott James Moutter)
David Kennedy	...	Eddie Stax
Alexander Siddig	...	Ajay
Ned Dennehy	...	Barlow
Rory Keenan	...	Devon
Terence Maynard	...	Gideon
Doug Cockle	...	Goosh
Randall Carlton	...	Burke (Tito)
Chris Kelly	...	Mead
Ben Thornton	...	Young Quinn
Alice Krige	...	Karen Abercromby

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense action violence.

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

UK | Ireland | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

South Korea:12 | Iceland:12 | New Zealand:M | USA:PG-13 (certificate #39148) | Malaysia:U | Netherlands:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Denmark:11 | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:12 | Japan:R | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:12 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:12 | Canada:PG

Filming Locations:

Ardmore Studios - Herbert Road, Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland

Company:

Barber/Birnbaum

Trivia:

The method by which the dragons expel fire was inspired by two actual animals; the spitting cobra and bombardier beetle.

Goofs:

Continuity: The harpoon gun that Van Zan uses to bring down the dragon attacking the castle has a bent targeting reticle when we see it from the point-of-view shot as it is fired. However, when we see the gun from the reverse angle, as Van Zan mounts it, the same targeting reticle is a perfect circle.

Quotes:

Denton Van Zan 'Dragon Slayer': Envy the country that has heroes, huh? I say pity the country that needs them.

Movie Connections:

References The Terminator (1984)

Soundtrack:

Interlude 1

Silly but entertaining b-grade post-apocalyptic thriller.

Seems like I'm in a minority enjoying this one! It amazes me that so many people are quick to put the boot in to this (admittedly) silly but entertaining b-grade post-apocalyptic thriller yet line up to watch the absolutely awful and overblown Star Wars movies. Yes, I said b-grade, because despite the budget being close to $100 million, that's exactly what it is, a b-grade sci fi movie, no more, no less. Fans of Roy Ward Baker's 'Quatermass and the Pit', Larry Cohen's 'Q: The Winged Serpent' and Tobe Hooper's 'Lifeforce', all of which 'Reign Of Fire' reminded me of at various points, will enjoy this one more than the Blockbuster crowd. Christian Bale ('American Psycho') and Matthew McConaughey ('Frailty') are both pretty good as the leader of an underground community and a hardass military man respectively, who both have different approaches to their shared problem - the ongoing threat of dragon attacks. Yes, in this future dragons are real and have devastated the world, and only a handful of human survivors exist. Once you can accept that premise, and some of the "scientific" explanations for the why and wherefores of the dragons, you're in for a wild ride. No-one's gonna argue this is a great movie, but it's a lot of fun, and I recommend it, especially with beer and pizza.