Reign of Fire (2002)

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

Director:

Rob Bowman

Writers:

Gregg Chabot (story), Kevin Peterka (story)

Stars:

Matthew McConaughey, Christian Bale, Izabella Scorupco

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

In present-day London, 12-year-old Quinn Abercromby witnesses the awakening of a hibernating dragon from a centuries-long slumber, the result of a construction dig supervised by his mother and an incident for which Quinn feels partially responsible. Twenty years later, the adult Quinn (Christian Bale) is the fire chief of a refortified castle community, responsible for dousing the blazes lit by the dragon's prodigious number of flame-spewing offspring, airborne juggernauts that have wreaked havoc across the globe, torching civilization and turning humans into an endangered species. Hope arrives in the form of Denton "Dragon Slayer" Van Zan (Matthew McConaughey), an American known to be the only man to ever kill one of the dragons, and Alex (Izabella Scorupco), a scientist/pilot who's a member of Van Zan's army, a zealous fighting force that includes a secret weapon: the Archangels, paratroopers using themselves as bait to attract and then dispatch the deadly beasts.

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Plot Keywords:

dragon | fire breathing dragon | survival | militia | castle | 

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Taglines:

They're extremely intelligent. Highly evolved. And they don't like sharing the planet.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for intense action violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan] Official site [UK]

Country:

USA UK Ireland

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 July 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Where Heroes Go Down

Filming Locations:

Black Castle, Wicklow, Ireland

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$15,632,281, 14 July 2002, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$43,061,982, 27 October 2002

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$82,150,183

Company Credits

Production Co:

Spyglass Entertainment, The Zanuck Company, Touchstone Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ireland's first major outbreak of foot and mouth disease in almost 40 years meant that the production company needed special permission for the location filming which took place in County Dublin and County Wicklow in 2001. At the time, the Irish public were being told to only visit any rural areas if it was absolutely vital, and not to make any unnecessary journeys.

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Goofs

As Van Zant climbs the covered ladder near the end, the arms of his crossbow catch and bend on the rungs revealing it to be made of rubber

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Quotes

[first lines]
Worker #1: Hello, Quinn.
Worker #2: Good morning, Quinn. How's is going mate.
Young Quinn: What's up, guys.
Worker #3: Working the late shift, are ya?
Young Quinn: Ha! Someone's got to clean up after you guys.

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Connections

Referenced in Don't Say No Until I Finish Talking: The Story of Richard D. Zanuck (2013)

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Soundtracks

Walk Away
Written by Mad at Gravity and J. Lynn Johnston
Performed by Mad at Gravity
Courtesy of ARTISTDirect Records/BMG

User Reviews

Mis-Advertised

I love this film. It shows the very human struggle to survive after they've been knocked from the top of the food chain. It blends medieval mythology with a modern era breathlessly. Definitely an original take on Man vs Dragon. Now to get this straight, this is a film about Humans, not about Dragons. The dragons merely supply the unique reason for the apocalypse. This is a film about the post-apocalypse, not the apocalypse. It's not about skies full of Dragons turning worldwide armed forces into ash on an epic scale. It's not about Dragons setting the world, quite literally, on fire. It's about after all that's happened.

Which is a shame this was advertised as a film about Dragons burning all life as we know it. Of course, everyone goes in expecting to see 90 minutes of Dragons destroying everything. If this had been advertised as a more human film about after these Dragons have completely wasted everything, I really think this could've been seen as a good film. It unfortunately set expectations high in the wrong sort of viewers by a mind-blowingly epic trailer.

Christian Bale, Gerard Butler and Matthew McConaughey all deliver their role superbly, and the script isn't as bad as it's made out to be either. The effects were great and the Dragons do look pretty realistic, to the point I almost believed this was a documentary. Okay, so there are some plot holes, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to fill those in yourself. I mean, does everything have to be explained so obviously? The only reason this film gets 4 stars and not 5 is because, being a film about human struggle, it could've done with a bit more character development. Other than that, it's a deeply entertaining, well-acted, suspenseful film.

Don't knock it before you see it for yourself.