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IMDbPro

Reign of Fire

  • 20022002
  • PG-13PG-13
  • 1h 41m
IMDb RATING
6.2/10
136K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,280
336
Reign of Fire (2002)
Home Video Trailer from Touchstone Home Entertainment
Play trailer2:32
1 Video
99+ Photos
ActionAdventureFantasy
A brood of fire-breathing dragons emerges from the earth and begins setting everything ablaze, establishing dominance over the planet.A brood of fire-breathing dragons emerges from the earth and begins setting everything ablaze, establishing dominance over the planet.A brood of fire-breathing dragons emerges from the earth and begins setting everything ablaze, establishing dominance over the planet.
IMDb RATING
6.2/10
136K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,280
336
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Rob Bowman
    • Writers
      • Gregg Chabot(story)
      • Kevin Peterka(story)
      • Matt Greenberg(screenplay)
    • Stars
      • Matthew McConaughey
      • Christian Bale
      • Izabella Scorupco
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Rob Bowman
    • Writers
      • Gregg Chabot(story)
      • Kevin Peterka(story)
      • Matt Greenberg(screenplay)
    • Stars
      • Matthew McConaughey
      • Christian Bale
      • Izabella Scorupco
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 627User reviews
    • 127Critic reviews
    • 39Metascore
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 3 nominations

    Videos1

    Reign of Fire
    Trailer 2:32
    Reign of Fire

    Photos110

    Matthew McConaughey in Reign of Fire (2002)
    Matthew McConaughey, Christian Bale, and Izabella Scorupco in Reign of Fire (2002)
    Matthew McConaughey, Christian Bale, and Izabella Scorupco in Reign of Fire (2002)
    Van Zan (Matthew McConaughey, pictured) reacts to the dragon's latest attack
    Quinn (Christian Bale, pictured) makes a terrifying discovery that threatens their future: a dragon egg.
    Van Zan (Matthew McConaughey, right), an American mercenary, with his pilot, Alex Jensen (Izabella Scorupco, left) arrives in Britain with the firepower to bring down the beasts.
    Quinn (Christian Bale, right) and his right-hand man, Creedy (Gerard Butler, left) stand guard over a castle that houses some of the last survivors on earth
    Left: Christian Bale, Right: Matthew McConaughey.
    Left to right: Izabella Scorupco, Matthew McConaughey, Christian Bale.
    Van Zan (Matthew McConaughey).
    (Left to right) Quinn (Christian Bale), Van Zan (Matthew McConaughey)
    (Left to right):  Van Zan (Matthew McConaughey) (third from left), Alex Jensen (Izabella Scorupco), Creedy (Gerard Butler), Ajay (Alexander Siddig), Quinn (Christian Bale), Gideon (Terence Maynard).

    Top cast

    Edit
    Matthew McConaughey
    Matthew McConaughey
    • Denton Van Zan
    Christian Bale
    Christian Bale
    • Quinn Abercromby
    Izabella Scorupco
    Izabella Scorupco
    • Alex Jensen
    Gerard Butler
    Gerard Butler
    • Creedy
    Scott Moutter
    Scott Moutter
    • Jared Wilke
    • (as Scott James Moutter)
    David Kennedy
    David Kennedy
    • Eddie Stax
    Alexander Siddig
    Alexander Siddig
    • Ajay
    Ned Dennehy
    Ned Dennehy
    • Barlow
    Rory Keenan
    Rory Keenan
    • Devon
    Terence Maynard
    Terence Maynard
    • Gideon
    Doug Cockle
    Doug Cockle
    • Goosh
    Randall Carlton
    Randall Carlton
    • Burke (Tito)
    Chris Kelly
    • Mead
    Ben Thornton
    Ben Thornton
    • Young Quinn
    Alice Krige
    Alice Krige
    • Karen Abercromby
    Malcolm Douglas
    Malcolm Douglas
    • Stuart
    Dessie Gallagher
    • Jess
    Martin Linnane
    • Mole #1
    • Director
      • Rob Bowman
    • Writers
      • Gregg Chabot(story) (screenplay)
      • Kevin Peterka(story) (screenplay)
      • Matt Greenberg(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The method by which the dragons expel fire was inspired by two actual animals: the spitting cobra and bombardier beetle.
    • Goofs
      Van Zan and Alex tell Quinn that there is only one male dragon and, like fish, the females lay their eggs and the male makes a "pass" to fertilize them. Yet when Quinn discovers the egg inside the downed dragon, there is an embryo visible, which should only happen AFTER fertilization.
    • Quotes

      [referring to the dragons]

      Denton Van Zan: Ever see a male?

      Quinn Abercromby: When I'm running for my life I generally don't look back at the plumbing.

    • Connections
      Featured in Troldspejlet: Episode #28.3 (2002)
    • Soundtracks
      Fire
      Written and Performed by Jimi Hendrix

      Courtesy of Experience Hendrix LLC/MCA Records

      Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

    User reviews627

    Review
    Top review
    Superb visuals make this a bit more than just glorious mindless fun.
    `Reign of Fire's' premise is simple: the world has been wiped out by airborne, fire-breathing dragons, who at first multiplied by the thousands but now themselves are starving and dying off. A few bands of people remain here and there trying to survive. Quinn (Christian Bale, with whiskers and glottal stops), who was on the scene as a boy in London when the first sleeping dragon awakened in a cave unearthed by an Underground project his mum was working on, leads a group of survivors in the north of England who're just trying to get a crop going for the next year and save a little mob of children. In comes Van Zan (Mathew McConaughey, with shaved head and brawny tattooed arms) leading an American helicopter crew. He's become a dragon slayer and since he's found there's only one male dragon left and it's somewhere around London, he's come to solicit aid. Quinn refuses. Van Zan pushes on to London without Quinn. They fail. He returns and begs Quinn to come as guide. What follows is the finale.

    If you probe too deeply into the premise you're not going to have any fun, but fun is what this movie offers, glorious mindless fun and, above all, fabulous apocalyptic visuals of twisted metal, crepuscular landscapes, dark hulking ruins, and men crawling through them to fire off weapons at the evil birds, which look very graceful as they sweep through the skies and spurt out long expanding streams of fire. Shots are so stunningly composed you want them to freeze-frame. Within the dark end-of-the-world light there is amazing clarity. Working with Ridley Scott's cinematographer Adrian Biddle, X-Files director Rob Bowman has produced the best fantasy landscape this year next to `Lord of the Rings.' When Van Zan leads a hunt in the sky, it's like a computer game, and sometimes we see the game through the eyes of the dragon and it looks like a degraded digital film. However, it's not ingenuity of conception but sheer aesthetic appeal that makes the visuals of this movie so good.

    The other large positive factor is the very solid, mostly English cast including a number of appealing youngsters led by Scott James Moutter as Jared, Quinn's adopted son, not to mention Bale, who brings a striking level of naturalness and conviction to his role as the sensitive, conscience-stricken Quinn. Bale's a foil to McConaughey's American macho militarist icon. McConaughey, whose finely chiseled face can be seen staring in mirrors in `Thirteen Conversations About One Thing,' is having a lark playing a brute here, but in the moments when he isn't shouting, he gives Van Zan almost as much conviction as Bale gives Quinn. Ladies are in short supply in this story: there's Alex (Izabella Scorupco) as Van Zan's helicopter pilot who winds up with Quinn, and for five minutes there's Alice Krige as young Quinn's mum. But since this movie's ideal audience might surely be young teenage boys, that's probably enough. Other things are lacking too, such as more variety in the dragons, more recognizable details of the wrecked London of the final scenes, some more colorful characters among Quinn's community, as in post-apocalyptic classics like `Mad Max.' But to say that is to miss the point, which is that this is a fast, exhilarating ride that's a feast for the eyes. If you want to view all this as a `B' horror picture, fine: just grant that it's a first-class version. To be seen, by all means, on a big screen, preferably in a big, old-time movie house.
    helpful•67
    13
    • Chris Knipp
    • Jul 16, 2002

    FAQ3

    • Van Zan mentions that he was able to kill a dragon during "magic hour" what was he talking about?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 12, 2002 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Where Heroes Go Down
    • Filming locations
      • Wicklow Gap, County Wicklow, Ireland
    • Production companies
      • Touchstone Pictures
      • Spyglass Entertainment
      • The Zanuck Company
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $60,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $43,061,982
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $15,632,281
      • Jul 14, 2002
    • Gross worldwide
      • $82,150,183
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 41 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
      • SDDS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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