Intrigue

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

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. 20 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.

20 years in the future, the planet has been devastated by vicious fire-breathing dragons. The last vestiges of humanity now struggle for survival at remote outposts. In a ruined castle in the English countryside, Quinn is desperately trying to hold together a band of frightened, restless survivors. As a boy, Quinn watched his mother die protecting him from one of the beasts, and is still haunted by the memory. One day, a group of American rogues shows up, led by a brash, tough-guy named Van Zan. He claims to have discovered a way to kill the dragons once and for all, and enlists Quinn's help. But doing so will force Quinn to confront his own frightening memories. This, and Quinn's responsibilities to those that are under his protection, results in a battle of wills between the two men. In the end, events cause them both to realize that they must work together to defeat the monsters--both without and within.—LOTUSB1973

12-year-old Quinn Abercromby accompanies his mother to work one day at a London tunneling project, his witnesses the accidental uncovering of a centuries old fire-breathing dragon beast and waking it from its sleep. After witnessing the beast kill his mother the film jumps twenty years later to a grown up Quinn who is the "fire chief" in a refugee camp. Unexpectedly an American militia leader shows up at the camp with a group of men that he calls "slayers." Van Zan and Quinn engage in a power struggle, before realizing it's the dragons they should be fighting instead.—SindyMac

In present-day London, 12-year-old Quinn watches as his mother, a construction engineer, inadvertently wakes an enormous fire-breathing beast from its century-long slumber. 20 years later, much of the world has been scarred by the beast and its offspring. As a fire chief, Quinn is responsible for warding off the beasts and keeping a community alive as they eke out a meager existence. Into their midst comes a hotshot American, Van Zan, who says he has a way to kill the beasts and save mankind--a way Quinn's never seen done. Fuses a medieval past with a post-apocalyptic future in this exciting tale of adventure and survival.—anonymous

Soon after the new millennium, during construction on the London Underground, workers penetrate an underground cave in which a huge hibernating dragon awakens, incinerating the construction workers. The only survivor is a boy named Quinn Abercromby (Christian Bale) whose mother, Karen (Alice Krige), was crew chief on the project. She is crushed while protecting Quinn as the dragon makes its way to the surface. The dragon flies out and more dragons begin appearing, multiplying rapidly. It is shown through various newspaper clippings and a voice-over that scientists discovered that dragons are a lost species that are responsible for the dinosaurs' extinction by burning them all to ash.

The speculation was that dragons instinctively hibernate after destroying most of the earth's living creatures, waiting until the Earth repopulates. In the months and years following the awakening of the dragons, humanity tried to resist using their combined military might, but the dragons were simply breeding faster than they could be killed. When nuclear weapons were finally deployed in 2010, it only hastened the planet's destruction, and within a few years, human civilization worldwide was almost entirely wiped out.

One decade later, in 2020, Quinn (Christian Bale) leads a community of survivors living in a castle in Northumberland. The survivors are starving, though, while waiting for their crops to ripen. While many trust Quinn's leadership, some are becoming restless and openly defiant. While everyone is asleep, Eddie (David Kennedy) steals a truck to take his group to harvest tomatoes. Picking the crops too early won't allow the seeds to germinate so they can be used the next season. The group is attacked by a lone dragon, one is killed, and the rest are surrounded by fire. They are rescued by Quinn, Creedy (Gerard Butler), and Jared (Scott Moutter) using old fire engines and fire suits. But while trying to escape, the dragon kills Eddie's son, who was manning a water cannon.

Later, a group of Americans, the Kentucky Irregulars, arrive, led by Denton Van Zan (Matthew McConaughey), including a Chieftain tank and an Augusta A109 helicopter, piloted by Alex Jensen (Izabella Scorupco). Van Zan and his heavily armed soldiers have an elaborate tracking system to hunt dragons. Quinn is initially distrustful and surprised that anyone can kill dragons. After an intense discussion, Van Zan convinces Quinn to cooperate. Working together, Quinn and Van Zan kill the dragon that destroyed the crops.

The inhabitants of the castle celebrate, only to be chastised by Van Zan, who lost three men in the hunt. Later, Van Zan tells Quinn that all the dragons they have encountered have been female. They have also found that all females carry unfertilized eggs and that their metabolism is so high that they live only a few months. The Americans believe there is only one male and that if they kill it the species will be unable to reproduce. Quinn knows about the male dragon since it is the one that killed his mother. He refuses to help since the male has attacked and destroyed any group who went after it before.

Van Zan orders his soldiers to shanghai the best men at the castle. Quinn becomes enraged and attacks Van Zan but loses the fight. Quinn announces that if Van Zan's group finds the male it will kill them and backtrack to the castle. Ignoring Quinn, Van Zan's group head to London, but the male finds them and attacks them on the road, killing most of the soldiers. The male then finds the castle and kills most of the castle's residents. Some survive in the underground bunker. Quinn tries to get more people to safety, but Creedy stops him and goes in his place, but is killed when the male attacks for a second time.

Van Zan and Jensen return to the castle and free the residents trapped in the bunker. Quinn tells Van Zan he'll help them hunt the male in London, which is the main nesting ground. Quinn knows the male's nest is near the construction site where his mother was killed. They fly to London, where they find hundreds of dragons. They witness the smaller dragons being cannibalized by the much larger male. Van Zan's plan is to fire a magnesium and C-4 explosive charge with a crossbow bolt down the dragon's throat during the brief moment it opens its mouth to inhale and breathe out fire. Van Zan fires but the male destroys the arrow before it can hit. Knowing he's missed, Van Zan jumps off the building to attack the male with his giant ax but is caught in mid-air and eaten. Quinn and Alex lure the dragon to street level, where Quinn is able to fire his own explosive crossbow bolt into the dragon's mouth, killing it.

Quinn and Alex are later seen sitting on a sunny hill overlooking the North Sea, Quinn telling her there have been no dragon sightings for over three months. They are there to erect a radio tower. Jared rides up to tell them they have made radio contact with another group of survivors in France, who wish to speak to their leader. Quinn tells Jared he is now the leader and sends him back to talk to the French. Quinn then announces his dedication to rebuilding. He views the possibility of the dragons' return as remote; he says that, if they ever return, "They'll burn. We'll build. Maybe I'll just kill them".