Subject: Review: Reign of Fire (2002)

From: JoBlo <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 19:04:07 -0000

REIGN OF FIRE
RATING: 6/10
http://www.joblo.com/reignoffire.htm
 
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PLOT:
The year is 2020 and dragons have taken over the world. They have all but
conquered our major cities and continue to proliferate and barbeque humans
daily. But when an American group of so-called "dragon slayers" approach another
cluster of surviving English folk, it's time to get busy, draw up a plan and
fight back against the fire-breathing monsters. Matthew McConaughey ensues... 
 
CRITIQUE:
Dark, smoky, lots of fire, lots of heavy breathing...and that was the scene
before we even left my pad! Once at the theater, we got much of the same, as
well as a whole bunch of pissed off dragons, attempting to rid the entire world
of any leftover humans. Is it a good movie? It's decent. It didn't blow my ass
off the seat at any point, but it certainly provided for a number of visceral
action sequences with man fighting beast, and an original enough premise
(dragons ruling the world?) to make up for some of its drier patches. Although I
will admit that after the film's initial wake-up call, I was starting to feel a
certain lull coming on, like the movie was preparing to fall into an action
scene / really long sequence of surviving Brits talking it out / action scene /
another really long sequence of Brits talking it out routine. But then...he
arrived! That's right, the man with the plan, the man with the bulging biceps,
the man who possessed more intensity in his little pinky than most action heroes
do in their entire bodies, the man some of us like to call: Matthew McConaughey.
The movie was all his after that. Every move that he made, every over-the-top
roar that came out of his mouth, every cigar that he chomped on and spit to the
floor...the man was the human beast, ready to kick ass, take names...and then
kick some more ass. I freely nominate this character as one of the coolest dudes
of the year so far (cheap plug: remember to vote for the Golden Schmoes at the
end of the year, folks), and hope that others like me will also appreciate
McConaughey's seriously disturbed but charismatic performance as well. So yes,
once he pissed his way onto the scene, things got a little more interesting, but
overall, the film didn't really live up to its potential.
 
I seemed a little too claustrophobic at times, like the entire picture took
place on three sets. I also didn't understand the British accents all that well,
didn't really get into any of the characters other than the two lead men and
really wanted other people for whom I could give half a shit. Christian Bale
also delivered a strong performance here, but was there anyone else of substance
in the entire movie? 'Fraid not. And as cool and exciting as the action
sequences were (the arc angels' fall from the sky was the fuckin' bomb!!), I
couldn't help but feel like there was something missing. I was personally
looking really forward to seeing this all-out battle in the end as well, but it
never really materialized. In fact, once things got to the finale, they just
seemed to speed up and finish rather abruptly. Having said that, the movie on
the whole is still pretty fun to watch, the special effects are solid
throughout, the scene in which McConaughey tells off the Brits is a gem (look at
those eyes, baby) and the film also contains a handful of funny moments and
dialogue ("We can do this the easy way or we can do this the really easy way").
As for the dragons...well, they were impressive but they never truly took over
the picture. It almost seemed like a setup to a sequel or like they just ran out
of money to include more monsters, so they gave McConaughey a mickey and told
him to go hogwild (and he takes full advantage of his carte-blanche, let me tell
you-great career move). I think this is a flick that you are either gonna love
or hate. It's to note that I'm one of the assholes who thought BATTLEFIELD EARTH
was "fun cheese" so watch your step after reading my words.
 
One thing I will definitely remember from this film is the hysterically
exuberant scene featuring the bald, gruffy McConaughey jumping off the top of a
huge chimney with an axe over his head and nothing but a big-ass dragon flying
right towards him. That shot will forever be imbedded in my mind. Hi-la-rious.
In a nutshell, the film delivers some pretty cool special effects, a couple of
solid action pieces and two engaging lead actors, but doesn't give us enough
dragons (this is a "dragon movie", man...show me more dragons, dammit!), doesn't
really get very deep into the story and doesn't have enough interesting
characters to make it all that worthwhile. A reserved recommendation, although I
did think twice about giving the film an extra point for McConaughey's pecs
alone.
 
Where's JoBlo coming from?
Armageddon (8/10) - Attack of the Clones (8/10) - Battlefield Earth (7/10) -
Dungeons and Dragons (7/10) - The Fellowship of the Ring (7/10) - Godzilla
(4/10) - Godzilla 2000 (7/10) - Mad Max (8/10) - Pitch Black (7/10) - X-Files
(7/10)
 
Review Date: July 10, 2002
Director: Rob Bowman
Writers: Gregg Chabot, Kevin Peterka, Matt Greenberg
Producers: Richard Zanuck, Lili Zanuck, Roger Birnbaum, Gary Barber 
Actors: Christian Bale as Quinn Abercromby
Matthew McConaughey as Van Zan
Isabella Scorupco as Alex
Genre: Action
Year of Release: 2002
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(c) 2002 Berge Garabedian

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X-RT-RatingText: 6/10