When he was a child, he saw the first one appear out of legend and begin to attach London. 20 years of fire and death later, Quinn (Christian Bale) is leading one of the last small group of humans to survive the dragons assault on human, trying desperately to stay alive amid the scorched earth. But when the mad American Denton Van Zan (Matthew McConaughey) appears and claims to know how to kill the dragons, Quinn begins to hope that there may be more than just survival in the future - maybe they can fight back.
Terminator Salvation meets Dungeons and Dragons and the result is quite a good offspring. A very good apocalypse film because it does not regress humanity to sword wielding religious fanatics (which from the description is what I was expecting) but rather has created a very believable concept of the modern world after dragons attack, often feeling very grounded in realism. This sense of realism is so thorough, that it reaches a level unseen since Jurassic Park - mostly because the film using the same genius mix of CGI and live action props. And that is the major highlight of the film. The cast is dotted about with famous faces (including Gerard Butler) although often the British accents come across as a little thick and fake, a shame really. The dialogue is occasionally punctuated by some unfortunate cheesy lines, and even when it isn't the musical score often is louder than the actors, not a good mix. The cinematography more than makes up for it though, making it almost impossible to look away. more than measuring it up to the films unique story.
Reign of Fire is the ideal viewing companion for anyone who is a fan of fantasy, apocalypse and films who want to make you believe it is really happening. It is guaranteed to burn its way into your memory.
