Hey folks, harry here... After I see MINORITY REPORT this Friday... with the exception of ROAD TO PERDITION and SIGNS, this is the movie that I'm most looking forward to for the rest of the summer... with the possible exception of EIGHT LEGGED FREAKS and XXX... but, ummm... hey, I'm a kid in a candy store and the store keeper locked me in by accident... this is great!
I saw the new film Reign of Fire a few weeks back, and although its not much of a 'thinking mans' movie, i've decide to wait and see what I thought about it over time.
For those unfamiliar, the film opens in current day London, where a construction crew unleashes modern day dragons. The film then flashes forward to Christian Bales character Quinn. He lives in c.2025 London, where Dragons have now overtaken the Earth, and our technology has regressed back to medieval ways. He's in charge of a small community that is residing in a castle. Now enter Matthew McConaugheys character, Denton. He leads an American militia group bent on destroying the dragons. Alright...I'll admit it, with that synopsis, the story sounds unbelivably far fetched...and well, it is. However, it does a good job of covering its bases and explaining just exactly how these creatures came to overrun the world.
I for one am a tad tired of the Monster taking over film. Roland Emmerichs version of Godzilla was the last nail in the coffin. However, this film, though sterotypical, breathes some new life into the genre. Much like The Matrix did 3 years ago, the film takes a lot of old ideas and puts them together into an all new product. The thing I enjoyed most is the simply...the dragons. These arent your crappy Dungeons and Dragons fake looking ones. Nor do you hear them start talking in a thick Scottish accent. These are dragons that are bad ass. They do things dragons haven't done in film before. Though they aren't seen for a large majority of the film, when they do show up, its quite impressive.
On the acting front, theres nothing worth writing home about, but then again, some of it is impressive. Bale is badass,and you can tell hes having a blast. McConaughey was tollerable, something I ususally can't say, and they have good chemistry we'll butting heads. Aside from that, the rest of the cast is there to get chomped on, and in that respect they do there job quite admirally. The thing that also helps this film though is the actors inject some character into their performance, and make them a bit more then the 1 dimensional characters we are used to seeing. I enjoyed the directing, Bowman did a good job of pacing the film. Much like his previos X-Files movie, which I also enjoyed, he gives you enough to keep you wanting more.
My only real qualm would be the ending. I won't spoil it, but after the big battle is done with, it ends on a note that almost begs for a sequel. Since I enjoyed the film, thats not necessarily a bad thing. However, it almost refutes my reasons for liking it. I liked it because it was original, and to see a big summer movie that isnt a sequel is almost shocking. I really hope they don't milk this one for all its worth. As it stands though, Reign of Fire is a fun film that seems to be custom built for a franchise. Heres hoping its Reign doesnt end in Fire. (ughh...dammit, i had to end it somehow!)
~Razzberry Jamm
