We all have a friend or two so completely confident and committed to being themselves they inspire you to do so as well. They care not about fitting in or following trends. I aspire to be such a person and Reign of Fire is such a film. On the surface, the fantasy genre setting is cookie cutter post-apocalyptic stuff. Matthew McConaughey and Christian Bale didn’t get the memo. They both engage with their parts like leads in Shakespeare-in-the-dystopia. This is what happens when you capture the lighting in a bottle of two future mega-superstar thespians cutting their teeth in a film that has no right being this well-acted. A then relatively unknown Gerard Butler stands out as well. The then-groundbreaking visual effects hold up remarkably well even to 2021 standards. The dragons look quite similar to those on Game of Thrones but with an intentionally serpentine style of movement (a tidbit I learned from the DVD special features – I’m that guy). Rob Bowman’s direction is electric and one scene depicting dragon hunters dubbed “archangels” jumping out of planes and engaging the mythical beasts hand to tooth is equal parts thrilling and utterly ridiculous. The always game Izabella Corupco turns in a small but memorable performance as confidant to McConaughey’s Van Zan and love interest to Bale’s Abercromby. Intentionally grim and dreary, the movie still ends on a high note. More fantasy genre fans should experience this film. It’s a dragon in the rough that doesn’t get nearly enough praise for what it accomplishes. 7/10
The Quick Critic
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