Reign of Fire
January 2003 Reviewed by: Anthony Di Marco Format: DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

Let’s establish expectations up front: Reign of Fire is not high art. Reign of Fire is not a character-driven classic that will endure the test of time. Reign of Fire is not going to fuel existential conversation as one toasts marshmallows by the fire. It is a fun, well-directed, action film that fits perfectly into the "rainy Saturday afternoon flick" category. It contains good visual effects and a story that moves along quickly and efficiently. There is little in the way of extraneous fat. This film never bored me, and like Jurassic Park 3, it went on just long enough to thrill and entertain.

The film opens with promise. Like other engaging action movies, it gets right down to business. Its opening sequence reminded me of the classic Quatermass Hammer title, 5 Million Years to Earth, both in tone and desaturated visuals. I was impressed with young Ben Thornton and the generally unknown British cast. Further into the story, the film’s name stars came off poorly. Both Matthew McConaughey, as Van Zan, the leader of a small militia experienced in the slaying of dragons, and Christian Bale, playing Quinn, a man who witnessed the unearthing of the first creature, play their roles with a little too much wide-eyed machismo. One surely expects more subtlety from the emotionally battered Quinn, but this action film wastes no time with such details. The real stars of this adventure are the digitally created dragons. The story is simply a showcase in which to display them.

Too bad there is only one dragon on screen at a time. Budgetary restrictions probably limited the number of fire breathers. But the quality of the digital effects is excellent, with only a few instances that ring fake. Character development is secondary to action, as is the logic used to explain the dragons’ ability to quickly reproduce by way of a single male. This is not a film to hold up to scrutiny, as there are numerous holes and loose ends. One involves Quinn removing the egg of a pregnant, yet deceased, beast! Thrilling scenes involving skydiving "archangels" and total devastation balance such cinematic nonsense.

The director, The X-Files’ alumnus Rob Bowman, knows how to make a good-looking and great-sounding film. The film’s post-apocalyptic browns and grays look very good on this DVD and the special effects mesh naturally with their surroundings. The soundtrack is breathtaking at times. The DTS mix sounds natural and crisp. The dragon flyovers resound with audio palpability and foley snap to complement the CGI wings moving through video air. Voice intelligibility is good, with the exception of some dialogue that gets lost in thick, imperfect British and Scottish accents.

It took about an hour to watch all three extras included on this DVD. The "making of" documentary is similar to most junket-type marketing shorts. It is eight minutes long and more an advertising tool than an information resource. I did enjoy "Conversations with director Rob Bowman." It was gratifying to hear that the director understood his material. Often filmmakers find false meaning in a shallow script. I still cringe when I hear Paul Verhoeven’s commentary for the Starship Troopers DVD. The Dutch director makes it sound as though his ultra-violent film about giant mutant insects contains insightful political commentary -- when I believe it does not. By comparison, Director Bowman’s statements indicate that he considered Reign of Fire no more than a B movie with the production values of an A film. His movie fits this description perfectly.

A documentary involving the pyrotechnics used during the film, and the methods that special-effects supervisor David Gauthier employed to create dragon’s breath with very simple tools, was also very interesting. Often movie magic is more about logistics and imagination than high-tech advances. Some of the small patches of burning building material strewn throughout the London set were actually the same long-burning fire logs many people use in their fireplaces.

I enjoyed Reign of Fire as much as the popcorn monster movies I watched as a kid on those dreary, stay-at-home Saturday afternoons. As long as one keeps Reign of Fire in that perspective, it is a fun ride.

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