Reign of Fire

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Reign of Fire

PG-13

2002

1h 41m

Fantasy

Adventure

Action

Sci-Fi

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

42%

Tomatometer

174 Reviews

49%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

In present-day London, 12-year-old Quinn watches as his mother wakes an enormous fire-breathing beast from its centuries-long slumber. Twenty years later, much of the world has been scarred by the beast and its offspring. As a fire chief, Quinn is responsible for warding off the beasts and keeping a community alive as they eke out a meager existence. Into their midst comes a hotshot American, Van Zan, who says he has a way to kill the beasts.

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Critics Consensus

Reign of Fire gains some altitude with its pyrotechnic action and a smolderingly campy Matthew McConaughey, but the feature's wings are clipped by a derivative script and visual effects that fizzle out.

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SMH Staff

Sydney Morning Herald

03/31/2019

The characters are sketchy, the plot is full of logical holes and the story is all fight and flight. But despite its flaws, it is enjoyable if you like special effects, warriors and computer-generated dragons.

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Anthony Quinn

Independent (UK)

03/31/2019

For all its silliness, Reign of Fire never bores, and may actually appeal to your inner twelve-year-old.

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Tim Robey

Daily Telegraph (UK)

03/31/2019

The poor dragons - on screen not nearly enough as it is - stand no chance pitted against this kind of heavyweight ham.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Aug 12

3/4

A rush of entertainment on the gritty side.

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

Apr 4

4/5

‘…bags of action, great physical effects, and an original concept…’

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Leah Rozen

People Magazine

03/31/2019

Better than the trailers made it seem, but nothing to get fired up about.

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Chris S

@Janomi Aug 26

Reign of Fire has a good idea because the post-apocalyptic dragon premise is genuinely strong. Dragons waking up and turning the modern world into a burned-out wasteland takes a fantasy creature and treats it like an extinction-level disaster, which gives the movie a different flavor from a standard dragon story. Christian Bale gives Quinn a grounded, weary survivor quality. He feels like someone who has spent his life protecting people from a threat he can barely hope to beat. Matthew McConaughey brings the opposite energy as Van Zan, with wild, aggressive, bald-headed intensity that gives the human conflict some spark. The dragon design and bleak atmosphere work well. The smoke, ash, ruins, shelters, and burned landscapes create a desperate survival mood. The premise is stronger than the plot, and the world-building could go deeper, but Reign of Fire has enough grit and originality to stay interesting.

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Michael V

@RT41146758 Jul 29

Good grief, ignore the exaggerated and baseless reviews trashing this. You have to be a special kind of boring and weird person to not like this. Reign of Fire is wild and entertaining, even more so if you're a fan of dragons. Outstanding cast!

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AJ L

@aj9843 Jul 1

This movie is unapologetically awesome!!

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Troy R

@Grim16 Apr 8

Surprisingly better than I remembered on the first watch. Sure McConaughey's part of the story is a little over the top US marine etc. etc. But otherwise the dragons were still decently cgied and the action is exciting. Guess the story is a little unbelievable but its dragons... so come on.

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Joe T

@RT63190069 Apr 1

Absolute cult classic banger, switch your brain off and have a good time with this one! Effects aged well and far more enjoyable than half the shite out there. Highly recommend!

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M B

@Timbero Feb 5

I enjoyed this, it was my type of movie and fun if you don't get too picky about things. I liked the tension and some of the ideas, good actors too!

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Rob Bowman

Director

Christian Bale

Quinn

Matthew McConaughey

Van Zan

Izabella Scorupco

Alex Jensen

Gerard Butler

Dave Creedy

David Kennedy

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Synopsis

In present-day London, 12-year-old Quinn watches as his mother wakes an enormous fire-breathing beast from its centuries-long slumber. Twenty years later, much of the world has been scarred by the beast and its offspring. As a fire chief, Quinn is responsible for warding off the beasts and keeping a community alive as they eke out a meager existence. Into their midst comes a hotshot American, Van Zan, who says he has a way to kill the beasts.

Director: Rob Bowman
Producer: Roger Birnbaum, Gary Barber, Richard D. Zanuck, Lili Fini Zanuck
Screenwriter: Gregg Chabot, Gregg Chabot, Kevin Peterka, Kevin Peterka, Matt Greenberg
Distributor: Touchstone Pictures
Production Co: Spyglass Entertainment
Rating: PG-13 (Intense Action Violence)
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Action, Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 12, 2002, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 10, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $43.1M
Runtime: 1h 41m
Sound Mix: Dolby SR, DTS, Dolby Stereo, Surround, SDDS, Dolby A, Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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