Reign of Fire

Theatrical Release Date: 2002 07 12 (USA)

UPC: 786936191417

Studio: Touchstone / Disney

MPAA Rating: PG13   Contains:[Violence, Adult Situations, Adult Language, Gore]

Summary: Medieval fantasy meets futuristic science fiction in this effects-heavy action epic from former X-Files director Rob Bowman. In present-day London, 12-year-old Quinn Abercromby witnesses the awakening of a hibernating dragon from a centuries-long slumber, the result of a construction dig supervised by his mother and an incident for which Quinn feels partially responsible. Twenty years later, the adult Quinn (Christian Bale) is the fire chief of a refortified castle community, responsible for dousing the blazes lit by the dragon's prodigious number of flame-spewing offspring, airborne juggernauts that have wreaked havoc across the globe, torching civilization and turning humans into an endangered species. Hope arrives in the form of Denton "Dragon Slayer" Van Zan (Matthew McConaughey), an American known to be the only man to ever kill one of the dragons, and Alex (Izabella Scorupco), a scientist/pilot who's a member of Van Zan's army, a zealous fighting force that includes a secret weapon: the Archangels, paratroopers using themselves as bait to attract and then dispatch the deadly beasts. Reign of Fire (2002) co-stars Gerard Butler, Alice Krige, and Alexander Siddig. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Category: Action

Features: cc"Breathing Life into the Terror" featurette
"If You Can't Stand the Heat" pyrotechnics featurette
Conversations with director Rob Bowman
Original theatrical trailer
French language track in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Spanish subtitles
DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Widescreen

Reign of Fire

Format: DVD

Release Date: 11/19/2002

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Cinemascope

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS Digital Theater Systems

Runtime: 102 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,French

Subtitles: Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Side #1 --
1. Opening Credits/The Dragon [10:21]
2. Jeopardizing the Community [9:16]
3. Alarm! [5:39]
4. The Americans Arrive [14:06]
5. A New Form of Defense [11:17]
6. The Draft [7:36]
7. Off to London [3:28]
8. Castle Under Attack [6:44]
9. Preparing for Magic Hour [1:34]
10. Attack! [9:43]
11. Starting Over/End Credits [9:47]

Michael Hastings

A creaky B-movie plot is given an A-list treatment in director Rob Bowman's future-primitive action flick, which delivers just enough thrills and eerie atmosphere to put it above the ranks of the usual, uninspired summer fare. Reign of Fire doesn't try to subvert or mock the conventions of the creature-feature, instead, it approaches them with just the right balance of stone-faced seriousness and levity. The dialogue is threadbare but functional, giving stars Christian Bale -- in his first big-budget action lead -- and Matthew McConaughey plenty of room for appropriate, unapologetic scenery-chewing. And what scenery it is; the real star here is Wolf Kroeger's production design, awash in orange, black, and gray, offering up one of the most vivid, lived-in post-apocalyptic landscapes since the Mad Max series. Reign of Fire's sole drawback -- and it's a big one -- is its last act, in which the tension dwindles just as it should be taking off into the stratosphere. It's here that the script fails Bowman and his game cast. Unlike James Cameron's B-masterpiece Aliens, the scattered plot points don't inform the finale in a satisfying way; instead, it's a warmed-over reenactment of Jaws, with a fire-breathing dragon standing in for a Great White. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Gary Barber  Producer 
Roger Birnbaum  Producer 
Rob Bowman  Director 
Lili Fini Zanuck  Producer 
Richard D. Zanuck  Producer 
Jonathan Glickman  Executive Producer 
Ed Shearmur  Composer (Music Score) 
Matthew Greenberg  Screenwriter 
Gregg Chabot  Screenwriter 
Kevin Peterka  Screenwriter 
Christian Bale  Actor 
Matthew McConaughey  Actor 
Izabella Scorupco  Actor 
Gerard Butler  Actor 
Scott James Moutter  Actor 
David Kennedy  Actor 
Alexander Siddig  Actor 
Ned Dennehy  Actor 
Rory Keenan  Actor 
Terence Maynard  Actor 
Ben Thorton  Actor 
Alice Krige  Actor 
Laura Pyper  Actor 
Benny Nieves  Actor 

Country: USA