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Reign of Fire

PG-13 Released Jul 12, 2002 1h 41m Fantasy Adventure Action Sci-Fi List
42% Tomatometer 173 Reviews 49% Audience Score 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 (Christian Bale) 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 (Matthew McConaughey), who says he has a way to kill the beasts. Read More Read Less
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Reign of Fire

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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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Critics Reviews

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SMH Staff Sydney Morning Herald 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. Mar 31, 2019 Full Review Anthony Quinn Independent (UK) For all its silliness, Reign of Fire never bores, and may actually appeal to your inner twelve-year-old. Mar 31, 2019 Full Review Tim Robey Daily Telegraph (UK) The poor dragons - on screen not nearly enough as it is - stand no chance pitted against this kind of heavyweight ham. Mar 31, 2019 Full Review Leah Rozen People Magazine Better than the trailers made it seem, but nothing to get fired up about. Mar 31, 2019 Full Review Malcolm Johnson Hartford Courant For all of its design and special-effects artistry, "Reign of Fire" is seldom convincing -- only slightly more alive than the silly 2000 "Dungeons & Dragons." Mar 31, 2019 Full Review John Wooley Tulsa World Look too closely at it, and you'll find a question or two that aren't satisfactorily answered by film's end. But it deserves high marks for not being quite like anything else -- for being, in fact, just different enough to impress. Rated: 3/4 Mar 31, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Dale R Christian Bale and Matthew McConaughey star in this Touchstone release about a post-apocalyptic world where dragons have taken over as the dominant species. This is an original take on the dragon vs. human tale. The special effects are good for the most part, the first dragon fly-by looked like you could see through the dragon to me. The CGI destruction that I was hoping for wasn’t here and that was a big let down as they just narrated over the human downfall. The story has a few plot holes and overt conveniences that I thought brought down the overall movie. Bale and McConaughey both have some good acting moments. I think there is a limited audience that would find this movie entertaining, and if you think you’re in that group then give this movie a watch. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 07/07/24 Full Review Richard B Awesome movie, great action, 5 stars! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/22/24 Full Review Rancor R I love the first half of the movie. The tone and ambience is so great but it loses itself halfway and the ending feels rushed and anticlimactic. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 06/15/24 Full Review 20CB I was so excited to see this as a child for the first time. A world of dragons and a trailer that made it seem awesome. Then after the first scene every single thing that would've been great about this movie was expositioned in the opening credits. The rest of the movie is a bunch of bingos doing everything they can to make sure humanity dies off until thankfully this disaster was finally over. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 01/25/24 Full Review Dave C I'm confused as to why this doesn't rate more highly. I've loved it since its release over 20yrs ago(!). The casting choices were brilliant, as all leads work so well together, and carry the story of their characters. The visual aspects of the movie are well matched to the story, including the level of pyrotechnics and action. As for the dragons, they are probably the best iteration I've seen on screen. All-in-all, it's a good fantasy action movie with all elements equally matched, delivering something that is enjoyable to watch time and time again Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/23/24 Full Review Brad K One if the best movies made at its time and the graphics still stand today. The story was great and the action was so well done. This movie still does better than most movies 20 years later Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/16/24 Full Review Read all reviews
Reign of Fire

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Movie Info

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 (Christian Bale) 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 (Matthew McConaughey), 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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