In present-day London, 10-year-old Quinn visits his construction engineer mother at her work. When he crawls into a cavern the workers have uncovered, he finds a large, fire-breathing dragon--which destroys the site and kills his mother. Fast-forward to 2020. Quinn (Christian Bale, AMERICAN PSYCHO) is living in a castle in Northumberton, the leader of survivors of the dragon plague which has wiped out a large portion of the human population. He and his colony, including dozens of orphans, eke out an existence in hopes that the human race will someday take back the planet from the gigantic, winged monsters. Enter Van Zan (Matthew McConaughey), a war-mad American and his team of military trained fighters. They offer to team up with Quinn and his people, but only if they consent to the American's extreme tactics to destroy the fire-breathing beasts.
Directed by Rob Bowman (X FILES), REIGN OF FIRE combines elements of ALIENS, THE ROAD WARRIOR, and 1981's DRAGONSLAYER for a potent genre cocktail that takes a traditionally medieval monster into the future and injects it into state-of-the-art action sequences. The film plays as post-apocalyptic sci-fi, but the stunningly executed dragon sequences are pure horror, especially as the menacing creatures slaughter prominent characters with extreme speed and ruthlessness.
Theatrical release: JULY 12, 2002
Blu-ray Disc Features:
Keep Case
Full Frame - 1.33
Widescreen - 2.35
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround - English
Uncompressed 5.1 - English
Additional Release Material:
Trailers: Original Theatrical Trailer
Featurette:
1. BREATHING LIFE INTO TERROR
2. BELOW THE LINE: IF YOU CAN STAND THE HEAT
3. CONVERSATIONS WITH ROB BOWMAN
Interactive Features:
Movie Showcase: Instant Access To Select Movie Scenes That Showcase The Ultimate In High Definition Picture And Sound
Director of Photography
Adrian Biddle: Director Of Photography, AN AMERICAN HAUNTING (2006)
Story
Gregg Chabot: Screenwriter, REIGN OF FIRE (2002)
Story
Kevin Peterka:
Costume Designer
Joan Bergin: Costume Designer
Review 1:
"...It has a jamming B-picture buzz -- the kind of swift filmmaking and high spirits that have been missing from movies for a while..."
Source: New York Times
p.E17 07/12/2002
Review 2:
"...A seamless merging of high concept and technology that dwarfs all previous pretenders....[With] Oscar-caliber visual effects and art direction..."
Source: Box Office
p.156 09/01/2002
Review 3:
"...A rip-roaring videogame-busy, Mad Maximum entertainment....The story is enlivened by a throwaway good humor rare as dragon's eggs..."
Source: Entertainment Weekly
p.45 07/26/2002
Review 4:
"...With enormous wingspans and nasty, lizard-like bodies, able to incinerate large areas and swallow humans in a single tasty gulp, the dragons are creatures of a certain creepy elegance as well as undeniable potency..."
Source: Los Angeles Times
p.C6 07/12/2002