Reign of Fireused dragons to spark an apocalypse in the UK, making it one of the wildest movies of the 21st century.Reign of Firemerges the fantasy and post-apocalyptic genresby featuring several tropes of each, with a small group of survivors living a bleak existence that gets threatened every so often by enormous dragons. Its unusual approach to the fantasy genre makesReign of Fireone ofthe best dragon movies of all time. However, despite its interesting premise and star-packed cast, the movie did not impress critics.
Reign of Firehas a 41% positive critical score on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics generally saw the movie as a clashing mess of ideas, but it was more popular with audiences as it had excellent visual effects and performances from its lead characters.Reign of Fireis one ofMatthew McConaughey’s best movies, with the actor appearing as a muscle-bound American dragon hunter, with his reluctant collaborator, a survivor from the original dragon attack, being one ofChristian Bale’s best-underrated characters.
Reign Of Fire Stars Two Future Oscar Winners
Gerard Butler Also Has A Major Role In Reign Of Fire
The plot ofReign of Firesounds like a B-moviebut it has a surprisingly famous cast. Christian Bale plays Quinn, who witnessed the dragon’s awakening. He manages a group of survivors who are growing more desperate by the day until an armored convoy of dragon hunters arrives. Denton Van Zan, played by Matthew McConaughey, is their larger-than-life leader, who might have the answer to ending the apocalypse. Bale and McConaughey both won Academy Awards later, with Bale winning Best Supporting Actor for his role inThe Fighter, and McConaughey winning Best Actor forDallas Buyers Club.
Among all the well-known faces,Reign of Fireeven features Jack Gleeson (Game of Thrones’s Joffrey) in a brief and uncredited role.
Gerard Butler is still best known for his standout role as King Leonidas in300, but the multi-award-winning actor has appeared in many more action films.Butler plays Quinn’s best friend and fellow survivor, Creedy,inReign of Fire. The two manage the failing survivor encampment together while putting on two-man productions of famous movies for the children living there.Reign of Fireis still one ofGerard Butler’s best action movies, and this relatively early role showcased Butler’s acting skills in some unexpectedly emotional moments.
Reign Of Fire’s Dramatic Potential Is More Impressive Than You Realize
A Reign Of Fire Reboot Might Finally Do It Justice
Reign of Firemight be over-the-top, but there are some unexpectedly emotional momentsthroughout the movie. Quinn and Creedy’s growing desperation informs their characters and explains much of Quinn’s hostility to Van Zan. While Van Zan appears to be more of a caricature when he first arrives, the character is developed, emphasizing the fact that Van Zan has seen similar horrors to Quinn. The scenes that the two characters share are often very serious and resemble typical moments found in war movies rather than a story about a dragon apocalypse. This juxtaposition makesReign of Fireunintentionally hilarious at times.
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Reign of Firemight have several genres and ideas packed into one movie, but it is never boring. The movie is a wild and unpredictable ride from beginning to end, with plenty of ideas that could be explored. Mixing genres is now a fairly regular occurrence in the movie world, anda reboot ofReign of Firecould lean into one or more elements from the original movie. Considering the success of many recent movie and TV franchises which are compelling because they incorporate several different genres,Reign of Firemight simply have been ahead of its time.
Reign Of Fire Has Since Become A Cult Classic (Despite Its Box Office Failure)
Home Video Changed Everything
At the time of its release in 2002,Reign of Firewas just seen as a big, dumb action movie. While there were tentpoles, the post-MCU era of huge franchises that popularized wild fantasy with big, cheesy swings was still years away.X-Menhad only come out two years prior; Sam Raimi’s firstSpider-Manmovie only a few months before.Game of Throneswouldn’t hit TV screens and make dragons mainstream for another nine years.Reign of Fire’s box office certainly reflected the zeitgeist: it badly underperformed at the box office,earning just $82 million against a budget of $60 million.
Despite that,Reign of Firebecame a cult classic in the years after, another reason it deserves a reboot. As with so many flops that deserved a better reception than they got, onceReign of Firehit home video, it was quickly embraced by those who had missed it in theaters to become a bona fide cult hit. It continued to add to its fanbase in the years after as Bale, McConaughey, and Butler went on to have big careers and their fans went back through their filmography to discover the 2002 action flick.
What A Reign Of Fire Reboot Could Look Like
The Original Movie Left A Lot Of Story To Tell
AReign of Firereboot could be a great deal of fun. While it still looks pretty great for a 2002 movie that used heavy CGI, today’s VFX technology could make it look even more incredible, and it wouldn’t be surprising if it were to borrow the same VFX house that broughtGame of Thrones' andHouse of the Dragons' dragons to life. A scene from a flying dragon’s point-of-view could be a standout, and with modern tech, it would be possible.
A scene from a flying dragon’s point-of-view could be a standout, and with modern tech, it would be possible.
Beyond that,Reign of Fireleft the door open for a future story. If the movie isn’t rebooted entirely, a legacy sequel could serve as a narrative extension by picking up the threads from the ending of the movie. ByReign of Fire’s end, it seemed as though the dragons had all been eradicated, but it would be easy enough for one or two to have survived to rebirth a new dragon scourge. If Bale and other actors whose characters survived wanted to return for a sequel,Reign of Fire 2could pick up with them having rebuilt civilization only to watch the dragons try to tear it all down again. However it’s handled, there’s more than enough story for a great sequel, and it’s overdue.
Reign of Fire
Cast
In a dragon-ravaged England, a British survivor and an American ally fight to stop fire-breathing dragons seeking global dominance after centuries underground. The Brit, leading survivors, aims to slay the King of the Dragons, driven by his mother’s death in a dragon attack and the hope of safeguarding his still-living love.
