Rating: 
Summary: Better than I expected
Review: What I expected: a newly made, somewhat flashy, B movie
What I got: a newly made, somewhat flashy, B+ movie The effects are really good despite what some of the reviewers have stated. The realism of the Dragon's movements are pretty natural and you can tell they spent alot of time with the CGI. There is a lack of visuals, but this is not a blockbuster movie, so I forgive. The problems lie in some of the peripheral actors abilities to make me believe their performances, some story holes here and there, and a lack of funding. I thought several times "I wish they had spent $10 million more on this movie".
With that said, I liked it alot and was surprised at how involved I had become with the story. McConaughey actually gave a stellar performance (I'm not normally a fan of him) and Bale was okay but a little forced. It's a great tale of Dragon Slayers mixed with modernism and apocalypse, enjoy. No buyers remorse so far.
Rating: 
Summary: Good idea... bad execution
Review: I saw the trailers for Regin of Fire and thought: cool - a movie about dragons and fire! that should be fun. Well, yeah, the concept is great, but the execution was terrible. If they weren't going to make the plot even remotely interesting, the least they could have done was make the movie wall to wall action, ya know? Seriously, kicking dragon butt for an hour and a half would be entertaining when you are in the mood for that sort of thing. Special effects were not all that great. Didn't stink, but not good either. A lot of really interesting ideas and concepts, but none of them explored at all. The movie seemed like one big brainstorming session - a lot of good nuggets, but nobody bothered to pick out the good ones and expand them into a good moive.
Rating:
Summary: Some Like It Hot!
Review: When it comes to Science Fiction and Fantasy movies, a wide sector of appeal can't realistically be expected. Perhap "Matrix" had the widest appeal in the modern, digital effects era because of its crossover into rather serious social and political issues. "Reign of Fire" is basically a dragonslayer movie taken out of the misty mystical magic of the Middle Ages and put into a setting that starts in present day London, but ends in the stark setting of a Mad Max-like, post apocalyptic England. There is a dramatic continuity between the young boy who first sees the resurrected dragon, and their face to face confrontation years later. Unlike "Dungeons and Dragons" that had winged serpents that could only be defeated by transcendental magic, this story has heroes, starting with the young boy's mother, who are in succession fatally brought down in their struggle with the fire breathing beasts until there is only one left standing...the dragonslayer. Those of us who have since childhood watched movies like this where an ageless monster spreads havoc and abject destruction on an otherwise stable civilization know the storyline. So for those who know the story, the question is what does this new telling bring. Well, I thought it has some interesting qualities. I liked the dramatic tension between the hide-and-survive mentality as embodied in the Bale character and the kill-the-beast mentality embodied in the McConaughhey character. The digital capabilities are exploited to provide some some uniquely exciting scenes in this movie. My favorite was the skydiving Archangels and their bait and chase of a flying dragon...that was new and cool. I watched it in the DTS mode, and the sound images amplified the story unfolding visually. My favorite audio image was the sound of the male dragon making unseen high speed passes in the darkness over the ill fated convoy to London. After "Dungeons and Dragons", my expectation for a movie of this type was not very high, but I enjoyed "Reign of Fire" much more that I had anticipated. This is a movie for Sci-Fi/Fantasy freaks, and in its genre, I think it is well done. The 1981 "Dragonslayer" is still ranks as the classic, but "Reign of Fire" is worth watching and forming your own opinion. I came upstairs from by basement theater telling my wife it was much better than I expected.
Rating: 
Summary: A Flawless Movie!
Review: This movie was one of the best movies I have ever seen! The special effects are some of the best. The dragons were excellent. Both me and my brother agree that they don't look mythical or fictional, they look like they really could become real one day. The way they move was very realistic, and even the way they "breath" fire is amazing. The actors were great. Christian Bale did a fantastic job as Quinn. Matthew (I can't spell his last name) did very well as rag-tag dragonslayer Van Zan. The cinematography was also good. Although the dragons were computer-generated, they looked like they were really there, especially because the actors seem to look straight at them. I highly recommend this movie. It is great for preteens, teens, and adults. I wouldn't recommend this as a family movie or for kids under 9. There ISN'T that much language, or blood, but it can get very brutal and violent, as well as scary. If you haven't seen it, rent it. If you have rented it and liked it, I recommend you buy it.
Rating: 
Summary: so very disappointing.......
Review: I really wanted to like this movie. The previews all seem to depict a very compelling film, but his was not the case. Sad to say, but the fact that Matthew McConaughey is in it was not a redeeming quality. He does an excellent job playing his character but I found myself rewinding the dvd to listen to his line repeated times as his speech was just so in coherent. The special effect in the movie were top notch, but I feel the need to point out several obvious flaws which ruined the movie. First off, where is all this fuel coming from for these tanks and the chopper? I am no expert on the fuel consumption of tanks in the U.S military, but I've been told it is about 4 gallons per mile.........and I did not get that backwards either. In adition, I don't think I need to speculate on the fuel comsumption of that chopper. Not once in the movie did I see anyone refuel ANYTHING, nor did I see any supplies being carried, stocked, or unstocked by the general and his men. Remeber when Matthew McConaughey first gets to the castle and states his men are low on supplies and ammo....well they didn't have squat in the castle either. Also, they are fighting a race of intelligent dragons that seemingly feed on ash, which is why they fry everything to a crisp. We all gotta eat, but ask any biology teacher why things burn. When you burn a piece of wood or a tasty human....the burning is actually a release of energy from the decomposition of the material being burned. When all the energy is comsumed, what you have is carbon ash, the base element of all life on earth. Now think about this-If a creature eats carbon ash, what energy is there to metabolize from it? This was nothing more than an excuse to make the dragons hostile and an insult to anyone with a middle school education. I also cite the numerous times the dragons seems to fry everything with their napalm breath and then just fly away. Like aren't you hungry? Why is the male dragon so easy to find? I mean why go to London to kill him. Seems all you have to do is head towards London and he comes and meets you 60 miles out of town. I think the sole male dragon in the entire species would be spending more time propagating his race than fighting humans. The poor female dragons must be so bored not getting in on the action. Seemingly, the male dragon seems to be the agressor to make the movie end that much quicker because it would take too long to find him. Well, enough bashing for me. I did seriously enjoy 1 aspect of the movie. The inventive way they thought of to fight dragons with modern day military vehicles and aircraft was well though out and pretty darn cool I must admit. Besides this, the movie pretty much sucked. That's my 2 cents. Cya!
Rating: 
Summary: B-Grade Monster Movie
Review: Reign of Fire is a descent post apocalyptic tail directed by X-Files alumnus Rob Bowman. The story begins in present day London where a boy named Quinn participates in the discovery the underground resting place of a once dormant dragon. Fast forward about 20 years where dragons have overrun the world and Quinn is the leader of a small community of survivors held up in a castle somewhere in England. Mathew McConaughey and his band of dragon slayers arrive on their way to London to kill the only male dragon, thus eliminating the species. Testosterone levels are high as the two leaders clash. The real stars of the movie however are the dragons. They are described by their creators as having the movements of a cheetah, the skin of an alligator, with elements of birds and cobras. The final product is ultra cool and in my opinion worth the price of admission. The DVD transfer is sharp and crisp. The Dolby 5.1 track will exercise your speakers, particularly when the dragons appear. Extras are limited to a brief documentary on the dragon effects, the pyrotechnics, and a conversation with the director. Despite is faults it's a fun movie. Hardcore fans of monster movies and special effects will want this one in their library. Others may want to give it a Saturday night rental.
Rating:
Summary: Wasted potential
Review: Reign of Fire: great concept, lousy film. The biggest problem with Reign of Fire was that it was a film about dragons, yet didn't showcase them nearly enough. The tale is straight out of the 1950's: London drillers uncover a dragon's lair far below the surface, awakening a horde of slumbering beasts and triggering a mass invasion. The creatures pillage our planet, destroying every major city from Paris to New York. By 2020, only isolated pockets of humans remain. Unfortuantley, we never get to see the attacks, only faded pictures. That would have been forgivable had not that kind of wasted potential weaved its way through the rest of the film. Quinn (Christian Bale), who leads a community in hiding in an old English castle, is in a desperate war for mere survival. But out of no where, a gang of left-over American military personal arrive claiming to be dragonslayers. They are lead by Van Zant (Matthew McConaughey) who chews up every one of his lines. However, once we see these "dragonslayers" in action, it becomes remarkable that they were able to kill anything, let alone a dragon. I won't even get into the huge, gaping plot holes (the dragons are starving -- so why do they keep setting their food ablaze?) The FX are fairly good. And while [director] Rob Bowman does a great job at making the dragons, what little we see, truly ominous, the fear begins to fade as we hunger for the good stuff: battles, battles, and more battles. Yet, we are only left with a couple of action scenes which are ambitiously mounted but plagued with a horrible case of continuity problems. In the end, Reign of Fire comes across as cold and hollow as the post-apocalyptic sets. Such a waste.
Rating:
Summary: Not as bad as you would think...
Review: I remember seeing the trailer for this movie when it was out in the theaters and thinking to myself, "oh what a bunch of garbage." I can't remember who finally convinced me to see it, but I did and I was pleasantly surprised. The story is a little more believable than you would think and the characters are great. Matthew McConaughey plays a great character. You'll never forget him in this role, I promise you. It's a good flick for a light night's entertainment.
Rating:
Summary: Great Idea, "almost" great execution.
Review: The theatrical version of the movie was something I had been holding my breath for in antici----pation. When it came I was almost satisfied.
The acting was above average. Both of the main characters did an excellent job in their own right, but the producers could certainly have chosen MORE characters (actors) to fill in the gaps.
The special effects were SPECTACULAR. I don't think anyone would question that one. This alone is reason to see the movie.
The Plot is captivating and inspirational. I have been thinking of this premise, off an on, ever since I saw the movie and is frequently the topic of conversation to this day between several of my friends and myself.
The execution of the plot, that is another situation entirely. As has been mentioned before there was certainly way too much talking and not enough fighting. I understand the limitations of budget and time on a project of this scale, but come on. They could have spent their time an energy working on one huge battle scene (with multiple dragons) for the end of the movie and spent the first part building up to it. There were several hundred dragons in London alone when the majority of the movie takes places. The characters see them when they assault the city to get the "king". Where are these other dragons when all this is going on...
Well, anyway, for all its faults it is still worth seeing. I hope you enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: Nice flick, but...
Review: I liked this movie, fast paced and well done, dragons are believable; I just have trouble with the overall premise, dragons taking over the world? Anyway, suspend disbelief and enjoy...
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