Reign of Fire

"They're extremely intelligent. Highly evolved. And they don't like sharing the planet."

2002 1h 41m EN

😐

6.2

MID

★6.2TMDB · 2,558

AdventureActionFantasy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In post-apocalyptic England, an American volunteer and a British survivor team up to fight off a brood of fire-breathing dragons seeking to return to global dominance after centuries of rest underground. The Brit—leading a clan of survivors to hunt down the King of the Dragons—has much at stake: his mother was killed by a dragon, but his love is still alive.

“They're extremely intelligent. Highly evolved. And they don't like sharing the planet.”

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Cast

Christian Bale
Quinn Abercromby
Matthew McConaughey
Denton Van Zan
Izabella Scorupco
Alex Jensen
Gerard Butler
Creedy
Alexander Siddig
Ajay
Scott Moutter
Jared Wilke
David Kennedy
Eddie Stax
Ned Dennehy
Barlow

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Rob Bowman
Writers: Gregg Chabot, Kevin Peterka, Matt Greenberg
Languages: English
Countries: Ireland, United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $60M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 24 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: Ireland, United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Rob Bowman, shot by Adrian Biddle. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Edward Shearmur. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Thom Noble shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Christian Bale and Matthew McConaughey and Izabella Scorupco carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "They're extremely intelligent. Highly evolved. And they don't like sharing the planet.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Rob Bowman directs. Adrian Biddle behind the camera. Edward Shearmur scores. Thom Noble cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in Ireland, United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Mid-budget at $60M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
2Released 24 years ago.
3International production across 3 countries: Ireland, United Kingdom, United States of America.
4Directed by Rob Bowman, shot by Adrian Biddle. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Edward Shearmur. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Thom Noble shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Christian Bale and Matthew McConaughey and Izabella Scorupco carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "They're extremely intelligent. Highly evolved. And they don't like sharing the planet.".
9IMDB entry: tt0253556 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 14 themes, including "london, england", "castle", "dragon", "evolution".

The technical file

Cinematography: Adrian Biddle
Original score: Edward Shearmur
Editing: Thom Noble
Production design: Wolf Kroeger
Costume design: Joan Bergin
Makeup / hair: Dee Corcoran
VFX supervisor: Richard R. Hoover
Sound: Leslie Shatz
Stunt coordinator: James Bamford
Runtime: 101 min · 1h 41m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $60,000,000
Box office: $82,150,183
Return: 137% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Reign of Fire (2002)

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Rob Bowman

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What people are saying

Wuchak2020-06-27
★ 6/10
Grim tale of the dragon apocalypse Dormant fire-breathing dragons are awoken in subterranean chambers and proceed to unleash hell on earth. Almost two decades later a group of survivors led by Quinn (Christian Bale) live underground in England when American militants pay them a visit, led by seeming-psycho Van Zan (Matthew McConaughey). It seems they have a strategy to slay the dragons once-and-for-all. Izabella Scorupco plays the woman stuck between the two rival leaders. "Reign of Fire" (2002) is similar to the Mad Max films, but without the comic book goofiness. This is a solemn, grey tale with a quality cast, convincing sets/costumes and surprisingly effective CGI. I gained greater respect for McConaughey as he is unrecognizable as the bald combative and loses himself in the role. Unfortunately, the storytelling is weak. It’s just not that compelling, which isn’t helped by the mumbled dialogue and ambiguities. Still, if you can adapt to the viewer-unfriendly style, there’s a lot to appreciate here. The film runs 1 hour, 41 minutes and was shot in Ireland. GRADE: B-/C+
The Movie Mob2023-01-13
★ 8/10
Reign of Fire might not have a robust deep story, but it’s still a solid post-apocalyptic sci-fi adventure with an impressive cast and great action. Reign of Fire collects Batman, Leonidas, a Bond Girl, and a crazed Matthew McConaughey and throws them headlong into a charred, barren post-apocalyptic world covered in the ash of millions of unstoppable hungry dragons. Critics savaged this movie with its harsh reviews, and if you expect an action sci-fi film about fighting dragons to win an Oscar, you will be disappointed. But if you embrace the movie for what it is, a fun action movie with a surprisingly good cast, pretty solid special effects for being 20 years old, and a simple but entertaining plot, then you will be more than satisfied. Christian Bale plays to his strengths as an intense but caring hero, while McConaughey goes full insane soldier dragon slayer in one of his more ridiculous roles but is also one of my favorites. Reign of Fire won no awards, but that doesn’t mean it can’t entertain and warm your heart (ha, get it? 🐉 😉).
JPV8522025-04-12
★ 5/10
Watchable I guess but a pretty lackluster fantasy-actioner that's more noteworthy for a cast that includes Matthew McConaughey, Christian Bale and Gerard Butler. Beyond that it's also a really ugly looking film void of pretty much any color. Not one I have any desire to revisit. 2.75/5