Will there be a Reign of Fire review? (1 Viewer)

[Brian Cleary]

(message continued)

DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS
DRAGONHEART
GODZILLA 2000

Now if only Paramount would release a special editon of DRAGON SLAYER we'd be all set.

 

[Todd Terwilliger]

Brian,
I hate to disagree with your reccomendations but I must. I would, frankly, stay as far away from Dungeons & Dragons as humanly possible and only slightly closer to Dragonheart. Caveat Rentor!
Dragonslayer, though, is a must-see if it's ever released to be seen at all.

 

[Michael P]

Hmmm, perhaps I saw a different movie than some of you did. I thought this was perhaps the most awful movie that I saw all of last year. I was very excited about it when I went to see it at the movies and I really thought it was BAD!!! I usually like this kind of action movie but I didn't like this one. I have not seen the dvd so I can't rate that, but I would definitely warn people to rent before you buy.

 

[Jeff_HR]

Now if only Paramount would release a special editon of DRAGONSLAYER we'd be all set

I have not seen "Reign of Fire" & I'm not sure I will. I really want "Dragonslayer" from Paramount. Perhaps Mr Blythe will be kind enough to give us some info.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Sorry, guys...
It was on my list for this week...
Then Back To The Future arrived.
Then Star Trek TNG season 6 arrived.
I still have to get to the Goofy collection.
I would review it later in the week, but there
are so many reviews up already. After street date,
I tend not to review stuff.
If you really want a review, I'll do one.

 

[Lars_J]

I missed this movie in theaters, but when I rented it two days ago, I was very impressed. I did have somewhat low expectations after hearing reviews, but nonetheless I think this movie has been unfairly maligned. I thought it was very entertaining.
"Worst movie of the year"? - Anyone who says that clearly needs to see more movies.

 

[Frank@N]

OK, I finished watching the movie and feel that the ending delivered on the premise of the flick.

The amazing burn-out visas and extended king dragon battle delivered on the old 'man vs. monster' story.

I wish the movie had explored more of the interesting concepts raised, like the failure of technology, the fall of humanity, or the idea that the dragons fed on ash.

I also would have like to seen more believable tactics developed by the rag-tag humans to combat the smaller female dragons, since this could have made for a better middle section of the movie.

A few corners definitely got cut here, like the wrong date for the fictional events in the trailer. Pretty glaring.

I was also surprised that the DVD layer change occurred during a motion sequence, kinda awkward.

This doesn't really measure up to the gold standard of summer/action/monster flicks (Jurassic Park 3, IMHO), but I would still recommend it.

 

[Steve Schaffer]

Ron,

Lemme put it this way:

If it comes down to a choice between reviewing Reign of Fire and a little known documentary or an older classic film, I'd prefer it if you'd skip Reign of Fire. It's a good little popcorn flick but lacks real scale or depth, and the special features on the disc are minimal. I really would have appreciated a lot more backstory (or actually midstory) about the period between the awakening of the 1st dragon and the post-apocalyptic setting of the majority of the movie.

One brief note: the post-apocalyptic setting in the ruined castle was eerily reminiscent of Alexander Korda's "Things to Come," an early 30s epic with story and screenplay by HG Wells and amazing special effects for the period. This is available on dvd from Image and a great candidate for a Ron Review if his schedule ever eases up.

 

[ace peterson]

I didn't even finish watching this movie. What a disappointment. The dragons were cool, but that's where the coolness ended.

On a lighter note, the high school girl at Blockbuster that rented the movie called it "Region of Fire." And again when I was walking out she put it on the counter and said, "Enjoy Region of Fire..." What could I say? Some people. I just smirked.

 

[Daryl Stovall]

I Agree, The Poster Was False Advertising. The Movie Was A mis-Opportunity To Bring The Pain, ie More Air Battles Involving the Archangels & Copters. They Also Could've Given The Van Sant Character More Of A Captain Ahab/Don Quixote Slant.

 

[Andy Sheets]

They Also Could've Given The Van Sant Character More Of A Captain Ahab/Don Quixote Slant.

I thought they did
Anyway, it's a nice movie but I don't feel a compulsion to own it. Maybe if I ever see it on sale for $10 or so I'll grab it.

 

[Clinton McClure]

Turned it off after 30 minutes and watched Bad Company with Chris Rock and Anthony Hopkins....A much better film in my opinion. Even though I'm a dragon fanatic, Reign of Fire was just not my cup of tea.

 

[Chris_Morris]

It almost seemed like the dragons were designed to fly extremely fast so as to exit the screen (= save money) as quickly as possible. Watching this flick, you can almost feel the budgetary constrictions.

The director states in the featurette, that the lack of seeing the dragons was intentional, as he believes it builds more fear by letting your imagination run wild trying to figure out what you are seeing.

Chris

 

[RyanChristoffel]

I don't mean to try to "educate" anyone since I'm a new member, but you really shouldn't turn a movie off after 30 minutes. I can't say this with Reign of Fire since I haven't seen it but it's probably the same case, anyways, I came very close to turning off both "Signs" and "Eight Legged Freaks" after 30 minutes but I kept watching because I had heard decent things about both flicks and I ended up loving Signs. Eight Legged Freaks was a pretty good popcorn flick. If I had turned them off when I felt like it and didn't keep watching I would've missed out on at least one pretty good movie (Signs) and an entertaining popcorn flick (Eight Legged Freaks)

Anyways about a review, I personally would love to see you review it, Ron, but I understand you have other things on your agenda. Your reviews are always my favorites, but there are other reviews for this that I can read if you don't have the time to review it.

 

[Paul O]

yeah, let this one fade into obscurity - an apocolyptic movie with dragons should be a can't miss (now if they could work a shark into it..i'd be first in line at the theater ) but they missed by a mile with its thin plot, shaky premise and poorly executed CGI.

 

[Jan Strnad]

We just watched Reign of Fire last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. Having my expectations trashed by the negative reviews helped a lot. If I'd been expecting an apocalyptic battle between millions of dragons and all of the armies of Man, I'd have been quickly disappointed.
I didn't see anything second rate about the CGI effects. I thought the dragons were very cool, especially the old, battered one. His torn wing membranes gave him an ancient, mythological look.
Conceptual holes: There were plenty. I never swallowed that modern technology couldn't have beaten the dragons, and the magic hour vision thing didn't seem plausible to me. Most of all, the idea that there was one male, and if you killed him, you'd kill the species, was pretty specious. The way it works in nature, with a dominant male, is that the dominant male kills the young males that are born, which makes sense. If there is no way to replace the one male, the species doesn't get out of the evolutionary gate. So, killing the one male probably just paved the way for another one.
I really appreciated the "real" tone of the film and the conflict between Van Sant and Quinn.
Interesting about Van Sant's backstory. He told it quite clearly, but my wife also missed it, saying, "We don't know anything about him!" It reminds me of the approaching hurricane in Jurassic Park and the evacuation of the island, which flew right over many people's heads because it was told and not shown.
The producers definitely set themselves up for a fall with the misleading advertising. I don't think the trailer on the DVD is the one I saw in the theater.
Jan

 

[Dave Smith]

I also just managed to watch the movie last night, and honestly I really enjoyed it.

The story has plot holes you could drive a bus through, and some of the acting is over the top, but the effects are fantastic and I found the whole thing just... entertaining!

 

[Kwang Suh]

idea that there was one male, and if you killed him, you'd kill the species, was pretty specious. The way it works in nature, with a dominant male, is that the dominant male kills the young males that are born, which makes sense. If there is no way to replace the one male, the species doesn't get out of the evolutionary gate. So, killing the one male probably just paved the way for another one.

 

[Jan Strnad]

Kwang Suh,
Hey, here's a notion. Clearly (from the newspaper clippings) mankind used nukes against the dragons, so maybe it was the nuclear winter that decimated mankind and not the dragons directly.
As for your sequel idea, I'm hittin' the word processor!
(And my agent is the Monteiro Rose Agency in Encino, CA, if the studio reads this message!)
Jan

 

[Kwang Suh]

No problem, just make sure to give me a writing credit