| Don't bring popcorn, there is plenty here |
 By Greg West |
|
"Reign of Fire" |
rating
|
| Dragons are an untapped goldmine, nestled snugly within the cavernous bowels of Hollywood, just waiting to erupt in true form. Strangely enough, not since George Lucas and Disney's collaborative production, "Dragonslayer", has that happened. The rather charming "Dragonheart," a misunderstood children's film, failed miserably at the box office, and Hollywood now fears the dragon. "Reign of Fire" is another valiant effort, and this time the dragons resemble the wicked virgin-eating beast in "Dragonslayer". Unfortunately, "Reign of Fire" tries too hard with its deceptively shallow characters, and not hard enough with its dragons.
Christian Bale turns out yet another solid performance, nearly masking the fact that his character, Quinn, is rather dull. Matthew McConaughey is stirring as Van Zan, an American Dragonslayer. A great improvement would have been shifting the focus onto this character and eliminating Bale's altogether. McConohaugh is one of those pretty-boy actors, like Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp, who actually has a lot more to bring to the screen than just his presence.
The effects, though sparse, are splendid. These are by far the best looking dragons I've ever seen, and it helps that we never really get a clear glimpse of them. Director Rob Bowman is smart enough to know that once the audience gets a good look at a monster, it becomes corny.
|
| |
| You can email Greg at greg@gethouston.com |
|
|
Live
radar
Tool Kit
Get Sports News
