Bringing Dragons to Life
The deus ex machina comes along in the form of Denton Van Zan (Matthew McConaughey) and his band of American military stragglers. Van Zan and company figure out a way to kill off dragons, gather some military odds and ends and hot-wire a transport plane to fly themselves over to Britain. Tempers flare from the start with Van Zan's high-handed arrogance, and he decides to take his people to London to seek out the single male dragon that has kept the species alive. His expedition meets a bad end; tail between his legs, the army hothead is forced to join up with Quinn and company for a final showdown with the monster.

Reign of Fire pays off in spades for fans of the action genre, with plenty of pyrotechnics (real and computer-generated), impressive dragons, and genuine suspense (the scene where sky-surfing commandos take on a dragon with the help of an Apache helicopter is a standout). Where the film really shines, though, is in its intelligent script, well-developed characters and authentic-looking set design and art direction. Director Rob Bowman helmed many an X-Files episode (as well as the theatrical X-Files movie) and brings a cold, spooky believability to the film. The movie's post-apocalyptic color palette is mainly grays and browns, grimy and grim as you'd expect for the ruins of a planet that's been ravaged by fire.

An interesting detail is in the scene where the adults keep the kids in their underground warren amused by acting out The Empire Strikes Back's pivotal scene where Luke finds out that Darth Vader is his father, with the grownups using cardboard tubes for light sabers. In a nod to the sci-fi fans in the audience, it posits that some l00 years later, the movie's story has lived on as oral tradition, and it works. One of the few weaknesses is McConaughey's bug-eyed performance as Van Zan — complete with well-chomped stogie, shaved head and full beard, he comes across as a comic-book character among real people. There are a few holes for the nit-pickers to crawl into (How do dragons stay alive just by eating ash? What really happened for those 20 years?), but it's too easy to just go with the movie's flow and overlook such details.

Extras
Extras include the "Breathing Life into the Terror" featurette, with details on the various sketches and models that were considered for the dragons' final design; it's worth noting that some form of dragon mythology runs through just about every culture. Touching on such a deep chord gives the movie genuine resonance, while the use of Humvees, attack helicopters and the like helps bring it into the modern age. "If You Can't Stand the Heat" is a mini-documentary that looks at the challenges and dangers of using so much fire (the propane-fueled kind, not the CGI kind) on a movie set. Bowman is also interviewed in some depth about the movie and his career. The original theatrical trailer is also included. The film is presented in a 2.35:1 widescreen transfer and a is graced with a thunderous 5.l (Dolby or DTS) soundtrack.