This kind of movie hasn’t really been able to do it for me in the past. I hoped that Reign of Fire could be the exception, primarily because it showcases the likes of two suave and talented actors – Matthew McConaughey and Christian Bale. The concept, as far out as it is, seems like it could be interesting enough.

London 2008, underground construction is taking place and what the workers are about to discover is of unfathomable importance to the future of man-kind, a hibernating dragon. Upon discovery, the construction crew is all annihilated in its fiery breath within moments, leaving only one survivor, 12 year old Quinn Abercomby. Quinn’s mother, the chief of the construction crew is among the dead, a memory that will continue to haunt young Quinn for many years to come.

Twenty Years later, the planet is in ruins, all great cities have fallen and the few who survived have taken refuge in small keeps in communities of a few hundred. The superpowers of the world have tried to defend the planet but have failed, and the world is now on the brink of complete destruction and mankind’s complete extinction is approaching. Quinn (Christian Bale) is in charge of his community, where they aren’t sure if they are all that’s remaining of humankind or not, but the dragons aren’t their only problems as there appears to be some turmoil within the group, regarding differences of opinions in how to run the community.

Essentially the plan is to outlast the dragons and not fight them, because apparently in the past this is how the dragons have died out. Before long things begin to look grim as a member of the community dies and half the harvest is destroyed, but low and behold the leader of a US Army unit Denton Van Zan (Matthew McConaughey) and his crew come riding along to save the day; tank and helicopter included. From this point on the two leaders (Quinn and Denton) seem to mistrust each other, but ultimately they need each other for survival. Denton has encountered dragons in the past and has even killed one, which is an unbelievable feet. During his travels he noticed that all the dragons he encountered were females, leading him to suspect that there is only one male that fertilizes the eggs that the females lay, and he has reason to believe that this dragon was in London. The initial plan of outlasting the dragons drastically changes and the war for mankind’s survival begins.

Reign of Fire turns out to be a pretty decent fantasy action movie, with some cool visuals and interesting characters. Most notably I was once again impressed by Christian Bale as he always plays such different characters, physical appearance included. There isn’t really any depth to this movie, so don’t expect an epic fantasy along the lines of Lord of The Rings, instead it’s just a good enough movie to throw in and enjoy some action. If you haven’t seen it yet it’s definitely worth checking out if you’re into either the fantasy or action genres.

Video

Presented in 1080p 2.35:1, Reign of Fire makes an impressive debut on Blu-ray and adds to Buena Vistas already impressive track record. The visual effects hold up much better than I expected, showcasing some impressive texturing. The fire produced by the dragons had amazing clarity and depth, truly a sight to be seen. Just as impressive were the ruins of downtown London. The grey colors and amazingly detailed buildings were truly striking. Surprisingly the film was free of any grain for many of the dark in building shots but was present in the dark grey sky. Occasionally I also saw some white speckling on the print itself; however this was minor and did not cause any distraction. There is no denying that Reign of Fire is a great looking film, fans will be pleased with Buena Vistas latest effort.

Audio

I have got to hand it to Buena Vista. What is becoming somewhat of a regular thing with their releases, we are given both a 5.1 Dolby Digital and PCM audio track. I expected to be impressed by this track and I was not left disappointed. Dialogue sounded great and there were usually enough subtle effects coming from the rear channels to keep things interesting. More importantly the attacks made by the dragon sounded spectacular, with such clarity, bass and excellent use of every channel I had wished the people had gotten attacked more often. This track is sure to be used in many people’s system to showcase the power and clarity of PCM audio.

Special Features

For fans looking for more extras then the DVD provided they will be disappointed. We are only given forty minutes of features and a theatrical trailer.

• Breathing Life Into The Terror & If You Can’t Stand The Heat – The first two features provide glimpses on how the dragons and their destructive fire were created. These provided some interesting footage but together are under twenty five which is disappointing.
• Conversation With Rob Bowman -Running at twelve minutes the third feature is an interview with director Rob Bowman. This feature has a bit more depth than the other two and offers a look into the film’s production.
• Movie Showcase – Jump to the movies best looking scenes.
• Theatrical Trailers -High Definition trailers for Reign of Fire, Invincible, The Guardian and The Prestige.

Final Thoughts

Reign of Fire on Blu-ray looks great, and sounds even better. The movie itself is good, but nothing spectacular; same goes for the special features. This disc is still definitely worth the purchase for fans, and if you haven’t seen it yet it’s probably worth checking out at least once.