Reign of Fire

Play trailer

Reign of Fire

PG-13

Released Jul 12, 2002

1h 41m

Fantasy

Adventure

Action

Sci-Fi

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

41%

Tomatometer

172 Reviews

49%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

In present-day London, 12-year-old Quinn watches as his mother wakes an enormous fire-breathing beast from its centuries-long slumber. Twenty years later, much of the world has been scarred by the beast and its offspring. As a fire chief, Quinn (Christian Bale) is responsible for warding off the beasts and keeping a community alive as they eke out a meager existence. Into their midst comes a hotshot American, Van Zan (Matthew McConaughey), who says he has a way to kill the beasts.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Critics Consensus

Reign of Fire gains some altitude with its pyrotechnic action and a smolderingly campy Matthew McConaughey, but the feature's wings are clipped by a derivative script and visual effects that fizzle out.

Read Critics Reviews

SMH Staff

Sydney Morning Herald

The characters are sketchy, the plot is full of logical holes and the story is all fight and flight. But despite its flaws, it is enjoyable if you like special effects, warriors and computer-generated dragons.

Mar 31, 2019

Full Review

Anthony Quinn

Independent (UK)

For all its silliness, Reign of Fire never bores, and may actually appeal to your inner twelve-year-old.

Mar 31, 2019

Full Review

Tim Robey

Daily Telegraph (UK)

The poor dragons - on screen not nearly enough as it is - stand no chance pitted against this kind of heavyweight ham.

Mar 31, 2019

Full Review

Leah Rozen

People Magazine

Better than the trailers made it seem, but nothing to get fired up about.

Mar 31, 2019

Full Review

Malcolm Johnson

Hartford Courant

For all of its design and special-effects artistry, "Reign of Fire" is seldom convincing -- only slightly more alive than the silly 2000 "Dungeons & Dragons."

Mar 31, 2019

Full Review

John Wooley

Tulsa World

Look too closely at it, and you'll find a question or two that aren't satisfactorily answered by film's end. But it deserves high marks for not being quite like anything else -- for being, in fact, just different enough to impress.

Rated: 3/4

Mar 31, 2019

Full Review

Read all reviews

Brian S

The most underrated scif-fi action movie of the modern age. Denton Van Zan and Kentucky Irregulars alone are worth four stars.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/07/24

Full Review

Angry A

All of these poor ratings probably thought Pacific Rim was bad too. Yah, it was. But it was awesome, and FUN. This movie is 22 years old, pull the stick out of your ass and enjoy this very unique film with an extremely talented and famous cast.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/24/24

Full Review

Audience Member

This movie had all the promise in the world yet really failed to live up to most of it. The setting is great and the idea is wonderful but badly put together.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

10/11/24

Full Review

Vince J

So many big names for such an awful movie.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

08/18/24

Full Review

Dale R

Christian Bale and Matthew McConaughey star in this Touchstone release about a post-apocalyptic world where dragons have taken over as the dominant species. This is an original take on the dragon vs. human tale. The special effects are good for the most part, the first dragon fly-by looked like you could see through the dragon to me. The CGI destruction that I was hoping for wasn’t here and that was a big let down as they just narrated over the human downfall. The story has a few plot holes and overt conveniences that I thought brought down the overall movie. Bale and McConaughey both have some good acting moments. I think there is a limited audience that would find this movie entertaining, and if you think you’re in that group then give this movie a watch.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

07/07/24

Full Review

Richard B

Awesome movie, great action, 5 stars!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/22/24

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Rob Bowman

Director

Christian Bale

Quinn

Matthew McConaughey

Van Zan

Izabella Scorupco

Alex Jensen

Gerard Butler

Dave Creedy

David Kennedy

Eddie Stax

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

The Time Machine

28%

37%

The Time Machine

Watchlist

Star Trek

94%

91%

Star Trek

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Star Trek

X2

85%

85%

X2

Watchlist

TRAILER

for X2

X-Men

82%

83%

X-Men

Watchlist

TRAILER

for X-Men

X-Men: The Last Stand

56%

61%

X-Men: The Last Stand

Watchlist

TRAILER

for X-Men: The Last Stand

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

New on Prime Video and Freevee in September 2022

Know Your Critic: Robert Daniels, Freelance Film Critic

Here Be Dragons! Famous TV and Movie Fire-Breathers

View more photos

Synopsis

In present-day London, 12-year-old Quinn watches as his mother wakes an enormous fire-breathing beast from its centuries-long slumber. Twenty years later, much of the world has been scarred by the beast and its offspring. As a fire chief, Quinn (Christian Bale) is responsible for warding off the beasts and keeping a community alive as they eke out a meager existence. Into their midst comes a hotshot American, Van Zan (Matthew McConaughey), who says he has a way to kill the beasts.

Director: Rob Bowman
Producer: Roger Birnbaum, Gary Barber, Richard D. Zanuck, Lili Fini Zanuck
Screenwriter: Gregg Chabot, Gregg Chabot, Kevin Peterka, Kevin Peterka, Matt Greenberg
Distributor: Touchstone Pictures
Production Co: Spyglass Entertainment
Rating: PG-13 (Intense Action Violence)
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Action, Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 12, 2002, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 10, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $43.1M
Runtime: 1h 41m
Sound Mix: Dolby SR, DTS, Dolby Stereo, Surround, SDDS, Dolby A, Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

Most Popular at Home Now