When this movie was first released in 2002, Joe and I went to see it at the theater with high hopes. It had been hyped, and it didn't quite live up to it at that time. This is why I hate hype. It unrealistically raises your expectations before you know anything about the movie. Since then, we have rented the movie and seen it for what it truly is--a victim of its own hype that is actually a good movie, and highly underrated now.
The concept seemed original enough--a new twist on the dragon myth. But when you think about it, we are not really entertained by concept. We are entertained by a good story with good characters.
Reign of Fire has both of those, in my opinion. The main character, Quinn, has a basic goal that we can all relate to: survival. What makes him endearing is that he is not simply concerned for his own skin, but also the others under his care, which includes many children.
Quinn is the protagonist, the dragons are the antagonist, and structurally, this movie couldn't be any more perfect. We're shown the inciting incident when Quinn is a boy. He is the one who let the dragon loose, so he has to be the one to off it at the end. And that is what ultimately happens. Simple, right?
But there has to be more depth than that or it would be quite boring.
Enter depth with a name: Van Zan. This character and his team are made to look like bad guys at first, but really, their goal is the same as Quinn and the gang--survival--they just go about their solution in a different way. Whereas Quinn takes a defensive approach, Van Zan takes an offensive one.
Pun. Totally. Intended.
He's a jerk, but he's earned the right to be (in his eyes, anyway), as you later find out. But his presence is what marks the change in Quinn's story. Again, this follows structure so closely it's almost scary, down to the minute he appears in the movie. Once Quinn sees a different angle, and loses his best friend (of course!), he has new incentive to take action. PROactive instead of REactive.
Then it's do or die time. Literally.
And in the course of these things, it doesn't matter that Van Zan bites it at the end in one of the coolest screen shots this side of the door-kick scene in Transporter, because Quinn must face the dragon, alone, as he did in the beginning. This is the always-necessary circularity that is needed for a good finish, a satisfying ending, both in movies and novels.
As I've said in previous posts about story structure, this movie also has an extremely quick denouement. Once the story question is resolved at the climax, there really shouldn't be much else for the reader/viewer to care about. Wrap it up. Call it a day.
While this movie does have its faults, they are minor enough to gloss over, and completely overshadowed by the fact that some genius screenwriter found a way to reference Star Wars without being lame, so I've officially given Reign of Fire the Sharp seal of approval as one of the New Classics. Enjoy.
~Lydia
The face-to-face scene w/the Dragon at the end was indeed awesome.
ReplyDeleteThis combined two actors I liked at the time: Christian Bale and that one dude that is in all the truly horrible chick flicks. Matthew McCona-something.
Christian Bale would have been better had he not reprized this role for every movie he's been in since then. This is the exact character he used to play Batman and John Connor in the new Terminator movie.
Keep growling you douchebag. Maybe we won't see you're a hack if you just keep growling your lines.
The movie was good, though. Even if it did star a couple of chodes.
Pitch Black next? Me, me?
Don't forget about Gerard Butler. He did an excellent job in this movie, too, even though his role was minor.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, Pitch Black is definitely a New Classic.
I don't remember him. You'd think someone Miranda is in love with would be more noticeable.
ReplyDeleteI heard of this movie but never saw it. So THAT'S what got Christian Bale talking like he's got something stuck in his throat. Grr. That ruined The Dark Knight haha.
ReplyDeleteDark Knight was saved by Heath Ledger. Best actor of his generation. Period.
ReplyDeleteOf course, even now he still out-acts Bale.
I didn't pay any attention to the hype around this one, and I think maybe that's why I enjoyed it so much.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, the Star Wars references were brilliant.
And Joe's right on about Heath Ledger.
@Kim,
ReplyDeleteYes, let's blame it on all the smoke inhalation from making this movie. I don't remember him sounding like that in Little Women.
@Brad,
Precisely why I hate hype. Just one more reason not to watch TV anymore. Every so often we'll call the theater to see what's playing, but most of the time we just rent from redbox or borrow from the library. That is one way in which the suffering economy has bettered us. No longer wasting money on crappy movies at the theater based on someone else's opinion of "good." And there are some old gems out there that we've never heard of.
In fact, we caught a movie on AMC the other night by flipping channels after the basketball game, and it was excellent. We ended up watching the whole thing. It was called Stalag 17, about a German POW camp during WWII. Yes, we're partial to war movies, but I think any writer would appreciate the character development, dialogue, and emotional impact of the story.
@Joe,
Ah yes, Heath Ledger. My first exposure to him was when he did that middle ages series... Roar(?). Don't remember if that's what it was called. It didn't even make it through one season before it got canceled.
Knight's Tale was a horrific flop of a movie, but the dialogue between the characters of Heath Ledger, Paul Bettany, Alan Tudyk (Wash from Firefly), Mark Addy, and Laura Fraser should be in some kind of witty dialogue hall of fame. Not quite the caliber of Firefly, but still funny. (And yes, I had to look up all those names.)
I never saw the hype for this movie, so when I actually saw it, I had few preconceptions and rather liked it. Even though dragons were the antagonists. (I like stories that don't turn dragons into creatures of mass destruction or evil thinking beings.) Dragons rule, but in this case, I loved seeing the discovery of how to fight back against such overwhelming odds. Go Quinn and his minitagonist-turned-ally.
ReplyDeleteOne of the reasons Stalag 17 is so good is that the Broadway play that the film is based on was written by two men who were POW's in Stalag 17b. One of the authors has a small role as a prisoner in the movie.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, the name of the series was Roar. I remember it being very entertaining, dealing with Longinus and the Spear of Destiny, and just plain being a good show.
I didn't know it was Heath Ledger in the show until years later.
*Puts video store trip on to-do list*
ReplyDeleteYou know, I've never had the chance to properly watch this film all the way through although I want to.
ReplyDeleteI'm a big fan of dragons and a huge fan of Christian Bale. I'll have to give it some time when I can.
Jai