<< Back 12/18/02 Picture Show By Gary Carden Reign of Fire Director: Robert Bowman Cast: Christian Bale, Matthew McConaughey, Izabella Scorupco Rating: PG-13 In ancient cartography, map makers would often leave vast stretches of exotic lands — Arabia, Scandinavia or northern India — without any geographic details. Instead of rivers, mountains and forests, they would inscribe the warning, “Here, there be dragons.” It was a somewhat poetic way of saying that the region had never been explored. Of course, ancient myths did note that the habitat of dragons were on remote mountain tops or subterranean caves — places forbidden to humankind. Except for an occasional, foolhardy hero — a Beowulf, Sigfried or a straying hobbit — no one even saw a dragon and lived to tell about it. Yet, there are abundant references to dragons in the world’s literature. China, Japan, Germany and the Norse countries abound with references. However, specific physical characteristics are elusive: “winged serpents,” highly intelligent (many have the ability to speak); given to hoarding vast amounts of precious metals in underground lairs; usually fanged, clawed, poisonous — and if their lethal abilities were not sufficient, let us add one more — the ability to breath fire in torrents that could incinerate a village, a kingdom or an army. Oddly enough, the depiction of dragons in modern cinema seems to be a vastly undeveloped concept. Certainly, we have had many “benevolent” scaley critters who were either subservient or charming (one even spoke like Sean Connery) and though they possessed extraordinary powers, there has been little to suggest the terrifying “otherness” of — oh, say, the creature in “Alien.” It is as though the idea of a dragon actually personifying a kind of malign, awesome evil — should that ability be freely developed by a crew of modern special effects technician — it would establish a new level in cinematic terror ... the kind stiffens the spine and raises the hair on the back of your neck. This brings us to Robert Bowman and his film, “Reign of Fire,” which was released this past summer and just made it to your local video store. Obviously, Bowman decided to pull all the stops in his depiction of a world devastated by dragons. Of course, Bowman’s first step is to present an acceptable premise for the existence of dragons. To be an “acceptable” concept, usually means that the idea is more imaginative than logical. In dealing with fantasy and the supernatural, most of us want to believe. We will gladly accept the most outrageous explanations and turn a blind eye to a host of faulty “scientific” deductions, if the basic ideas are original and exciting. Now, consider Bowman’s twist on traditional dragon lore. Dragons subsist on ashes. First they cremate animal and vegetable matter and then consume the ashes. They have been with us from the beginning and destroyed the dinosaurs (smothered in ashes) along with the the great, thriving flora and fauna of that period. For a time, they fed on the ashes of forests and the early agricultural efforts of mankind, but finally they withdrew within the earth. Deep in great, vaulted caverns, they slept — hibernated, waiting for a time when the Earth would replenish its forests and farms. Then, they would come forth to reclaim the planet and reduce it to barren waste, just as they had in ancient times. If the basic ideas seem a little implausible, bear with us. The logic doesn’t get any better but the excitement is definitely on the upswing. When a construction company — operated by 12-year-old Quinn’s mother — inadvertently shatters a dragon vault in modern-day London, the devastation begins. By 2024, the world has been reduced to a handful of beleaguered colonies in isolated outposts who wage a daily, futile war against marauding dragons — and the dragons are in trouble too, their numbers reduced by starvation. Technology has reeled back into the medieval world. Quinn, (Christian Bales) still haunted by memories of the day his mother died in a London inferno, now functions as a “fire chief” — a man dedicated to guarding his small colony against the lightning attack of dragons. Weaponry is a bizarre mix of battle axes and rocket launchers. Horses are more common than tanks. The children in the basement of the medieval castle learn to chant a variation of the old “Duck and Roll” school warning of the ’50’s and tethered hawks alert the dwindling forces of the approach of danger. Into this world comes a half-crazed hot-shot American named Van Zan (Matthew McConaughey) who calls himself “The Dragon Slayer” and taunts the cautious Quinn with his plan. He has a helicopter, a skilled pilot (female), a half-dozen highly trained men called “Guardian Angels” and an arsenal of missiles. He vows to rid the world of dragons. The Guardian Angels turn out to be a variation on the Kamikaze pilots of WWII. They are bait. They are to be dropped from the helicopter, and as they plummet to their deaths, they attract the dragons. In their pursuit of the falling Angels, the dragons pass within range of the earth-to-air missiles. An Angel’s life expectancy, once he drops from the helicopter, is 17 seconds. Well, movie-goers, I loved it! Sure, the information about the two chemicals that are combustible when they mix, and which are lodged on ether side of the dragon’s mouth — okay, that was a little hard to swallow. And when Quinn and Van Zan posture, pose, ripple their muscles and glower at each other ... yeah, I got a little embarrassed. But the dragon! That dragon scared me. According to Bowman, who admitted that he had severe budget restraints, he spent it all on the dragon. “I wanted the creature to be a combination of the things that we associate with grace, stealth and deadly power.” For Bowman, that is cobras, leopards, alligators and bats — a fearsome combination which you will appreciate when he/she looks straight into the camera. Forget the bombast and the weird explanations about dragon reproduction (one male fertilizes all the female eggs; consequently, if the male is eliminated — and there is only one — the dragons are doomed). Suffer as best as you can the breast-beating of the two male (human) protagonists. Celebrate the Dragon! He is lovely. I will always remember him perched atop the shattered remains of Big Ben as he cremates downtown London. I wonder if Bowman has a tee-shirt of that.