2/19/2023 0 Comments Reign of fire![]() ![]() ![]() With the latest Planet of the Apes flick getting almost unanimous praise, and Game of Thrones continuing to captivate the world, gritty realist takes on fanciful sci-fi and fantasy tropes seems to be in right now. I can't help but think Bowman's approach would be better received today. Van Zan is relatable to a point, but he also has a Colonel Kurtz-infused intensity and sense of focus. "How do you find conflict between Quinn and Van Zan when they both ultimately want the same thing?" The solution is to allow McConaughey to do what he does best––be just a little unhinged. It makes for a compelling, low-key conflict. Bale's Quinn takes on a patriarchal role, leading a group of survivors who keep to themselves outside of the dragon-controlled urban centres of England, while McConaughey's brash (and ripped) American Van Zan takes a military approach, bringing the fight to the dragons. That human element is what shines through most clearly, with McConaughey and Bale's characters standing in for the fight and flight responses respectively. "How many years ago could you say you can afford to put Christian, Gerry, and Matthew in the same movie?" Bowman asked. McConaughey was admittedly already a star, though he was still years away from "time is a flat circle" and Bale, growing out of his child-actor past, had yet to slim down for The Machinist or bulk up for Batman Begins. Its star power is impressively forward-thinking, giving us the likes of then lesser-known Bale and McConaughey, and even a fresh-faced Gerard Butler. The Harry Potter Wiki entry on Hungarian Horntails (the dragon in question) actually credits the innovation to Reign of Fire, noting that the chemical liquid method was later borrowed by Game of Thrones and Gods of Egypt too.īeyond paving the way for us to take dragons seriously, Reign of Fire has aged quite well. "It's OK," he said, "it's a compliment." I first consciously noticed that particular fire-breathing detail in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, but having come out three years after Reign, the concept was clearly borrowed. Bowman told me that he's often heard from members of his old team, letting him know they've spotted another rip-off of his dragons, not that he minds. ![]() It's hard to overstate the influence of that one detail. Kill the lone male fertilizing eggs and the dragons will fall. A small group of survivors, on its last legs when its meagre crops are torched, rises up against the dragons when a major weakness is discovered––dragons are overwhelmingly female. In it, humanity is almost extinct after an ancient race of dragons is unearthed and lays waste to England and soon the entire world. And Peter Jackson didn't tackle The Hobbit's Smaug until winning over international audiences with the Oscar-winning Lord of the Rings trilogy.īut before all of that, in 2002, Reign of Fire came along, starring a pre-Batman Christian Bale and a pre-McConassaince Matthew McConaughey. The immensely popular Game of Thrones took its time, priming us for a full season before actually introducing its three now-ubiquitous dragons. Obviously, there are now a few successful dragon-related projects out there. The Dungeons and Dragons movie, released two years earlier––you know, the one you probably didn't see and had until now forgotten about entirely––certainly didn't offer much hope for dragons as any kind of viable subject matter. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |