Reign of Fire

In 2008, a cave is opened during an underground railway construction project in London - and a fire-breathing dragon awakens from thousands of years of hibernation! Soon, countless fire-breathing lizards descend upon the earth (and promptly make the cover of Time magazine): They defy the weapons of mankind, which is only decimating itself with its nuclear explosives. A group of survivors fight a desperate battle for survival in a castle in the English countryside until the arrival of US soldiers turned dragon hunters brings new hope. In the overproduced popcorn cinema of the new millennium, Reign of Fire is one of the rare exceptions: an old-school B-movie spectacle with echoes of classic genre motifs, whereby the approach to the fantastic can be enjoyably absurd and intelligent. Christian Bale and especially Matthew McConaughey, successfully cast against the grain, are allowed to let off steam as bull-necked action stars in the middle of it all. (Christoph Huber)