MOVIE REVIEW: Reign of Fire

DATE OF RELEASE: July 12 2002

DIRECTOR: Rob Bowman

MAIN CAST; Matthew McConaughey, Christian Bale, Izabella

IMDB Storyline

It is twenty years in the future, and the planet has been devastated by vicious fire-breathing dragons. The last vestiges of humanity now struggle for survival at remote outposts. In a ruined castle in the English countryside, Quinn is desperately trying to hold together a band of frightened, restless survivors. As a boy, Quinn watched his mother die protecting him from one of the beasts, and is still haunted by the memory. One day, a group of American rogues shows up, led by a brash, tough-guy named Van Zam. He claims to have discovered a way to kill the dragons once and for all, and enlists Quinn's help. But doing so will force Quinn to confront his own frightening memories. This, and Quinn's responsibilities to those that are under his protection, results in a battle of wills between the two men. In the end, events cause them both to realize that they must work together to defeat the monsters--both without and within. Written by LOTUSB1973

WHAT I LIKED

This is like King Arthur loses his kingdom and is transported in time to a world gone wrong. Quinn is challenged by Van Zam to defend what is left of man kind against the beast. I sometimes wonder who Quinn is fighting, the beast, his people or Van Zam.  If there was ever a great movie about the challenges of leadership this is one of them. You could ask "how do you keep control of your kingdom when it's already burnt to a crisp?" But yet this is not Ahab looking for his whale. I like the feeling of being 20 years in the future but still has a feel of the deep past of King Arthur, could Van Zam be Merlin with all the tech he brings to the fight. Van Zam has more of the King Arthur or Game of Thorns look but he is the American. However when you see his magic, which is not magic but high tech you are quickly brought back to what to what the core of the movie is about.

WHAT I DID NOT LIKE

The victory over the Dragons was to easy, yes they paid a price. But you would think while they where fighting the dragons for 20 years, with all the guided missile tech, someone would have aimed for the mouth with more then a C4 tipped arrow way before.

Movie was rated PG-13, very fair rating and could be a family movie

I gave the movie a 7 on IMDB

I did see this movie on the big screen and did buy it on DVD and it is on my list to upgrade to Blue Ray 

Before Interstellar a Movie Called Contact

One of my favorite movies for 2014 was Interstellar staring Matthew McConaughey. It was a movie that opened my imagination and made me ask the what if question. How would I feel being my age and know that my child is going to die of old age because I went to another dimension and came back to my normal time line? You may have a better description of what happen in the movie but that is just one of many questions and how I understood the movie.

But before Interstellar there was a 1997 movie called called Contact staring Jodie Foster as Dr Ellie Arroway who takes a interstellar trip of her own. To her the trip seemed like hours but it was only minutes according to the authorities. Matthew McConaughey played Rev Palmer Joss and for the most part he was like the reluctant moral conscience to Ellie who did not believe in God.

After Ellie returns from her trip there are hearings on Capitol Hill to ask the question: Did indeed Ellie leave the planet? There is a statement she makes to the Senate hearing panel.

 "I was given something wonderful. Something that changed me. A vision of the universe that made it overwhelmingly clear just how tiny and insignificant -- and at the same time how rare and precious we all are. A vision... that tells us we belong to something greater than ourselves... that we're not -- that none of us -- is alone."

Think about that just for a moment.

As a society we have micro managed ourselves into a corner to a point that it is all most impossible to think outside of the box, and if we think outside the box to much we can get medication for it. Even modern day Christians have done the same. Let me be clear, I believe in God and the words written in the Bible exactly as they where written because of faith. People say it is a old book but it survived world wars and the tortured history of mankind. I do not believe that happen by chance.

I also believe that dinosaurs roamed the earth, but there is no mention of them in the Bible. What else is not in the Bible? Aliens? I don't know, it's just a question. For me God and the Bible is my foundation. But I do have a imagination and I do allow myself to ask what if?

I find it strange how the movies are almost at the opposite end of the question. Interstellar does not find aliens but more questions about love and the human condition while Contact test our faith and ask can we believe in something bigger then ourselves.

There was also another big statement in the movie Contact.

"So If it's just us ......Seems like a awful waste of space"