Rating: B-
Dir: Rob Bowman
Star: Christian Bale, Matthew McConaughey, Izabella Scorupco
We join things a decade or more after dragons have returned to the scene, and are now operating a genuine scorched-Earth policy. Bale is Quinn, the last hope of civilization, and McConnaghey plays Van Zan, the last hope of humankind (note the difference). Inevitably, they have to team up to take on the chief fire-breather, who now resides in a penthouse crematorium in the centre of London. There’s so much back story here that it feels like the final episode of a 26-part series, and I’d perhaps be more interested in the first 25, covering the creatures speading across the Earth and laying waste to civilization. By the time we catch up, the damage has been done and Bale who, as a kid, was the first to see the beasts, has retreated to a castle in Northumberland.
Was also rather disappointed by the dragons, which never really convinced me, looking too much like scenes from a moderate X-Box RPG. However, the style of the film otherwise, in sets and design, is great, while McConaughey is almost unrecognisable, having seriously beefed up – he looks almost like Vin or Bruce (Fry Hard, perhaps?). Scorupco doesn’t have anything much to do, a bit of a shame, as it’d add some kick to have a female dragon-slayer. Still, it’s refreshingly straightforward – nature is trying to kill us, therefore we have to get our retaliation in first. Anne McCaffrey must be spinning in her grave. Er, or would, if she were dead…