By TIM WATKIN
(Herald rating: * * * * )
Once upon a time, someone in Hollywood ruled that monster films had to be silly. Dragons? They were the silliest of all.
Well, hail Rob Bowman, who has made dragons fearsome again, as they tear out of the earth's crust, breathing
fire, destroying civilisation and feeding on the ashes.
Miners adding a new tunnel to the London underground in the late 90s stumble across "a void" deep below ground where a dragon sleeps. Awakened, it takes to the skies and, breeding profusely, takes over the world.
Cut to Northumberland in 2020 where a few cowering survivors led by Quinn (Bale) live in a castle on a slag heap. It's a Mad Max-type world of worn-out technology and grim existence. They fear they're the last people on earth until a US military convoy rolls up the road, led by the bald and fanatical dragonslayer Van Zan (McConaughey), part-Jack Nicholson general, part-Bruce Willis rogue hero.
He and sidekick Alex (Scorupco) have worked out that almost all the dragons are female, fertilised by a single male. They're off to London to kill the big fella.
Yep, that's all there is to it. Don't come looking for plot twists, profound commentary, wit or irony. Don't even expect the movie to make much sense - we have no idea how the Yank tanks get to Britain, where their fuel comes from, where the male found a mate or why Van Zan's so confident there's only one male.
But Bowman isn't mucking about with details. He gets to the point, which is heroic humans fighting vicious dragons. The computer-created dragons and ruined London look great and the combat is relentless. Good news for those who have long been waiting for a good old-fashioned, rip-snorting, action-packed monster flick.
Cast: Christian Bale, Matthew McConaughey, Izabella Scorupco
Director: Rob Bowman
Rating: M (low-level violence)
Running time: 102m
Screening: Village, Hoyts, Berkeley cinemas
