The little boy Quinn (Christian Bale) is now an adult with one of the last few existing settlements on the moors. The leader of a rouge group of mankind determined to outlast this fiery siege, his concern is primarily toward the great beasts which now rule the earth with an iron fist. The dragons are empowered and strengthened by smoke and ash, which leads them to destroy entire cities merely to stay alive. They have consumed much of mankind, and are now slowly starving to death, reduced to preying on one another to survive. As far as Quinn knows, his settlement of sixty people may be the last living human beings on earth. But they are wrong: there are still other life forms on the planet, and this group refuses to run and hide. A gathering of US marines, lead by the strong-willed and often barbaric Denton Van Zan (Matthew McConaughey), have come to England for a purpose. They've discovered something about the dragons, which multiply in great numbers. Denton knows how and when to kill them, but they need Quinn's help to find the original lair. The only problem -- the heart of the dragon's lair lies in London, the very place where his mother and her friends were burned alive. He cannot go back.

I'm not much for futuristic films, since my tastes like primarily in history. Give me a historical drama like Lorna Doone or The Last of the Mohicans and I'm in heaven. But this film's premise intrigued me enough to pick up the video when it became available. Overall, it's a fine piece of work. The animation on the dragons is extremely realistic, and the storyline builds to an exciting climax. The film is produced rather dark in tone, and has a frightening premise. Since I'm rather partial to dragons in general, I couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for them, even with all the devastation and hazard they wreck upon our poor heroes. The acting is quite good, although it was a bit of a trip seeing two such accomplished actors covered in grime and tattoos.

Thus said, this film is not for the faint of heart. Violence is extreme; dragons eat whatever humans they can find; others fall to their deaths, are burned in fires, and trapped in blazing infernos. The men use explosives to protect themselves from the flying creatures; several times we see dead carcasses. Quinn and Van Zan get into a brutal brawl over a disagreement. Language is minimal, although a couple of profane uses of Christ's name creep in. There's no sexual content. The film is catered pretty much toward the male gender, who will appreciate it more than women. There's little romance to the storyline, and only minor character development. It was made to be a high-action blockbuster, wartime drama in which the enemy breathes fire. But when the smoke clears, you wonder why you bothered.