2002, 1 hr 50 min., Rated PG-13 for intense action violence.�Dir: Rob Bowman. Cast: Matthew McConaughey (Van Zan), Christian Bale (Quinn), Izabella Scorupco (Alex), Scott Moutter (Jared).

Nothing beats a summer matinee like a popcorn flick about dragons wiping out the planet. Good stuff. Although, I did expect more dragons, so I was actually pleasantly surprised that there was more focus on the characters than just having them run from one action scene to another.

PLOT: An American and an Englishman are dragon-slaying allies in this post-apocalyptic thriller set in Britain, the year of our Lord 2020, after humankind has been decimated by dragons reawakened 20 years earlier beneath London. Much flaming dragon breath ensues, but no graphic human injuries shown other than hearing some people get chomped.

Christian Bale's acting is played out more straightforward, and proves that he can handle any role from drama to action, but Matthew McConaughey's overly-intense-military-guy role is quite fun. His cold dead stare while chewing on an old cigar is played to the hilt, and works excellently. The best, and most sympathetic, actor, though, might be the first fifteen minutes with Bale as a kid.

For the most part, the effects were excellent. Those dragons were REAL. A couple of times I cringed at a questionable shot, but rarely. The dingy castle and burned-out husk of London are impressive in an almost medieval look, except that Camelot is a rathole and the dragon slayers wield guns and explosives. Except for that, though, it's right on. Okay, and there's no lady of the lake, either, but maybe our favorite naked bongo player, McConaughey, can help out with that role.

The way the film treats the situation keeps it something the filmgoer can grasp onto. The twenty or so frightened children hide in this castle, watched over by Bale and just as frightened adults who would rather wait for the dragons to die than venture out and try to be heroes. Their whole view of the world is punctured by the dragons, which permeates every bit of their lives, creating a new religion of sorts. That is, until the dang Yanks arrive, led by McConaughey and a babe of a chopper pilot, played by Swedish knockout Izabella Scorupco. Her dragon chase in the helicopter - featuring the 'archangels' who leap to catch the monsters - is one of the more visually eye candy action scenes.

It's an enjoyable summer romp, something I'll forget all about by next week but filled the two-hour void I wanted. And those who compare it to Ghost in the Darkness are dead on, and I'll add The 13th Warrior to it, where a band of folks in a primitive time are forced to take on a supposedly supernatural force that's all too real.