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House of the Dragon is getting so good, I’m flirting with calling it a more satisfying watch than Game of Thrones. After two seasons of thrilling political maneuvering, betrayals, and the occasional dragonfire massacre, the story has really clicked into place, and I’ve found myself deeply invested in the travails of the battling Targaryen dynasties, even though I technically know how everything turns out. (It is a prequel, after all.)
If each new episode leaves you craving more sharp writing and spectacular dragon battles, you’ve got a lot of other series to keep you fed going forward. But if you want a more cinematic experience that offers similar pleasures, there’s one obvious choice: Reign of Fire, the 2002 sci-fantasy epic starring two obscure actors named Matthew McConaughey and Christian Bale.
It’s all about those dragon battles
Reign of Fire is set in a world where a tunneling project in modern-day London accidentally awakens hibernating dragons—real, fire-breathing, flying lizards just like the ones in fantasy novels. The dragons quickly breed and decimate the world’s militaries, and in the chaotic aftermath, nuclear weapons are unleashed, leaving the human race teetering on the edge of extinction—and the dragons starving. When the few surviving humans realize that the dragons have a huge weakness that could be exploited to end their dominance, a desperate plan is hatched to save humanity.
While that plot doesn’t sound similar to the high fantasy trappings of House of the Dragon, there’s an obvious throughline: It’s the dragon warfare, silly. House of the Dragon is filled with absorbing characters (team Daemon all day) and fascinating, twisty plots as the Targaryen family rips itself apart in a struggle for the Iron Throne, but if you say you’re not here for the dragon fights, you’re lying. Reign of Fire has dragon fights. Lots of dragon fights. Dragon fights that involve a tank and a helicopter. The effects hold up more than 20 years after the film’s release, too.
But the film isn’t just dragon fights—there’s a proper story too. At a castle in England, a man who witnessed the initial dragon awakening, Quinn (Christian Bale), is leading a rag-tag group of desperate folks trying to survive until the dragons die off from lack of food. Things are grim, and Quinn struggles to hold his community together. When a group of Americans called the Kentucky Irregulars, led by Denton Van Zan (Matthew McConaughey, looking badass with a shaved head and crazy eyes), arrives with a tank and a functioning helicopter, Quinn can’t stop some of his people from signing up to help them fight dragons.
Not only do McConaughey and Bale lay down terrific performances as desperate men with opposing visions of victory, the people following them are also portrayed as a complex group with various dynamics. People do unexpected things, turning what could have been a straightforward action film into an absorbing sci-fi story. If you enjoy the twists and turns of House of the Dragon, you’ll find a lot to love in Reign of Fire, and you can rent it on Prime Video.
More movies to satisfy House of the Dragon fans
Reign of Fire is an hour and forty minutes of dragony goodness, but if it leaves you wanting more, there are a few more movies you can check out—including Christopher Nolan’s currently-in-theaters epic The Odyssey, which offers a universe of monsters, epic battles, and vengeful gods that looks like a perfect fit for fans of House of the Dragon. Here are a few other movies you can watch right now on your screen of choice:
Valhalla Rising (2009)
In one sense, Valhalla Rising couldn’t be more different from House of the Dragon. Where the show is often loud and action-packed, Valhalla Rising can be disturbingly still and quiet—on purpose. Set in 12th-century Scotland, Mads Mikkelsen plays an unnamed slave with one eye who possesses incredible strength. Forced to fight other slaves to the death, One-Eye sees visions that help him escape, launching him on a violent journey to his destiny. It’s a moody, bloody story that shares a sense of Hell on Earth with the show, depicting beautiful, brutal landscapes where death is always lurking. Stream Valhalla Rising on Kanopy.
Kingdom of Heaven (2005)
If you want more epic battles and doomed autocrats desperately trying to hang onto power (and their lives), Kingdom of Heaven is a great choice. Set during the Crusades era in the 12th century, the film follows a newly-knighted noble, Balian (Orlando Bloom), who travels to the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in search of salvation. Instead, he finds a delicate, complicated political situation as the ailing Leper King, Baldwin IV, struggles to maintain a fragile peace for his unstable kingdom. If you want more of the Blacks/Greens political skulduggery and more huge battles between armies, stream this (sorry, no dragons though). Rent Kingdom of Heaven on Prime Video.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
Want more dragons? J.R.R. Tolkien’s Smaug is one of the most entertaining and terrifying dragons ever conceived—and when he’s voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch, it’s a pure delight. Yes, Smaug the dragon talks, and isn’t a vicious aerial killing machine like Vhagar, but his smoothly malevolent evil permeates the film with a sense of danger and dread. Plus, Middle-earth is the heavyweight of epic fantasy lore and world-building, so if the deep history and complexity of Westeros is what you crave, any of Peter Jackson’s films set in Tolkien’s universe are a great choice. Rent The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug on Prime Video.
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Lawrence of Arabia is a clear visual influence on House of the Dragon, and the actors have namechecked David Lean’s 1962 epic as inspiration for their performances. Based on the true story of T. E. Lawrence and adapted from his book Seven Pillars of Wisdom, the film depicts the brilliant life and career of Lawrence, who was instrumental in organizing the Arab tribes against the Ottoman Empire in World War I. It’s as widescreen an epic as old Hollywood ever made, and Peter O’Toole makes Lawrence into the conflicted antihero of Daemon Targaryen’s dreams. Stream Lawrence of Arabia on Philo or rent it on Prime Video.
The King (2019)
If you love the politics and strategy on display in House of the Dragon (without sacrificing the bloody battles), and like the realistic, mud- and blood-splattered depiction of medieval life in the show, check out The King. Loosely adapted from William Shakespeare’s plays, a young Timothée Chalamet portrays King Henry V as he rises from a lazy prince to one of the most brilliant warrior kings in English history—the king who claimed the crown of France, if only for a moment. It’s a viscerally exciting film, and one of its great pleasures is the battle of wills and tactics (and insults) between Henry and the heir to the French throne, Louis, Duke of Guyenne (Robert Pattinson). Stream The King on Netflix.
