I’m not going to pretend “Reign of Fire” is a great film. It will almost certainly not be mentioned at the Academy Awards this year. There are no standout performances, no incredible cinematography and no innovative screenwriting.

However, if you’re at your local Blockbuster this weekend and the “Reign of Fire” DVD has made your short list, then you’re interested in only one aspect of this movie: seeing dragons pitted against helicopters and tanks. On this level, the movie delivers, and it delivers brilliantly.

“Reign of Fire” begins in present-day London, where 12-year-old Quinn visits his mother at an underground construction site and stumbles upon – of all things – a dragon. Awakened by the construction crew, the dragon emerges to terrorize the city.

The movie skims over the next 20 years. By that time, the grown-up Quinn (Christian Bale) has become the leader of a band of survivors, who live communally in an English castle and try to eke out a living while hiding from the dragons.

Then the Americans march in, and everything changes.

Led by Van Zan (Matthew McConaughey), a small contingent of the U.S. military has managed to cross the Atlantic with several tanks, a helicopter, and a whole lot of testosterone. Their mission: to slay the world’s only male dragon and kill off the species.

Each character plays the sort of generalized roles we’ve become accustomed to seeing in action movies. Quinn is the peaceful, levelheaded protagonist who overcomes his demons and steps up to do what needs to be done. Van Zan is the tattooed, cigar-chomping, wild-eyed action hero who can spit out a one-liner just as easily as military jargon.

Quinn’s pal Creedy (Gerard Butler) is the best buddy who provides comic relief and a supporting shoulder. Izabella Scorupco, as pilot Alex Jensen, has little to do except look pretty and outfly dragons in her chopper. Her role is minimal even in one of the movie’s most exciting and well-done action sequences – a scene in which paratroopers called Archangels must jump out of a plane, snare a dragon and deploy their parachutes with only 17 seconds to spare before they splatter on the ground.

Which brings us again to the real reason you’ll want to watch this movie – the dragons. They’re easily the stars of the show. These dragons are well crafted – from the special effects that created them to the dialogue that develops their background.

Even when they’re off-screen, the paralyzing fear they evoke in the characters is apparent. When they do show up, they’re incredibly realistic. Movie-watchers could almost believe the producers used real dragons in the movie, except for the obvious logistical problems. Congratulations are in order for the team of animators who created the dragons – and a nod should be given to the cast for reacting so effectively to something which, during filming, just wasn’t there.

The DVD edition of “Reign of Fire” knows the movie’s strengths and plays to them with features on the creation of special effects. The segment on the computer animation that produced the dragons is interesting and well-paced, but the feature on the fire effects in the movie just drags.

Rather than try to stretch what can be said about “Reign of Fire” into a feature-length commentary, the DVD opted for a feature interviewing director Rob Bowman. Bowman’s discussions of the creation of suspense in the audience, as well as his directions to actors for reacting to the dragons, make it worth watching. His references to his work on “The X-Files” TV show and movie will give fans of the series an extra incentive to watch.

“Reign of Fire” may not be a cinematic masterpiece, but it’s great entertainment. You may want to rent the DVD before committing to own it, but if you enjoy action, adventure and dragons battling against humans in a post-apocalyptic landscape, then it’s worth your while.