How To Train Your Dragon 2 Movie Review :
Soar-Soar (so-so)
BY IAN
TAN
HTTYD 2 picks up 5 years after the events of the first movie. Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) is now
heir to his father’s throne and Berk's most celebrated Dragon Rider. In fact,
everyone’s a dragon rider now and the village even plays a Dragon Edition of
Quidditch. Like all sequels, a threat emerges and Hiccup must once again struggle
to save the people of Berk. New discoveries, good and bad, happen along the way
that ultimately lead to a battle between good guys and good dragons, and
bad guys and bad dragons. With the stakes higher and characters more
vulnerable, this sounds like a pretty good sequel.
And thankfully, it
is, even if it lacks the same sense of innocence and heart its predecessor had
that made it work so well. HTTYD 2 definitely brings the action to an entirely
new level, with dragons of all sorts and new characters battling it out in one
of the most epic battle scenes in animated film history, best seen in 3D (those
shots of Toothless and Hiccup taking to the skies are a real joy to experience
in 3D). New worlds are discovered too, such as a green nature-filled
underground world (ala Ice Age 3) of
dragons, and sharp, rocky enemy fortresses, which help expand the movie’s
universe and show audiences that there really is “a whole new world of dragons
out there”.
Characterizations
here are constructed well without revisiting the same character arcs as its first film- as most sequels
do. Hiccup and Stoick (Gerard Butler) are now over their father-son dilemmas
from the first film, but the two still have issues with each other regarding
their different ideals on what it truly means to serve and protect the ones
they love, providing some meaty character drama and emotional weight that is
further heightened when the character Valka (Cate Blanchett) is brought
in to the film. Supporting characters such as Astrid (America Ferrera), Fishlegs
(Christopher Mintz-Plasse), Ruffnut (Kristen Wiig) and Snotlout (Jonah Hill)
are a pleasing return and are given more to do in this sequel, with the latter
three injecting the movie with some humourous moments. Kit Harington’s
(Game of Thrones) character, Eret, is a nice addition to the HTTYD crew as
well. Also, the film's musical score by John Powell is pretty amazing.
On the other hand,
the villain, Drago Bloodvist (Djimon Hounsou) unfortunately, is a bit of a letdown,
as his character isn’t given enough backstory to make audiences really
understand or feel the threat of his intentions behind wanting to destroy Berk
and its dragons. There’s a reason, sure, but it’s just a little too bland and
ends up making Drago feel like another typical animated film sequel
villain that’s underdeveloped, character wise. Ultimately, this causes the sense of danger towards the end of the film to feel less dangerous than it
should. This is a prime example of how a film is only as good as its villain,
who is so-so in this film. Fortunately though, the film’s emotional strength
comes from its two main characters- Hiccup and Toothless- and their journey of
friendship. At one point, this friendship is tested but is overcome a tad bit
too quickly, leaving little room for dramatic tension, which was, in my
opinion, the biggest flaw the movie had, as this could’ve made for a well
deserved tear-jerking moment had it not been concluded as quickly as it was.
In the end, How To Train Your Dragon 2 is a
serviceable sequel that expands the movie’s universe, provides interesting
character arcs for its main characters, and is filled with beautiful animation & music. It’s negatives aside, this is one of the better animated film
sequels out there; kids especially will love it and probably claim it to be one
of the best animated films they’ve seen.
7.6 out of 10
stars
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