"You have the heart of a chief, and the soul of a dragon"
5 years after his famous Night Fury catch, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III (Jay Baruchel) is now 20 years old and living the good life. Vikings are on the backs of dragons, and the small island of Berk has grown to become a defensive powerhouse. In the midst of it, Hiccup and his dragon Toothless go on adventures every day to look for new dragon species. One day, however, Hiccup and his friends run across some dragon hunters who threaten Berk with a dragon war. Who could possibly be behind this possible annihilation? None other than Drago Bludvist (Djimon Hounsou), a dragon "master" of sorts who uses them for his own selfish gain. What could stop him? Perhaps Hiccup's long-lost mother??
The animation is fantastic, as expected. The characters are updated with realistic-looking textures. The backgrounds are awesome. And especially in the battle sequences, the cinematography and visual effects are top-notch. My inner 11-year old came out when I saw all the dragon-inspired weaponry and different types of dragons. It was just so much to take in, and yet I was willing to take it all in.
The voice actors do a solid job. Baruchel's unique voice fits Hiccup to a T, bringing a sincere quality to the character. Gerard Butler returns to provide solid back-up as Hiccup's dad, while Hounsou does a fantastic villain as Drago. Oscar winner Cate Blanchett plays the mysterious vigilante Valka, and nails her role with heart and emotion. Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, T.J. Miller, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Kristen Wiig once again bring a lot of humor and interesting tones to the supporting cast. In fact, Wiig stands out more here thanks to her irresistible sense of humor, with her character's humorous remarks about a shapely guy viking.
John Powell once again does a good job with the music score. The film also has a few interesting twists that made my jaw drop. For the most part, DuBlois' script is emotionally resonant and succeeds in being more complex and mature than its' predecessor. Jonsi adds a couple of interesting tunes, and one brief music number adds a solid whimsical touch to the film. Strong messages on family, bravery and forgiveness.
On the downside, there were a couple of minor issues. One, I found the subplot involving Hiccup's long-lost Mom to be somewhat of a head-scratcher. Here's why she disappeared (spoiler alert): She found something good in the dragons back when Berk was against them, so she ran away because she couldn't kill a dragon. Why couldn't she have stayed in Berk, like Hiccup in the first movie, to work secretly to try and get them to like dragons? It just makes her seem like a bit of a coward (at least back then), and the fact she would leave her family for that just boggles my mind. What makes this problem not overbearing, however, is that she asks for forgiveness and a second chance. And Hiccup and his dad don't respond in anger and conflict, they welcome her with open arms (a strong lesson we all need to learn every now and then).
One supposedly emotional scene doesn't seem to have enough emotion. It goes by quick and we don't see a lot of mourning. I guess for the kids in the audience its a good thing, but I wish I could have seen more of an emotional struggle for Hiccup as a result. It would have been nice to see. A lone ad-libbed line borders on inappropriate subject matter (for a family movie). Other complex issues are touched on that might make it somewhat sophisticated for children.
The first How To Train Your Dragon was a classic. It was the first animated movie to have truly realistic animation. It had a well-written script and terrific character development. While it ended up in the latter half of the Top 10 for an awesome year of movies (2010), it still remains a terrific movie I revisit every now and then. Plus, I watched the TV series. It is a tough bill to fill for this particular movie.
Well, the sequel does carry a lot of what I enjoyed about the first film. Great animation, a great script, and terrific acting. And there's enough visual wow, dragons, and weapons to make any kid go nuts. And the twists here are nailed with technical and storytelling-level brilliance. With those steps up, it seemed like it was just as fun for me to watch as last time. But, as I watched the film, there was just a small side of me that was bothering me somewhat.
I had mentioned the unfortunate inappropriate (but subtle) line in a previous post. However, besides that things here have obviously gotten more mature and complex than the first film. This interesting approach works well sometimes, and sometimes, not so much. At one point, its nice to grow up along with the characters (I was 15 when the first Dragon came out, and now I'm approaching 20). But at the same time, we have to remember this movie is also for kids at the same time as parents, so some risks here aren't worth applauding. Surprisingly, a lot of the heart-touching and adorable interaction between Hiccup and Toothless have been traded here for a bunch of Asgardian-like warfare and blue-glowing fire. And virtually none of the moments seen here compare to Hiccup and Astrid's breathtaking flight, which in my opinion, is one of the most memorable movie sequences I have ever seen.
A father of one of my close friends mentioned concern over what possible dark paths this movie franchise could take. He said, "if this is the trend, why support it now?" He had a point. How To Train Your Dragon 2, while just about as fun and technically impressive as the first movie, finds itself treading murkier waters here. And it makes me concerned as to how much deeper the filmmakers choose to go the next time (the director has already hinted at some more mature content in the third movie, set for 2016). As a family movie reviewer who takes movies seriously, its hard for me to encourage kids to see a movie that has problems, although minor, are a little difficult to digest regardless (not to mention it may make it difficult for some parents to discuss these themes with young ones).
Pushing those aspects aside, however, I still really liked the movie and will probably own it eventually. Its' brilliantly animated and its got some genuinely awesome elements. Its' an exciting thrill ride. And it is certainly one of the better DreamWorks Animation films.
But it is the few (but still present) complexity problems that make 2 take a few steps back from the first movie.
Score: 7.8/10
Content Problems Families Should Be Aware Of:
Language: "Oh my g--s" is spit out twice. Someone winkingly says "son of an arit". Some unfinished phrases include "steaming pile of dragon...", "what the...?" and "kick drago's....".
Adult Content: Gobber's line "This is why I never married. Well that, and one other reason" winks at homosexuality. The line was originally to have the first half of that, but was ad-libbed by the voice actor. A few kisses.
Violence: A few scenes of somewhat intense violence. A character is surprisingly killed. Some are shot at by fire and ice. Dragons are taken down by nets. Some very perilous situations. Some characters fall from ominous heights. A few potentially scary dragons. One dragon is killed, and another giant dragon causes some destruction.
Alcohol/Drugs: None.
Other: Some rebellion. References to Norse gods.
