Movie Review: How To Train Your Dragon 2
Movie Review: How To Train Your Dragon 2
Directed by Dean DeBlois, Written by Cressida Cowell & Dean DeBlois
Starring Jay Baruchel, Cate Blanchett, Gerard Butler, Jonah Hill, Kristen Wiig
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
9/10
Five years after Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) & his pet dragon Toothless taught the Vikings of Berk to domesticate the dragons that had previously terrorised them, life is pretty happy all round, with Hiccup’s biggest drama seemingly avoiding his father – village chief Stoic (Gerard Butler) – trying to groom him as his successor.
Leaving the rest of his gang – girlfriend Astrid (America Ferrara), precocious twins Tuffnut & Ruffnut ( T J Miller & Kristen Wiig), Fishlegs (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) & Snotlout (Jonah Hill) – to entertain the village with their speed racer/basketball hybrid Dragon Races (using sheep instead of a ball), Hiccup explores further and further afield. He and Toothless eventually discover an island of dragon hunters hell bent on capturing every last beast for the thoroughly unpleasant Drago Bloodfist (Djimoun Hounsou), and an epic battle ensues that sees Berk’s Vikings and dragons alike fighting to preserve their way of life.
Hiccup also discovers his long-lost mother (Cate Blanchett), thought dead, and the tenderness of their bonding is as heartwarming as the loss of another favourite character (no spoilers here!) is tragic. That death is played out with great honesty – an incredibly bold move in a children’s movie, and the seven year olds with us weren’t the only ones in the cinema with tears running down their rosy red cheeks.
Life’s not all laughs and smiles, and very often kid’s films attempt to airbrush over the sad times, so it’s heartening to see the producers go out there this time – and the gamble paid off. Despite those tears, our seven year old critics “loved the movie so much,” the intelligent and moving script and stunning animation triumphing above and beyond the loss they felt. They’re not to be underestimated, kids.
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Category: Movie & Theatre Reviews