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Author
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Topic: How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014)
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Mike Blakesley
Film God
Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99
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posted 06-13-2014 08:45 PM
We test-screened this last night. My wife insisted that we had watched the original when we played it, but I have zero memory of it, so I basically went into this one cold.
Maybe I wasn't in the proper mood and we did start it kind of late, but it seemed kind of draggy to me. I loved the animation and the attention to detail in it though. It is a visual feast.
The 3-D is one of the better uses of the format, due mainly to all the "flight" scenes. There are also lots more "things in your face" than there have been in recent 3-D movies, so I think the kiddos will be pretty enthralled with it.
Some of the frantic action scenes seemed kind of tacked-on. ("Hey guys, we haven't had a battle scene for six minutes, you need to stick some action in here pronto!")
There weren't any particularly memorable characters for me, but your mileage might vary. I kind of lost interest in the narrative about a third of the way through so I just resigned myself to enjoying watching the animation and especially the backgrounds, which are impressive.
I'm interested to hear what the audiences say. I read a review on rogerebert.com that gave it pretty high praise.
2 out of 5 stars from me.
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Stu Jamieson
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 524
From: Buccan, Qld, Australia
Registered: Jan 2008
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posted 07-04-2014 08:39 PM
In this sequel to How To Train Your Dragon, our young heroes are noticeably older - they must be in their mid to late teens now - and the story has matured correspondingly. Hiccup is clearly in a loving relationship with Astrid and Hiccup's dad, Stoick, is talking wedding bells. But there's a darkness which accompanies this maturing of the story elements and it proves to be a double-edged sword.
The unbridled fun of the first film (probably Dreamworks' best animated feature) takes a heavy hit in this one with the story centring around loss, love and loss again. Hiccup's discovery of his long lost mother (voiced by Cate Blanchett impersonating Emma Thompson, it seems) and the reasons for her departure adds heart to the story but also a heavy slice of melancholy. It's a brave move for a kid's film but it dominates most of the proceedings at the expense of the villain of the piece who is largely forgotten for much of the movie's middle section. Indeed the film is trying to be two films in one: a family relationship drama; and a good guys versus bad guys action adventure. But the juggling of these two elements is less than successful and each ball is in turn dropped in favour of the other. That the villain is human, also darkens the overall tone of the film.
With the mixture of light and dark tones on display here, presumably Dreamworks were shooting for a balance akin to Pixar's Up, but where the first Dragon film was very successful in emulating Pixar's success, a similar achievement is not quite found here.
Despite this tonal and narrative imbalance, however, How To Train Your Dragon 2 remains a very entertaining film. The interplay between the young players is heartfelt and amusing and the action sequences are everything we would expect and then some. As a result, the film remains dependable holiday fare for kids and adults alike and deserves recognition for at least attempting to push the story forward rather than simply resorting to a cheap sequel cash-in.
7 out of 10
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Marcel Birgelen
Film God
Posts: 3357
From: Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands
Registered: Feb 2012
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posted 07-17-2014 02:48 AM
Like most sequels, this one cannot live up to the movie that came before it, when the ideas were fresh and the characters were (quite literally) younger. But I guess it's not a bad movie after all and for a movie targeted primarily at kids of all ages, it has a surprisingly dark tone to it.
The animation is great and like Mike put it, the attention to detail is quite astonishing. I also particularly liked the interactions between the dragons, happening mostly in the background.
quote: Mike Blakesley
There weren't any particularly memorable characters for me, but your mileage might vary.
Most of the character development was done in the first installment. In this one, they remained mostly static. In the first one, the dragons also turned from evil creatures hunting people (and sheep) to something akin to pets.
This movie obviously also suffers from sequelitis. Once a movie becomes part of a bigger franchise, character development usually grinds to a halt...
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