How to Train Your Dragon 2

Director: Dean DeBlois
Starring: Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Cate Blanchett, America Cerrara, Craig Ferguson.
Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox
Runtime: 102 mins. Reviewed in Jun 2014

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Rating notes: Mild fantasy themes and violence

There is a scene in the pilot episode of the critically acclaimed TV show Breaking Bad when Walter White describes the parallel between chemistry and life. “Chemistry,” he argues, “is the study of change… it is growth, then decay, then transformation.” While this acts as foreshadowing for Walter’s own arc in the series, and can be applied to any well-written story-arc for that matter, it is especially relevant to sequels, and more to the point, their critical success.

All too often movie sequels are shameless cash grabs, created more because their predecessor was a goldmine in the box office than because the story needed any sort of continuation. While the financial success of a film is not a problem in and of itself, it becomes a problem when the subsequent sequels do nothing to further the story in a significant way—in short, when there is no meaningful change.

Thankfully, How to Train Your Dragons 2, the sequel to 2010′s DreamWorks story of a Viking boy named Hiccup (played by Jay Baruchel) who befriends a dragon, knows this, and uses change as a running theme in a number of smart and logical ways.

Set five years after the events of the first film, Hiccup, who has now come of age, must deal with the pressure from his father, the village chief (played by Gerard Butler), of taking his place. A la Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings, Hiccup is reluctant to embrace his birthright, feeling that he’s not meant to rule.

Without spoiling too much of the plot, as there are quite a few major reveals, I can say that this tension between forging one’s own path and accepting duty is made much more dramatic later on in the plot, resulting in a sequel with even more emotional complexity than the original.

Perhaps the biggest story addition to the How to Train Your Dragon franchise is that of the hermit-cum-dragon rider Valka (played by Cate Blanchett) who helps guide Hiccup. While her role was revealed in some of the trailers, I would imagine a viewer would find more delight in not knowing her identity until seeing the movie. Rest assured, both the character and the emotional implications of her are a highlight of the film.

Along with the changes that come with Hiccup’s newly entered stage in life and the introduction of Valka, the sequel adds in a number of “upgrades,” for the protagonist duo. Hiccup, shown to be an inventor in the first film with his makeshift dragon saddle, has added to his arsenal his own personal wing-suit and a flaming sword with a couple tricks up its sleeve that create some truly gorgeous animated sequences, sure to entertain both kids and adults alike.

Furthermore, Toothless, Hiccup’s inseparable dragon, discovers a hidden power within himself in the climax of the film, giving an already incredibly dynamic (despite silent) character more depth. It’s simple additions like these that add a satisfying layer of change to the formula that, for all intents and purposes, succeeded in the first film.

As I’ve glanced at several reviews, I’ve noticed a lot of reviewers making comparisons between How to Train Your Dragon 2 and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, and it’s not hard to see why. Perhaps the most famous of sequels, The Empire Strikes Back built upon the strengths of A New Hope in almost every way. It was more ambitious, more complex, and ultimately much better. Similarly, nearly every aspect of How To Train Your Dragon 2 builds upon the strengths of the first. The visuals and 3D are sleeker, the dialogue is wittier, and the story has an even deeper emotional hold.

One area of the sequel that unfortunately stands out negatively, however, is the villain. For a film that otherwise sets itself apart from other animated films through its originality and quality of storytelling and writing, Drago Bludvist is largely forgettable. His take-over-the-world goals are cliché and underdeveloped, and his final encounter with the village of Berk ends, as T.S. Eliot would say, “not with a bang but with a whimper.” All of this is made painfully obvious because it may just be the only weak aspect of an otherwise fantastic movie.

When the first How to Train Your Dragon hit theaters in 2010, it immediately won over the hearts of viewers and critics alike with its stunning visuals, witty dialogue, and uncommonly emotional story. In How to Train Your Dragon 2, director Dean DeBlois continues the success of its predecessor and builds upon it to create an even more emotional and thrilling experience that soars to even greater heights, and reminds us that the best animated films don’t necessary come from Pixar.

by Matt Harrison

Source: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/tinseltalk/2014/06/how-to-train-your-dragon-2-or-how-to-do-a-sequel-right/

Bursting with breathtaking animation, affable characters and creative creature designs, this sequel to the well-loved 2010 film ‘How To Train Your Dragon’, matches the first with humour and heart galore.

Set four years after the first film, the Vikings of the island nation of Berk are now living happily integrated with their former foes – the dragons. They are content, and chief Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler) has decided to name his son Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) as his successor. But Hiccup is more taken with exploring his world with his dragon Toothless than settling down and assuming leadership. With the world opened up, the sequel’s story takes the action to a far greater scope than the Berk-centred first film. The design of the Viking village has also advanced from the first, and has a great combination of rustic and almost steampunk influences painted with vivid details. The quality of the animation is top notch – be they individual hairs of a Viking beard or single flakes of snow in a snowbank, all the finer parts are rendered perfectly. The 3D used in the film is also incredibly immersive, and from the opening dragon race to the last frame of the film, you are drawn in to a whole world which feels truly alive.

When Hiccup and his girlfriend Astrid (America Ferrara) discover some dragon poachers led by Eret (Kit Harington), they discover the existence of a warlord called Drago Bludvist who is amassing an army of dragons. They rush back to tell Stoick of the threat, then Hiccup takes it upon himself to negotiate peace with Drago. On the way, Hiccup runs into a famed dragon liberator called the Dragon Rider, who takes him captive. Renowned cinematographer Roger Deakins was a visual consultant once more for this film, and his touch is evident throughout. Unusual for an animated film, its fantastic use of lighting (chiefly from the dragons’ flames) dramatizes the proceedings nicely, and the composition of the shots, particularly when in flight, is stunning. There is an early shot shown when Hiccup and Astrid fly through a burnt forest which typifies this – the camera tracks left to right quickly: the smoke thick in the air, the scorched boughs appearing through the haze, and the obscured figures zipping through the frame all combine to create a vision of genuine beauty.

Minor spoilers ahead (though they have been thoroughly ‘spoiled’ in the film’s marketing). The Dragon Rider reveals herself to be Valka (Cate Blanchett) – Hiccup’s mother – who was thought to have been killed by a dragon almost two decades ago. She lives in an enormous ice cave created by a colossal, ice-breathing alpha dragon, who is the protector of several hundred dragons of its own. With Drago on the warpath toward Berk, Hiccup must rally his family and friends along with their dragons to fight to save their way of life. The inventiveness on display in the dragon design is clear – there is an iridescent menagerie of creatures spiralling around the cave, and Hiccup’s wonder at the sight is bested only by the audience’s surrender of disbelief in the face of such an awesome sight. The characters themselves are well-rounded and real. Hiccup is caught between the allures of learning everything about the dragons from his mother and becoming the village chieftain like his father. His internal fight to reconcile these is what gives his character a real arc, and the continuation of his journey to becoming a true chief is what make the promise of a third film something to look forward to. Toothless the dragon is also a wonderful creation. Sitting somewhere between a slinking cat and a fiercely loyal dog, Hiccup’s steed is the source of many of the film’s numerous laughs, and a surprisingly complete characters in its own right.

The music from John Powell is spot on throughout. Largely orchestral, it manages to mix in some bagpipes to match the (arguably anachronistic) Scottish brogue of most of the Vikings. The score truly soars in the track ‘Flying with Mother’, a theme laced with choral vocals which is at once delicately beautiful and rousing. The film is dazzlingly energetic from start to finish, and is aimed at kids and adults alike. Fans of the first film will be convinced this is a franchise worth caring about. Newcomers will be converted and convinced to hunt down the first film. There be dragons in the village of Berk, but the fun never drags in this film.