How To Train Your Dragon 2 (SPOILERS)- 8/10

As a fan of the first How To Train Your Dragon I was beyond excited to see this film. I absolutely loved Toothless and his puppy-like behavior. I liked the teaser trailers with Hiccup flying along side Toothless with a lot of great flight shots that really captured the characters sense of freedom while in the sky. After seeing the film I found out the movie captures all of that and more.

The movie takes place 5 years after the first film. Hiccup's relationship with his love interest Astrid has grown strong and his relationship with Toothless has never been stronger. The whole island of Berk is now filled with dragon rider vikings that now have dragons incorporated into they're every day life. The beginning of the movie is the dragon duo spending most of their time traveling the world discovering and naming new locations they find. Through they're travels they discover an ice cave filled with dragons and a skilled dragon rider that reveals herself to be Hiccup's mother. They also learn of a new enemy named Drago who controls dragons through fear and means to build a dragon army.

 All the old cast returns along with some really talented new actors to bring their own style to the mix. Djimon Hounsou, Cate Blanchett and Kit Harington come on the screen bringing their characters to life and helping expand this world of dragons.

One thing the film does very well is that nothing strays off from the first movie events so that it doesn't make sense. Adding Hiccup's mother was a great touch. Valka's real purpose in the film is to show why Hiccup is the way he is. Taking after her in every single way. She also brings some new elements to the dragon knowlege such as the hierarchy of alphas to regular dragons. Even taught Hiccup and thing or two about Toothless.

There were a few moments in the movie that were a little intense and sometimes emotional. The most emotional and intense scene is when Stoick gets killed by sacrificing himself to save Hiccup. Not just killed but killed by a mind controlled Toothless, thanks to Drago. I found myself stunned, sitting on the edge of my seat wondering what Hiccup was going to do.

Drago's character was a little under developed. Not having much of a motive for his actions other than just to be king of the dragons and rule the world. Djimon Honsou is one of my favorite actors because he can bring that intensity so its a shame they did not execute that in his performance. I'm pretty sure he only knew Hiccup collectively for about an hour so its not like there was any kind of connection between those two either. The only real purpose of this character was to show that loyalty is stronger than fear when it comes to dragons.

One of the things that I was annoyed with in the movie was all the friends, (Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Fishlegs, and Snotlout) They all seemed a bit pointless. Other then a few conveniences, I don't think the movie would have suffered at all if they weren't in the movie altogether.

The kindred spirits Hiccup and Toothless showed everyone that the bond between a kid and his dragon has never been stronger. Toothless overcoming the mind control was predictable but very forgivable given the fact that the alpha dragon barely missed killing Hiccup and killing his father with Toothless via mind control. Did NOT see that coming.

All in all I completely loved the film. Toothless is funny and cute, incredible visuals and flying action sequences. I saw it in 2D but I think I would have liked the visuals better in 3D personally but that's just me. Go see it!

                                                           
                                                        8/10

*SIDE NOTE* I will be posting the video review tomorrow at https://www.youtube.com/user/filmbagmoviechat


What did you think of the movie? Let me know in the comments below!