Geektana Movie Review: How to Train Your Dragon 2

With the first movie out of the way I guess it's time to get into the second movie in this franchise. I'm guessing the first film did so well that the powers that be wanted another one. Well nothing new there really. Sadly the way sequels work it's not usually a guaranteed hit in fact most sequels to great films turn out to be flop.

The trailer didn't show much that's for sure except for the fact that Hiccup has some new tricks and has aged a bit. Still I was interested on what else they can bring to the franchise. But before we get into further I must warn that there will be minor spoilers but I think everyone has seen the film by now.

How to Train Your Dragon 2 takes place about five years after the events of the original movie when Toothless and Hiccup proved to the people on the island of Berk that dragons and humans can exist in harmony. Toothless and Hiccup waste their time charting the world and doing dragon races (which is pretty much like that Harry Potter scene but with dragons) in his free time. Yet not everyone share his vision of harmony.

Storywise the second film is just as good as the first one yet not entirely perfect but then again the first film also has flaws. This one still has the fun, excitement and that sense of adventure the first one had but it also had a deeper, mature and darker emotional story than the first one. It's a coming of age story for Hiccup as he must rise up to defend his island from an even bigger threat.

The addition of Cate Blanchett and Djimon as Valka and Drago respectively to the already colorful cast of characters is a good call. I admit that I didn't like Valka at first but she eventually grew up on me. I can't tell if it's the dialogue or the way Valka character was presented that kind of threw me off for the first few minutes. Maybe both.

Hats off for the film for How to Train Your Dragon 2 for taking risk and telling a side of the story very few animated movies dare to thread. In fact some of the scenes in the second film I have doubts are still for little kids but the gamble did pay off as it lays the foundation for the cast of characters to mature and grow.  

Visually the film is way better than the first and much more attention to detail was given on this film than the first. often times you want to find a pause button just to enjoy a scene. The animations are smoother too all of which are just leaps and bounds from the first film in terms of graphics.

Also this film seem to address why the bigger dragons control the smaller dragons into doing their bidding which is an error I noticed in the first film that they could have easily addressed there. Still its nice to see they are taking minor things like that seriously in the second film.

Sadly the film still does have some animation errors here and there but nothing too serious like when Hiccup put a blindfold on Toothless to prevent him from being controlled yet his enemies control dragon by sound rather than through its eyes making the blindfold useless. But its minor and most folks won't notice it unless you're really looking at it real seriously.

Overall How to Train Your Dragon 2 is just as good as the original one and a good sequel. Although it does have animation errors it more than makes up for it in visual, better narrative and actual character development. This film was what Empire Strikes back was to Starwars. An expansion of the franchise and its characters. It's an easy recommendation for any fans of the franchise.