-★★★ out of 5
“Tumultuous. Better than its predecessor.”
I’m not a fan of the first How to Train Your Dragon movie, although it has good points with it; it just doesn’t suit up with my taste. But there are elements in the first film that are sequel-able (I just made that up) that could create a new franchise that will be good enough for the adults in the rating of G or PG.
HTTYD 2 levels up to a whole new discovery of new places and characters that are relevant to the story. Adding up Cate Blanchett who played as Valka, who is the long lost mother of Hiccup (Jay Baruchel), which plays a vital role in the film. Kit Harrington who played as the helpless villain turned ally, Eret, who gave the entire movie another reason to laugh. And, Djimon Hounsou who played the vicious villain Drago.
I love the fact that the new characters feels appropriate and not pushed, because there are times when sequels add more characters, it tends to be like incompatible ending up for them not to shine in some ways that you can just take them away from the movie and still not hurting the plot because they’re just unnecessary. Even when characters have superpowers/machines like a rhino machine or capable of handling electricity; and if they’re not focused, writers might as well scratch them off the script; they’re USELESS.
The humor is quite right, although I wished to have more to compensate the dragging moments in the film. Humor is totally related to animated feature, most especially on rated G films because they are targeting more on the young audience and of course, these people are tend not to really focus on the story itself, but to the color, animation, action and humor. If I were a kid watching the two films: I would honestly have a bad time with it. And for a fact that most comic moments in the movie are rated PG; I mean, who laughs about girls going gaga over huge muscles? Of course it would be us, adults. But still, as an adult, I have a good laugh.
The story is deeper compared to the first film, because it’s much more dangerous now than it was. The villain, Drogo, is a dragon master capable of doing evil and there’s a sense of danger there. The theme of Good versus Evil is evident throughout and that’s good because it still reminds us to check our values.
I also love the fact that it’s a family movie. The first one was a total adventure, but this one, it focuses on how important it is to have a family, to be complete and happy. The film almost got me on my feels, man, and there’s a part there where you can just put regret on the entire screen and I just love it.
The film for me is tumultuous. Better than its predecessor.
How to Train Your Dragon 2 is an American animated movie starring Jay Baruchel, Cate Blanchett, Gerard Butler, America Herrera, Jonah Hill and Djimon Hounsou. The film is directed by Dean DeBlois and was released June 11, 2014 in the Philippines.
